England required just 24 overs this morning to complete a crushing victory over South Africa and take a 1-0 lead in the four Test series against the world’s best ranked team.
England won the first Test at Kingsmead by 241 runs after dominating throughout the match. It is only their second Test win overseas in 16 matches and gives them huge confidence going into the next Test in Cape Town, which begins on Saturday.
South Africa’s problems are mounting with Dale Steyn unlikely to be fit for that match, depriving them of the world’s finest fast bowler as they look to fight their way back in the series, and their best two batsmen Hashim Amla and Ab De Villiers out of form.
Moeen Ali celebrates
But England fly to Cape Town tomorrow morning with everything going their way. Nick Compton enjoyed a good return to Test cricket with 134 runs in the match, James Taylor continued his progress and Steven Finn marked his first game since the summer with crucial second-innings wickets. With such a tight turnaround between matches it was also important England wrapped up victory without slogging their seamers and, with Moeen Ali taking three second-innings wickets, they will be refreshed for the second Test.
• South Africa v England, first Test: scoreboard
It was Moeen who started the push for victory this morning. In the first over of play Moeen, bowling around the wicket, pushed through a quicker off break which took a lump out of the worn pitch and pinned AB de Villiers on the back foot lbw. Being the crucial wicket, De Villiers appealed against Aleem Dar’s lbw verdict but it was umpire’s call, clipping leg stump.
Moeen picks up the key wicket of AB de Villiers
Temba Bavuma was next to go. Hemmed in by close fielders, he ran down the wicket and missed a non-turning off break and Jonny Bairstow managed to take England’s first stumping since Mumbai in November 2012.
Steyn was the seventh wicket to fall. South Africa’s nightwatchman was bowled off stump by Steve Finn giving him his fourth wicket in the innings and sixth of the match. Steyn’s wicket was the fourth to fall for the addition of just two runs, a collapse which started the night before when Finn found extra pace and lift in the final over of the day to dismiss Faf du Plessis.
England moved to within two wickets of victory when Kyle Abbott was dismissed for the second time in the match by Moeen as South Africa’s scars against spin linger from the tour to India.
Steven Finn extracts pace and bounce
Chris Woakes was finally rewarded for a good performance with the ball and took his first wicket of the match when he nipped one back in to Dane Piedt who was caught off bat pad at short leg by James Taylor, bringing last man Morne Morkel to the crease.
He lasted 15 balls before being struck on the pad lbw to Stuart Broad. Morkel reviewed the decision but it only delayed England’s celebrations for a couple of minutes.
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