A stunning one-handed catch at third slip by rangy debutant bowler Chris Morris removed Cook for 27 in the first session off the bowling of Rabada as two of South Africa’s three changes combined to dismiss the England captain.
Advertisement
Dow, S&P 500 post first down year since 2008
The S&P 500 fell 0.9% to 2,043.94, leaving the broad-based gauge of U.S. stocks down 0.7% for the year, its first loss since 2011. The precious metal lost more than 10 percent for the year, posting three-straight years of decline for the first time since 1998.
A wicket on the stroke of tea restored balance for South Africa after England made a solid start on the first day of the second Test at Newlands on Saturday (January 2).
West Ham 2 Liverpool 0: Carroll haunts former club
The result saw Liverpool drop to eighth before the rest of the weekend’s fixtures, while West Ham moved up to fifth. West Ham were worthy winners, giving Liverpool manager Klopp a lesson in his much-touted “gegenpressing” approach.
He’ll be replaced by Kagiso Rabada, who has been impressing at first class level, and the home side may be forced into another change to their bowling attack, should Kyle Abbott fail a late fitness test.
College Football Playoff semifinals take a hit in year 2
The Tigers held nothing back. “The coaching job that they did was just wonderful and the performance of the team was outstanding”. No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama more than validated their rankings with dominant showings in the New Year’s Eve semifinals.
But perhaps their most intriguing addition to their camp before the second Test in Cape Town is that of Smith as a batting consultant, after he spent his time as a summariser for BBC’s Test Match Special at Kingsmead questioning their selections and hinting at “rumblings in the camp”.
The Proteas lost the first of the four-match series in Durban after they were thumped by a massive 241 runs at the hands of Alastair Cook’s men. It took lots out of us to win in Durban, we needed to get out of some tight conditions however we managed to tug it again by means of absolute willpower.
On fatigue playing a factor with both Tests separated by just two days, Cook added: “I think a two-day turnaround is not great for the players”.
Compton, having played with such diligence in Durban, went after a short one with uncharacteristic eagerness and succeeded only in picking out midwicket.
De Villiers, increasingly the player South Africa look for to inspire success, will now be able to concentrate on his batting.
England is on top in the series at the moment but even a depleted South Africa can not be taken lightly. It’s just a case of whether we have the same hunger in us to do that again.
“The word consistency has already come up and 2015 was a year where we were up and down a lot”, said Cook.
“You’ve got to be really careful with heart and head – he’s desperate to play but we have to make sure it is the right decision”.
It is not the norm and won’t be in future, but it is essential that players and administrators do whatever they can to encourage numbers through the gates – especially in countries other than England, where audiences are often hard to come by.
Wicketkeeper Quinton De Kock is likely to be included in order to allow AB de Villiers to relinquish the gloves.
During the Durban Test Smith revealed on air how he had not had a single phone call with his successor Hashim Amla, so you wonder how much he was involved in the decision to bring him back in.
Advertisement
“We have to keep the standards we had in Durban”.
