England vs South Africa Test series: Hosts’ marks out of 10

As the series comes to an end with the result going in favour of England, here is how the individuals from the host side performed.

England put up a great performance to win the four-match Test series against South Africa 3-1. Leading the series 2-1, England overpowered the visitors as the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali delivered extraordinary performances to steer their team to victory. As the series comes to an end with the result going in favour of England, here is how the individuals from the host side performed. Each player is marked on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest.

Alastair Cook, 6/10: England’s most successful Test batsman, with more than 11,000 runs after his name, is one of the team’s pillars when batting is concerned. His scores in the series read 3, 69, 3, 42, 88, 7, 46, and10. But he has earned such a status with his performances that more is expected from him.

Keaton Jennings, 3/10: This series, specifically, was not a great one for Jennings. Impressive since his debut, Jennings looked off-colour with a 48 being his highest score against his origin nation South Africa.

Gary Ballance, 3/10: England tried quite a few experiments with their batting, bringing in new No. 3 batsmen. In the first two Tests, they went with Ballance looking at his recent form in First-Class cricket. However, the batsman failed to score even one half-century in the four innings, getting out in 20s.

Tom Westley, 5/10: Westley did more justice to his selection. Making his Test debut in the third Test, he scored a 59 in the match. But he failed to replicate his performance in the next match.

Dawid Malan, 2/10: Malan was yet another experiment by England in the middle-order which failed as the batsman scored 1 and 10 respectively.

Joe Root, 9/10: 190, 5, 78, 8, 29, 50, 52, 49 — these are Root’s numbers in the series. That is justification enough why the new English Test skipper gets such high points. Not to forget that after a long time, England have laid their hands on a trophy.

Jonny Bairstow, 8/10: Bairstow’s credibility as a cricketer not only depends on his batting but also on how good a wicketkeeper he is. Bairstow has been successful behind the stumps and his 99 was the paving stone for England’s victory in the final Test and series.

Ben Stokes, 7/10: Two half-centuries, a century and 7 wickets is what Stokes will take away from the series. His batting hardly had anything to complain about, but England must have expected more from him with the ball. But by the end, he did enough to score at over 37 and take wickets at 43.

Moeen Ali 9/10: Moeen proved why he is among the most talented all-rounders in modern day cricket. He scored an 87 to complement Root’s 190 in the first Test while his 75 not out in the fourth Test was the reason England won the match. He took 21 wickets the series, remaining extremely consistent bowling in third or fourth innings.

Liam Dawson, 4/10: For the Lord’s and Nottingham Tests, England went with two spinners, Dawson being Moeen’s companion. He contributed nothing with the bat in first Test, but picked up two wickets each in the two innings. In the next match he contributed with a 13 and a 5*, picking up a solitary wicket.

Mark Wood, 2/10: Contrary to his recent impressive appearances for England with the white ball, Wood’s quest against South Africa was a forgettable one. Bowling in 4 innings, all he could do was getting a solitary wicket in the first Test. He was subsequently replaced by Toby Roland-Jones.

Toby-Roland Jones, 6.5/10: Roland-Jones had a dream debut, bagging a 5-for in his debut Test innings and finishing with an 8-wicket-haul in the match. He contributed in 20s with the bat. In the fourth Test, however, he could only manage 2 wickets.

Stuart Broad, 7/10: Broad’s performance cannot be judged by the 11 wickets he picked up, as he helped majorly to set up batsmen who later gave in to other bowlers. He even scored a 57 not out.

James Anderson, 8/10: England’s most seasoned pacer showed his experience in his bowling, bagging 20 wickets in the series, giving early breakthroughs to England and running through the South Africa batting line-up.