South Africa vs. England, 1st Test, Day 2: Broad Helps Give England Slight Edge

After a frustrating opening day, Day 2 of the first Test between South Africa and England dished up plenty of intrigue, and things were evenly poised at stumps. Morne Morkel found his fire early on Day 2, picking up four for 76 as South Africa dismissed England for 303.

The Proteas will probably be just a touch disappointed with that total, though, considering they won the toss and elected to bowl first and had conditions in their favour on the first day.

In response, South Africa fought their way to 137-4, still 166 runs behind. The batsmen face a tough task with Stuart Broad on the prowl backed up by Chris Woakes. The second new ball is still 27 overs away, and surviving until then will be crucial for South Africa. Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma will have to dig deep to get there. Considering the dubious form South Africa's batsmen are in, England have a slight edge. 

We’ve picked a few of the key talking points from Day 2.

Morne Morkel Finds His Mongrel

As already mentioned, Morne Morkel bowled a fiery spell on the second morning. After a tough Day 1—with a stop-start approach and a wet outfield—Morkel adjusted his lengths, went a bit fuller and targeted the batsmen’s bodies a bit more.

He reaped his reward and, at one stage, found himself on a hat-trick. This kind of aggression is what Morkel did so well when South Africa recently toured India and he had to lead the attack in Dale Steyn’s absence. If Morkel can continue to bowl like this, he will be South Africa’s most important bowler in this series.

South Africa’s Struggles for Partnerships

Not once this year have South Africa managed to put together a partnership of more than 100 runs. Just 11 times have they passed the 50-run mark and just twice have they managed to get into the 90s.

Time at the crease has been a problem too. Not a single pair has managed to spend 50 overs at the crease in 2015. For comparison, Pakistan have done so six times, New Zealand and India thrice and England twice in the same period.

Staying together for 50 overs is rare but not unheard of, and it underscores South Africa’s struggle to apply themselves with the bat.

Stuart Broad Makes AB de Villiers His Bunny

AB de Villiers is arguably the best batsman in the world, so getting him out is always something special. For Stuart Broad, it’s a little bit more special. No other bowler has gotten De Villiers out more than Broad. The England bowler has dismissed De Villiers on eight occasions in 11 Tests, and while De Villiers probably only has himself to blame for his dismissal on Sunday—for playing such a ridiculous shot—it’s still a record Broad can be pretty chuffed with.

Dean Elgar breaks a drought

Until Dean Elgar notched up his 50 against England, it had been 159 days since a South African batsman other than De Villiers had scored a Test 50. The last player to do so was Temba Bavuma against Bangladesh in July. Elgar is still unbeaten, and now he has gotten himself in, expectations will be high to go all the way to the big one.

The Stiaan van Zyl Experiment Is Surely Ending Soon

It’s becoming quite predictable now. Stiaan van Zyl will get out through a bad leave. He got out that way in India, he got out that way during the recent domestic stint and he got out that way against England on Day 2.

Van Zyl was earmarked as the next South African opener earlier this year, but things haven’t worked out for the southpaw. When he batted in the middle order against India in November, he looked far more comfortable, but he just has not adapted to the opening role.

South Africa should end the experiment now before Van Zyl’s confidence is lost completely. Sending Van Zyl back to domestic cricket to regain some form and confidence will be the best thing for his career at this stage. Who opens instead of him will be the big question.