South Africa vs. England: Winners and Losers from 1st Test

South Africa’s dire 2015 continued with a 214-run defeat. England were dominant in every aspect and grabbed a 1-0 series lead against a lacklustre South African outfit in Durban.

Kingsmead has never been kind to the Proteas, but that’s hardly an excuse. They were found wanting in almost every aspect with the batsmen especially underperforming.

Quinton de Kock has been added to the Test side for the New Year’s Test in Cape Town, per ESPN CricInfo, which suggests the selectors are well aware of South Africa’s shortcomings. Chris Morris has also been called up to cover for the injured Dale Steyn, but he is probably unlikely to play.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for South Africa, though. Here are the winners and losers from the first Test. Feel free to add yours in the comments.

Winner: Dane Piedt

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After an emphatic debut in 2014, Piedt suffered an injury that would rule him out of international cricket for nearly a year. The man himself told SuperSport (h/t Sport24) he “thought [he] might just become a clubbie” at one stage during his recovery.

Luckily for him, and South Africa, he seems to have revived some of the magic that caught the selectors’ eye in the first place. Piedt’s ability to turn the ball—arguably more than any of the other SA spinners at present—suggest that he should have a long career ahead of him.

Winner: Joe Root

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South Africa will be quietly pleased that they managed to stop Joe Root from getting a century, but now that they’ve seen what kind of form he is in, he will almost certainly have a target on his back.

Root has been England’s best player this year, and in South African conditions, he’s likely to carry that fantastic form into the New Year.

Winner: Dean Elgar

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South Africa are in desperate need of some stability at the top of the order and Dean Elgar offered them that with a fine and gritty century in Durban.

When all around him his team-mates were collapsing, Elgar dug in and showed the rest how it’s done. He was one of the better players during that torrid tour of India, and if he can manage to carry some of this form to Cape Town, South Africa will have just a little something to be positive about.

Loser: Dale Steyn

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Since the first Test in India, over a month ago, Dale Steyn had not played any cricket. He was kept out of the series with a groin injury but was cleared fit for this Test.

However, Steyn had not bowled in a match for a long time and sustained a different injury—a shoulder strain—while bowling.

One just has to wonder whether it was worth risking him in this match or whether easing him back into action through a stint in domestic cricket would have been the better option.

Loser: South Africa’s Middle Order

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Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and, to an extent, Temba Bavuma have a few question marks hanging over their heads. Bavuma has shown plenty of grit, and he is inexperienced so some of his errors can be forgiven, but the senior pair have some tough questions to answer.

With Quinton de Kock being added to the squad, it suggests that one of the three will have to drop out to make space for him.