Key events
Day two summary
Lauren Bell took four wickets as England fought back on day two of their one-off Test match against South Africa and extended their lead to 145 runs in Bloemfontein.
Despite their solid start, a batting collapse saw the Proteas dismissed for 281 in response to the visitors’ opening-day 395 for nine declared. Captain Laura Wolvaardt put on a 92-run partnership with Annerie Dercksen, making 65 before being dismissed by Sophie Ecclestone.
Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp proved a difficult duo to break as the pair added 99 in the afternoon, but debutant Ryana MacDonald-Gay found the breakthrough by bowling Kapp for her first Test wicket, then dismissed Nadine de Klerk for a duck after lightning caused a break in play.
Bell completed South Africa’s demise with three quick wickets, including two in two balls. The hosts claimed a valuable wicket by dismissing Maia Bouchier for a duck, but Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight steered England to 31 for one at stumps. PA Media
Lauren Bell, who took four wickets, has had a chat with TMS. “It’s been a great day, we’d have taken that at the start, they had patches of good partnerships, we’re really happy. My job is to swing it and take new-ball wickets and Filer’s is to bowl fast. The pitch is giving us movement and the ball is wobbling.
England will be heading Down Under in January for the Women’s Ashes. “We’re playing in a country with similar conditions to Australia, so it’s really important,” Bell adds. “We’ve said at the start of the game how amazing a result is in Test cricket. Things can change very quickly but we’ll take it an hour at a time.”
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Close of play
The South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt, has a quick word with the umpires – perhaps about that rain-free weather delay earlier, which threw off the hosts’ batting rhythm. Still, there was lightning.
So ends a day where England began on top, saw South Africa work their way towards parity, and then regained the momentum as the hosts’ tail failed entirely to wag. They lead by 145 runs, with plenty of time to build a lead and then get the wickets required to win.
14th over: England 31-1 (Knight 19, Beaumont 8) Knight takes a single to rotate the strike, leaving Beaumont to see out the rest of Sekhukhune’s over – the last of the day. There’s a nervy moment as the ball gets lost under her feet, before the final ball is crunched away, but well-fielded for a single. And that’s stumps.
13th over: England 29-1 (Knight 18, Beaumont 7) Beaumont is bamboozled by Mlaba, trying to sweep, missing and getting a lucky break as the ball squirms through the wicketkeeper’s legs. Four leg byes, followed up with a much cleaner sweep shot off her 30th ball faced that more than doubles her run tally.
12th over: England 21-1 (Knight 18, Beaumont 3) Sekhukune will get a chance before stumps – the fifth bowler to feature in the first 12 overs. She has Knight on the defensive with a series of accurate, testing deliveries in a maiden.
11th over: England 21-1 (Knight 18, Beaumont 3) Knight now faces the tricky Mlaba and gets beaten by a near-unplayable ball that just misses the edge. The next ball sits up, and Knight drives for a single. England’s lead creeps up to 135.
10th over: England 19-1 (Knight 17, Beaumont 3) Heather Knight is settling any English nerves here, striking another two well-timed boundaries off Dercksen, who is yet to find her rhythm.
9th over: England 11-1 (Knight 8, Beaumont 3) South Africa change it up with Mlaba’s spin as the shadows start to lengthen. She is egged on heartily by her teammates, and watched carefully by Beaumont. Another maiden.
8th over: England 11-1 (Knight 8, Beaumont 3) Annerie Dercksen comes in to the attack, but a poor first ball is flicked away by Heather Knight for four. Another short, wide effort is crashed through the covers by the England captain, who gets the scoreboard moving.
7th over: England 3-1 (Beamount 3, Knight 0) Beaumont goes on the hunt for a boundary, slicing at Kapp’s first ball but its fielded smartly by Dercksen at backward point.
6th over: England 3-1 (Beamount 3, Knight 0) Heather Knight comes in, England opting against night watch for now. Test debutant Bouchier scored 126 in the first innings, and zero in the second. Hlubi continues to look dangerous, a low grubber that Knight does well to leave alone.
