In the absence of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje stepped up as the Proteas’ chief destroyer to finish with 4 wickets by the end of the first session on day two of the final Test at the Wanderers, writes Khalid Mohidin from the Wanderers.
The Proteas desperately needed one of their seamers to step up after an awkward start to day one and day two.
A century stand on day one in the first session meant that something needed to change, and the Proteas came back stronger in the second session by taking out England’s top order.
The first session on day two also started with England in control. The exciting youngster Ollie Pope (56) and his skipper Joe Root (59) strung together 101 for the 5th wicket to take the visitors comfortably past 250.
Nortje, however, clogged their flow by dismissing both batsmen and adding Sam Curran (0) to that list. He finished the session on 4/93.
The 26-year-old has been the conqueror of big names in this series so far, having dismissed both Ben Stokes and Joe Root on three occasions.
What has impressed me the most about Nortje in this series is his ability to control his speeds and also the improvement in his persistence in keeping a consistent line and length.
Zak Crawley in his press conference after day one said that 300 would be a good score on this Wanderers strip, and if that’s the case then the Proteas were well on course to reduce the visitors to around that total.
England finished the first session on 300/7.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
