South Africa vs. England, 4th Test, Day 1: Stephen Cook Makes His Mark on Tests

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, hosts South Africa notched up 329 for five at the close of play against England in the fourth and final Test at Centurion.

There were many magical moments on Day 1 with Stephen Cook’s century on debut being the highlight. Cook partnered with Hashim Amla for a 202-run stand, South Africa’s highest since Amla and AB de Villiers put on over 300 at this very same venue against the West Indies back in 2014.

It was a day of ups and downs for both sides, though, with England’s new ball bowlers not really delivering the goods, while South Africa’s middle order stuttered once more.

The weather, despite constant threats of thunderstorms, behaved, and we could very well be in for pretty decent Test. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma will resume things on Day 2 with South Africa needing to push on and pile on the runs.

Here are some of the key points from Day 1.

Cook Contrasts His Dad’s Fortunes

Over 20 years ago, Stephen Cook’s father made his debut for South Africa and scored a duck on debut. Jimmy, his dad, was watching on from the stands as his son contrasted his fortunes first by getting off the mark with a boundary and then by scoring a century on debut.

Cook has been a solid performer in South Africa’s first-class domestic competition for some time now. He also carried his bat against this England attack in the tour match, but he has often been overlooked for Test duties.

Yes, the Centurion deck is quite conducive to batting, but the selectors will be kicking themselves that they didn’t pick Cook from the start of this series.

Is it too little too late? South Africa only play another Test in August, so how Cook’s career is managed from here will be crucial. These pages suggested that South Africa stick with Stiaan van Zyl for this Test, but this writer is happy to admit to being wrong.

AB de Villiers Gets His Ducks in a Row

For the first 45 Tests of his career, De Villiers did not score a duck. In his next 61 Tests, he has been dismissed for a duck on six occasions, two of those coming in his last two Tests.

"

Only the 2nd instance where AB de Villiers bagged a DUCK in consecutive inns in Professional Cricket. #SAvENG Prev: #CWC07 (v SL, v Ireland)

— Sampath (@SAMPATH_B24) January 22, 2016"

At Centurion, De Villiers’ home ground, his dismissal looked a bit lax. The 31-year-old played a lazy shot, poking at a delivery wide outside off and was caught.

The South African captain has talked a lot about managing his workload recently, and when considering the way he has gotten out on more than one occasion in this series, one can’t help but wonder if he’s had enough of Test cricket.

Broad Makes De Villiers His Bunny

Speaking of De Villiers, Stuart Broad has now dismissed him 10 times, more than any other bowler. Broad has been one of England’s best bowlers and has, rightly, been added to the one-day squad for the upcoming series to continue his tyrannical run on South African soil.

The Steven Finn Shaped Hole in the England Attack

England’s bowling looked a little bit flat on Day 1. Even with the new ball in hand, James Anderson and Broad did not make South Africa play nearly as much as they should have.

Some theorised that now that England have already won the series, they might not be putting as much elbow grease into their bowling efforts as in the other Tests. However, Ben Stokes was still right up there in terms of aggression and competitiveness, and the bowlers had two extra rest days after the third Test finished inside three days.

Maybe England are just missing Steven Finn, who did a lot of the dirty work when he played. Whether it was holding down an end or getting the batsmen roughed up, Finn put in some really useful spells.

Is James Anderson Down on Pace?

Before this Test, there was much chirping from South Africa’s De Villiers that Anderson was down on pace a little and wasn’t quite himself. Alastair Cook, the England captain, said these chirps had riled him up, but if he was riled, he hid it pretty well on Day 1 at Centurion.

All information obtained firsthand, unless otherwise stated.