The Oval honored Queen Elizabeth II with a military guard of honor and a minute’s silence before the start of the game; South Africa threw 118 with Ollie Robinson taking 5-49 and Stuart Broad 4-41; England closed out 154-7, a 36 lead, in response with Marco Jansen taking 4-34
Ollie Robinson posted a career-best 5-49 as England advanced in the third test against South Africa after a day in which they dropped 17 wickets in just 70 overs.
A remarkable morning at the Kia Oval began with a moving tribute to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
Once play started, England’s closers quickly found their groove as six wickets fell in the first 12 overs and, despite some resistance from the lower order, the Proteas were all out midway through the afternoon session. .
Stuart Broad took 4-41 and James Anderson (1-16) claimed the other wicket.
Despite losing their opening matches early, England raced to 84-2 at tea and looked poised for a sizable first-inning lead before being cut to 154-7, a 36-lead, at the close as South Africa fought back thanks at 4 Marco Jansen. -3. 4.
With plans to honor the Queen before the start of the game, the vast majority of the crowd were in their seats early and silence fell on the ground as a military guard of honor was formed.
The umpires and both teams fell into near silence as they lined up outside the Micky Stewart Pavilion for the official minute’s silence, which ended with a ringing of the bell by Senior Petty Officer Robert Brockelsby Miller of the Irish Guards.
This was followed by the national anthems, sung by Laura Wright, culminating in a rendition of God save the king.
After a washout on day one and the cancellation of Friday’s play as a show of respect, there were only three days to force a result and find a series winner.
England’s best chance was to beat South Africa cheaply and build a lead that would ensure they only had to bat once in the match, and the bowlers wasted no time in doing their part.
Robinson tore the stump off Dean Elgar (1) in the second over and six balls later, Anderson had Sarel Erwee (0) pinned behind.
Keegan Petersen (12) was next to go, misjudging a Robinson outing and allowing the ball to hit his stump.
The wickets kept coming with Ryan Rickelton (11) feathering Broad behind; Robinson caught Kyle Verreynne with a beauty three balls later and when Wiann Mulder took the lead with an extremely loose shot, South Africa was up 36-6.
Khaya Zondo, playing his first test innings, and Jansen stayed together for almost an hour to help his team to lunch, but the former left soon after.
Having survived England’s second of two reviews, one for catch from behind, the other for lbw, Zondo (23) made a catch on Alex Lees after Broad’s delivery rose to take the shoulder of the bat.
Broad was in the midst of a brilliant spell, but his luck ran out for a while as numerous balls flew past the outside rim and, twice in the same over, Jansen fell from his bowling alley. First Ben Foakes and then Ollie Pope seizing the opportunities they were hoping to seize.
However, Jansen (30) couldn’t make it count and sent a thick edge to Joe Root on the first slip to give Robinson his third five-wicket haul in the Tests.
Broad was left to close innings with the wickets of Keshav Maharaj (18) and Anrich Nortje (7).
For the second game in a row, South Africa recorded their lowest score against England since readmission.
Knowing that time was of the essence, England came out with a clear positive intent and Lees quickly went on to 13 from five balls.
However, the sixth, thrown by Jansen, slipped through his defenses and hit the top of the middle stump.
Zak Crawley (5) had pushed Kagiso Rabada for four in the early innings, but was stuck thereafter and was eventually fired by Jansen, checking with him after getting caught.
Root came out to join Ollie Pope, who was hitting with all the confidence of a man who averaged 88.54 on his home field, and for a moment the two seemed to go shot for shot as the home crowd shouted their approval.
