England vs South Africa Test series: Visitors’ marks out of 10
Despite some impressive individual performances, South Africa lost the Test series 1-3 to hosts England. This is the first time South Africa lost Test series in England since 1998. While England too had their lows during the series, the heroics from their cricketers came at the right time to lift the side for a series defining victory in the final Test. The loss will disappoint the visitors but surely, there were positives for the Proteas to take home and prepare themselves for the next task in hand. Here is how the visiting players performed in the series. They have been given marks on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest. Dean Elgar, 7/10: A 54, an 80 and a 136 in the series but still what Elgar will probably not be able to forget is how he failed in the last Test when his team needed him. Elgar, over the past couple of years, has grown as South Africa’s go to opener and have been in great form which he carried into the series. Heino Kuhn, 3/10: While Elgar is a certainty on top for South Africa, they opted for Kuhn for this series, based on his domestic form. However, he failed to provide big start in any of the Tests to the team, failing to score a single half-century in the series. Hashim Amla, 7/10: Amla, one of the finest batsmen in the squad, was one of the reasons for South Africa winning the second Test, putting up some contest against the otherwise dominant hosts. His 83 in the final Test also provided the team with hopes. Though it could not win them the match, it was a fine knock played under immense pressure. JP Duminy, 2/10: For years, Duminy has been a vital cog of South Africa’s middle-order batting. In this tour, he got the chance to play only a single match where he failed to put up any extraordinary show and was sent back midway the tour. Temba Bavuma, 6.5/10: Bavuma put up commendable efforts in the series. He hit two half-centuries but what was more crucial was his 46 in the final Test which came at the time of need, when rest of his teammates departed without contribution. Theunis de Bruyn, 4/10: De Bruyn played two Tests in the series, the first and the last one. On his Lord’s debut, he scored a handy 48 but no more mentionable contributions came from his side, either with bat or ball. Quinton de Kock, 5.5/10: De Kock had a good start to the series with two half-centuries in the first two Tests but failed to play any big knock in the last two. Though his wicketkeeping skills were at the usual best, more was expected of him with the bat. Vernon Philander, 8/10: Unavailable for the final Test due to fitness issues, Philander put his 100 per cent in the first three Tests. He scored two half-centuries and a 42 and picked up 10 wickets. He was the best South African player on display. Chris Morris, 6/10: Morris played the second and third Test. He scored a handy 36 in the second Test but playing as an all-rounder, he could do nothing more with the bat. He picked up 8 wickets in the two matches. Keshav Maharaj, 6.5/10: South Africa probably fell short of Moeen Ali in their team. Maharaj, however, did very well with the ball, remaining consistent in the third and fourth innings and picking up a total of 17 wickets in the tour. Though his comparison with Moeen will not be justified, given the difference of experience of international cricket, Maharaj failed to add the depth in South Africa’s batting which Moeen did for England. Faf du Plessis, 5/10: Away for personal reasons in the first Test, du Plessis joined the team at Nottingham and hit half-century in the match. He played another commendable knock in the final Test. However, what disappointed a bit was his captaincy. South Africa probably went for too much of experiment with the team. Du Plessis’ field sets also lacked justification at times. Duanne Olivier, 5/10: On his first visit to England, Olivier did a decent job, bagging 7 wickets in two Tests. He dismissed Joe Root twice in the series, which he will cherish for a long time. Kagiso Rabada, 6.5/10: Despite the odds, Rabada continued to remained consistent with the ball, bagging 16 wickets from the four Tests. With Morne Morkel, Rabada bowled beautifully to provide the side with early breakthroughs. Morne Morkel, 8/10: The biggest positive for South Africa probably will be Morkel’s form. With 19 wickets from the four Tests, Morkel was lethal towards the morning and was the visitors’ biggest weapon. The seasoned bowler showed his experience in his spells and used the conditions exceptionally well to cause some serious damage to England batting from time to time.