South Africa v England: Tourists collapse as 15 wickets fall on second day – BBC News, BBC News

An England batting collapse gave South Africa the upper hand in the first Test as (wickets fell on an entertaining second day in Centurion.

Having bowled South Africa out for (*************************************************, England lost their final seven wickets for just 58 Runs as they were bowled out for (******************************************************, with the superb Vernon Philander taking 4 – 16.

South Africa were quickly reduced to 29 – 3 in their second innings and, although they lost Faf du Plessis late on, they ended on – 4, a lead of

England’s bowlers showed admirable fight after a poor display with the bat, but batting last on a pitch already showing signs of uneven bounce will be a difficult task.

They may already have squandered their chance of winning this game.

Batting collapses have been a feature of England’s Test cricket in the past two years but, having limited South Africa to 284, the tourists would have been hopeful of building a first-innings lead.

There was some uneven bounce on the pitch but England fell to some poor shots, poor Technique and the unerring accuracy of Philander.

Having lost openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley cheaply, both caught behind off deliveries that bounced, Joe Denly led the way for England with a painstaking half-century.

At 300 – 3, with D. enly and Ben Stokes sharing a – run partnership, England were well set. But Denly’s dismissal, caught behind off an inside edge off debutant Dwaine Pretorius, seemed to break the tourists’ concentration.

Jonny Bairstow, recalled because of illness in the squad, was bowled playing back to one from Anrich Nortje that kept low, while Stokes was furious after he drove at the same bowler and was caught behind.

Jos Buttler and Sam Curran shepherded England to tea but a cheap ending always felt inevitable. Curran flicked Kagiso Rabada to short leg, where he fell to a low catch by Zubayr Hamza, Buttler was caught behind off a rising Rabada delivery and Stuart Broad was bounced out.

When Jofra Archer fell, bowled by Philander, England had lost their final seven wickets in 142 balls and had given their bowlers just************************************************. 2 overs of respite after a sweltering opening day.