As South Africa emerged after tea on the third day their captain, Faf du Plessis, called a huddle on the outfield and urged his players to deliver one final push to protect an under-acclaimed record of losing only one away series in the past nine years.
England at this stage were slightly wobbling. Their 138 for six offered a lead of 274 and, though the pitch was already showing signs of capriciousness – not least from the footmarks at the James Anderson End – four quickfire strikes would have given the Proteas something resembling a sniff of ending their tour with a drawn series.
Two limited-overs defeats and a Champions Trophy group-stage exit since their arrival in May have made this a chastening time for the Proteas and hastened the search for a new head coach. England’s bowling coach, Ottis Gibson, is the man in line to replace Russell Domingo and will be charged with breathing new life into the team.
Perhaps, just maybe, if they could blow away the tail after the interval they could start considering a sizeable if not impossible run chase and send the likeable Domingo off with a smile. Duanne Olivier, the bustling seamer deputising for Vernon Philander this Test, obliged almost immediately as Jonny Bairstow picked out long-leg.
But just when the tourists started to believe in the rallying words from Du Plessis, one of the more troubling features of both their day and their tour emerged. Dean Elgar, a player who has embodied much of their spirit, duffed a relatively simple chance from Moeen Ali at slip on 15 and with it the series was perhaps finally gone.
It was safely pouched in Elgar’s hands, the bowler Keshav Maharaj celebrating, and the scoreline was 161 for eight for a split-second. But in the ensuing tumble the ball plopped on to the turf. Moeen did not look back, launching an audacious counterattack that whipped Old Trafford into a frenzy – never more so than when he picked out Bairstow on the balcony to reach his half-century.
Though his bowling has been to the fore this series, through the 10 wickets at Lord’s and The Oval hat‑trick, Moeen insists he is a batsman first. And by the time the rain fell at 5.20pm he sat unbeaten on 67 to further underline the point, with England 224 for eight and their lead 360, one less than the highest score South Africa have managed in seven innings to date.
If there has been one enduring image from the tourists in the field this series, beyond the sheepish looks given after chances have gone to ground, it is probably that of Morne Morkel standing with arms up either side of his head, in disbelief at another ball having whistled past the outside edge without a flicker of wood.
When this occurred midway through the afternoon on Sunday, with Ben Stokes playing at fresh air, it was the 80th time in the four Tests that Morkel has beaten his man outside off stump – a personal record in a series during his 78-cap career.
The simple diagnosis is that Morkel has been unlucky, that he has at some stage this summer unwittingly walked under a ladder (a fair achievement given his 6ft 5in height) and been cursed, with his 17 wickets at 29 a fine if not a fair reflection of his efforts.
While there is sympathy here, the old bowlers will say his length has at times been a fraction too short, such that any lateral movement extracted is more pronounced by the time it reaches the batsman. At The Oval, though he was the pick of their attack, this felt the case.
It is a fine balance for taller bowlers, who can risk simply floating the ball up when they go too full. But in his opening spell on Sunday Morkel nailed it; his removals of Alastair Cook and Tom Westley, both caught in the gully on the drive, were reward for getting it up there a touch more.
The giant 32-year-old with the Zoolander start to his run-up has removed Cook 12 times now – more than any other bowler in Test cricket – and this critique should not detract from the laudable shifts he has put in for his captain, something that a year ago looked unthinkable when not one but two doctors diagnosed a career-ending lower back problem.
Morkel sought a third opinion that proved more optimistic and through intensive pilates he built up his core strength to get back on the park. Since then he has treated every international as a bonus and from next summer could be coming to county cricket, with the feelers already out for an overseas deal that may even turn Kolpak down the line.
There will be no shortage of suitors for a bowler with 502 international wickets who, when he gets the ball up there, has shown he can thrive in English conditions.
