by bigfluffylemon » Mon Aug 07, 2017 5:58 pm
Not a good series for batsmen, on either side. The averages read Joe Root 57, then daylight. Only three other players averaged over 40 - Amla and Bairstow, thanks to this match, and Philander, who benefited from coming in at 9 in a couple of innings with a couple of not outs.
Anderson had a very good series overall - 20 wickets at 16, and Roland-Jones has almost certainly booked himself a place on the plane to Australia. Given Malan's failure, I wonder if England will revert back to 6 bowlers when Woakes is fit? Bairstow at 5, then Stokes, Moeen, Woakes, RJ, Broad and Anderson is a very deep batting line up, even if England's 2 and 3 continue to fail. Broad had a quiet one by his standards, 11 wickets at 32, but still respectable.
All of South Africa's bowlers had reasonable series, but Rabada didn't live up to what I expected of him. I think Philander's fitness made a big difference - had he been fully fit for matches 3 and 4, there might have been a different story. However that, and the strength of England's 5-6-7-8, and the excellence of Root, were the difference between the sides. Their batting on the other hand was pretty awful. Only Amla really made an impression, and he was far below his usual standard. Someone at the start of the series (I think it was sussex) said that this was the worst SA batting line-up they'd seen, and would be surprised if they got anywhere in the series. Whoever it was, well called. SA batting has been poor throughout, with one exception in the first innings at Trent Bridge.
Still doesn't bode terribly well for Australia. England might have finally filled the bowling slots, but the batting still fails as often as it succeeds, and there are worrying gaps. Westley seems to have won some admirers and will probably be given the WI series, but Jennings will surely go and be replaced by Stoneman or Robson. I suspect England will arrive in Australia still unsure of their top order, and will leave with two more failures in those positions.
England now hold the home honours in their most recent series against every side apart from New Zealand and Pakistan, which were draws. For all of their problems touring and maddening inconsistency, they remain a tough side to beat at home. And an anomaly of these two sides only beating each other away for nearly 20 years has been put to bed.