WICKET! Bouchier c Jafta b Hlubi 0 (England 3-1)
Maia Bouchier has faced 18 balls without scoring … and now she’s out for a 19-ball duck! It’s a brilliant ball from Hlubi that jags in towards the off-stump and finds the outside edge. What a boost for the hosts!
5th over: England 3-0 (Beamount 3, Bouchier 0) We can play until 6.15pm local time (4.15pm GMT), as long as the light holds. Beaumount runs for two after flicking Kapp into the on-side. A chance to drive through covers off the final ball, but she can’t find the gap.
4th over: England 1-0 (Beamount 1, Bouchier 0) After 18 straight dot-balls, Beaumont nudges one into the covers. Hlubi appeals for lbw as a delivery skids into the pads, but it looked a touch wide. Then, a bouncer digs into the turf and whistles over Bouchier’s head, bouncing again before it reaches Jafta behind the stumps.
3rd over: England 0-0 (Beamount 0, Bouchier 0) Kapp to Maia Bouchier for a second maiden, and third in a row. There are 12 allotted overs left in the day, and presumably at some point, England will score a run.
2nd over: England 0-0 (Beamount 0, Bouchier 0) Ayanda Hlubi to Tammy Beaumont for an uneventful maiden over. TV coverage is saying play will end in 15 minutes, but it’s possible an extra half-hour could be taken if the allotted overs aren’t played out.
1st over: England 0-0 (Beamount 0, Bouchier 0) Marizanne Kapp, who had a long afternoon at the crease, will bowl the first over. She finds movement straight away to test Bouchier in a maiden. Not quite sure at this stage how much time England have to see out here – play is being extended due to the storm delay, but bad light may be a factor.
South Africa all out for 281, trailing by 114 runs
From 237-3, the hosts fell away either side of the storm delay, adding just 44 more runs. England will return to bat out the day with a ton-plus first-innings lead. Lauren Bell ends with figures of 4-49, while MacDonald-Gay took two key wickets on her Test debut.
WICKET! Hlubi lbw b Sciver-Brunt 1
Sciver-Brunt is hooked away by Sekhukhune for a single, which puts Hlubi on strike. The next ball swings away and as Hlubi shuffles to her left, she’s caught lbw to end South Africa’s innings.
88th over: South Africa 280-9 (Sekhukhune 6, Hlubi 1) No hatty for Bell as an attempted yorker goes wide of leg. The last woman in, Ayanda Hlubi, is beaten by a swinging final ball, but South Africa cling on.
WICKET! Mlaba b Bell 0 (South Africa 278-9)
Nonkululeko Mlaba is out at No 9; 90 minutes ago, the chances of her having to bat today looked remote. It’s a very brief cameo, though: a swing and a miss, Bell uproots her middle stump, and the bowler is on a hat-trick …
WICKET! Jafta b Bell 8 (South Africa 278-8)
Lauren Bell gets her third wicket, the ball cutting back in and finding a big old gap, clacking into the off-stump as Jafta fails to sort her feet out. The variety dished up by England’s bowlers got her in a muddle, and South Africa’s collapse continues. Time for drinks.
88th over: South Africa 278-7 (Jafta 8, Sekhukhune 5) From 113-1 and 237-3, falling short of 300 would be a big disappointment for the hosts. Jafta is surviving, not thriving, having hardly settled …
87th over: South Africa 278-7 (Jafta 8, Sekhukhune 5) Filer steps back after another three-over burst, replaced by Nat Sciver-Brunt. We have another delay to cover up a glitching LED screen. Jafta is beaten on the outside by a floating ball that misses the edge.
86th over: South Africa 275-7 (Jafta 7, Sekhukhune 4) Tumi Sekhukhune walks out to face Lauren Bell, her side teetering on the brink … and the lefty smashes her first ball through the covers for four! Shot. They’ll need a few more of those from the tail-enders.
