England came down from the high of Ben Stokes’s record-breaking double-century, taking only one wicket and putting down two catches on the third day in Cape Town. South Africa fought back through their captain, Hashim Amla, whose unbeaten 157 led them to 353 for three at stumps, replying with defiance to 629 for six.
Steven Finn, who claimed the solitary wicket – AB de Villiers for 88 – but was one of two bowlers to be denied Amla’s scalp, believes England can still press for a 2-0 series lead in the remaining two days of the Test.
He said: “It was a tricky day for us – one wicket in a day isn’t ideal,” he said, “but I thought we stuck to our task well. We are still a long way ahead in the game because we haven’t let South Africa get away from us. A good session tomorrow and who knows what could happen.”
On the two missed chances, the first by Jimmy Anderson at slip when Amla was on 76 and the second by Nick Compton at backward point when he was on 122, Finn said: “We are obviously disappointed but no one means to drop catches. They are tricky chances as it’s not easy to see the ball. The crowd at this ground and the colours are in line with where the ball comes from, so it’s easy to lose it. It blends in.”
England’s desperation for a second breakthrough was summed up by the sight of the opening batsman Alex Hales sending down three overs of loopy off-spin during the evening session – only his eighth bowl in first-class cricket – the last of which was a maiden.
“I was as surprised as he was by that,” Finn said. “Me and Alex opened the bowling for Hertfordshire Under-12s, that was the last time I saw him bowl. They were filthy seamers then and now they are filthy off-spinners.
“But someone like that might create something different. They played him tentatively. Watching Alex bowl is not something I particularly want to do again but, if he had got the breakthrough, it would have been fantastic.”
Faf du Plessis, who along with Amla broke a personal run of poor form and will resume on 51 not out, admitted South Africa were simply looking to keep the scoreline to 1-0 going into the third Test in Johannesburg on 14 January.
He said: “When a team gets 600-plus it’s not going to be easy. You are fighting for a draw. It’s about getting back into the game and we are still a long way behind. We have to bat long again tomorrow.”
Asked about recent criticism of the world’s No1 side, who lost 3-0 in India before this series, the 31-year-old right-hander replied: “We are a team that sets high standards and criticism is felt. We are disappointed in our own performances. If it was possible to give a bit of leeway for a young team, that’s the ideal world. But this isn’t, it’s professional sport.”
