South Africa vs. England, 3rd Test, Day 1: Proteas Gift England Wickets

South Africa had to rely on a lower-order rally from Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada, who combined for an unbeaten 42-run partnership, to help put them back in the game on Day 1 of the third Test against visitors England at the Wanderers.

Having won the toss and chosen to bat first, South Africa's top order failed to make their starts count with not a single batsman passing 50. Soft dismissals and reckless shots saw the Proteas stumble to 185 for five and then 225 for seven before Morris and Rabada showed the top order how it's done.

The match is fairly evenly poised at this stage, with South Africa making it to stumps at 267 for seven and England probably somewhat irked they did not manage to extract swing from conditions that were primed for it.

Thunderstorms are likely on Friday but should not wash out the entire day.

Here are some of the key points from day one.

Quinton de Kock and His Luck with Odd Injuries

Back in 2014, Quinton de Kock sustained an ankle injury after play a game of warm-up football during the Centurion Test against the West Indies. That injury very nearly kept him out of the 2015 World Cup, and he struggled to regain form after recovering. This time, De Kock apparently picked up his injury while walking his dog.

Initial scans suggest that there is nothing seriously wrong, and he should recover in the time for the fourth and final Test at Centurion next week. Whether he makes the starting XI might depend entirely on how Dane Vilas performs in this Test, though.

South Africa Gifting England Wickets

Two of South Africa’s top three were dismissed for scores in the 40s. Stiaan van Zyl failed to get out of the 20s. AB de Villiers could not pass the 40-run mark and Faf du Plessis could not get past 20. Of the top five, it was only Hashim Amla who received a very good ball to get out.  

While some dismissals, it could be argued, were as a result of some crafty bowling by the English, some of South Africa’s shot selection was dubious. Van Zyl forgets what to do when he gets past 20; Dean Elgar sometimes forgets to use his feet; AB de Villiers was lured into being overly aggressive; Faf du Plessis picked out the fielder with pristine accuracy; Temba Bavuma got run out unnecessarily; and Dane Vilas played a loose shot.  

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At Least There is Life in This Wicket

After the flat deck in Newlands, it’s a relief to see a pitch that definitely has a bit more oomph in it. With cloudy conditions expected to persist throughout the five days, it is likely that there will always be swing to exploit at some stage—even though England haven’t managed to find much of it yet.

South Africa Finally Picks an In-Form Player

Hardus Viljoen will make his debut on his home turf on the back of two 10-fors in domestic cricket. Viljoen has raw pace and, although wayward at times, is in the form of his life, and he has cranked things up to the 150 km/h mark before.

Part of South Africa’s success in recent years has been their consistency in selection and giving players time to settle into their roles, but with all their senior players either injured or out of form recently, it’s encouraging to see them finally pick one of the domestic players who are in form. Now, if only they’d do that with an opening batsman.

The South African Fans Get Jolly

It’s a working day and holidays are over in South Africa, so the number of locals who turned up to watch was much smaller than in Cape Town.

Those who were here made their presence known, though, and tried their best to drown out the Barmy Army. They often succeeded, ending the day with a rather crude song about Stuart Broad—the lyrics of which cannot be repeated here.

All information obtained firsthand.