WICKET! Tryon c Beaumont b Bell 20 (SA 271-7)
Chloe Tryon shakes her head after a sorry looking shot, badly mistimed and wafted to Tammy Beaumont at mid-on. A promising start snuffed out, and England are well on top now.
86th over: South Africa 271-6 (Tryon 20, Jafta 7) The inky black clouds are receding, and it’s looking sunny and serene in Bloemfontein. Tryon attempts to drive Lauren Bell back down the ground, but sends the ball crashing into the stumps at the non-striker’s end …
85th over: South Africa 271-6 (Tryon 20, Jafta 7) Sinalo Jafta gets in on the act, dispatching a full Filer delivery through square leg for four. There’s another pause as Jafta asks for the white curtain to be pulled back over an LED screen. Another bouncing ball smacks Tryon on her right glove; she’s suffering for her craft out there.
84th over: South Africa 265-6 (Tryon 19, Jafta 2) Because of the break in play earlier, they’ll take an extra half-hour and play on until 5.30pm local (3.30pm GMT). A tough spell for South Africa, trying to hold steady but keep adding runs when they can. After a Bell delivery just misses her outside edge, Tryon picks her moment with a fierce cover drive.
83rd over: South Africa 261-6 (Tryon 15, Jafta 2) Sinalo Jafta comes to the crease, and tries to duck beneath a bouncer that clips her on the helmet. She is checked over by the medics before carrying on. A big appeal as Filer gets more movement and strikes Jafta’s thigh pad, but the umpire declines.
WICKET! Luus c Jones b Filer 56 (South Africa 259-6)
Filer strikes with the new ball, which moves away and catches the very bottom corner of Luus’ bat, sailing through to Jones. Another big wicket, the batter’s gritty 56 off 148 finally brought to an end.
82nd over: South Africa 259-5 (Luus 56, Tryon 15) Lauren Bell replaces RMG as England seek to bully their way into South Africa’s tail. The hosts will be aiming to reach 300 – and get within 100 runs of England’s total – without taking on too much damage. Just one that over, taken by Luus off the final ball.
81st over: South Africa 258-5 (Luus 55, Tryon 15) Filer is handed the new ball, and her first delivery rears up onto Tryon’s wrists. The batter responds by lifting a wider ball square through the off-side.
80th over: South Africa 252-5 (Luus 54, Tryon 10) MacDonald-Gay continues as sunlight falls on the pitch again – but with the skies over the city a troubling slate-grey colour. A couple of quick singles are the only change South Africa get out of that over, and the new ball is now available to their opponents.
79th over: South Africa 250-5 (Luus 53, Tryon 9) Ecclestone’s economy is a skinny 1.65 runs per over – she’s giving very little away, and delivers another maiden here, her ninth of the match.
78th over: South Africa 250-5 (Luus 53, Tryon 9) England were past 350 by this point before a flurry of late wickets; South Africa may need to start moving the scoreboard. Chloe Tryon understands the assignment, showing off her white-ball skills with two straight drives to the rope, and another salvaged at midwicket.
77th over: South Africa 238-5 (Luus 50, Tryon 0) Ecclestone – who has now bowled 10 more overs than any of her teammates – tests Tryon’s nerves with a tricky maiden over. The new ball is available in three overs’ time, and it feels like the pendulum has edged back in England’s favour.
76th over: South Africa 238-5 (Luus 50, Tryon 0) Chloe Tryon comes to the crease and after a leg-bye, Luus holds firm for the rest of the over. Lightning didn’t strike twice, but Ryana MacDonald-Gay has.
WICKET! De Klerk c Jones b MacDonald-Gay 0 (SA 237-5)
Ryana MacDonald-Gay took a big wicket just before the break … and she gets another with her second ball. It’s a belting delivery that catches De Klerk’s edge and is snaffled by Amy Jones behind the stumps.