Sibley century puts England in sight of Test victory

Dom Sibley’s maiden Test century has lined England up for a fifth-day victory push at Newlands in Cape Town, on day four of the second test in the series.

Building on a comfortable overnight score of 85, England declared with Sibley on 133 off 311 balls after a gruelling eight-and-a-half hours at the crease. This left South Africa trailing England by 437 runs at the end of the innings - a score which would require the second highest winning chase in Test history at Newlands. 

England’s total was helped by Ben Stokes’ mid-morning flurry, which dramatically accelerated the game by taking 72 runs off just 42 balls in the early session.

The South African response was strong though and suggests there is all to play for in today’s final day of the test. An opening stand of 71 was only broken when leg-spinner Joe Denly took his first Test scalp off Dean Elgar. It would be another 55 runs before England could take another wicket as James Anderson picked up Zubayr Hamza’s outside edge. 

Anderson, playing in his 151st Test, said of teammate SIbley: “We’ve not only seen that he has the ability to score runs in Test cricket but he’s got the mentality to open the batting, score big runs and stay at the crease for a long time. That’s what we’ve been missing for a couple of years”. 

When Joe Root declared shortly after lunch, England were at 391 for eight; having added 173 runs in just 32 overs. However, South Africa held firm in the afternoon, losing just two wickets in 56 overs. At the close of play South Africa stood at 126 for 2.

Photo credit: Reuters