Anderson responds to De Villiers jibe...
Tuesday 26 January 2016 14:52, UK
A mix of youth and experience did the trick for South Africa as they claimed a consolation victory in the final Test at Centurion as the series finished 2-1 in England’s favour.
Hashim Amla starred with the bat, scoring his 25th Test hundred in South Africa's first innings and falling just four short of his 26th in the second, while Kagiso Rabada picked up a remarkable 13 wickets in the match.
Here's five things we learnt from the fourth Test…
Rabada's stock rises again
Having taken his first Test five-for in the last match, Rabada had already provided us with a glimpse of his talent but even so, few would have expected the 20-year-old to put in such a devastating performance at Centurion.
With Dale Steyn still missing, Rabada again shared the new ball with Morne Morkel and twice ran through England, using a mixture of short stuff and full deliveries, to finish with figures of 13-144 for the match - only Makhaya Ntini (13-132) has ever produced better for the Proteas.
"Rabada, I think he's terrific," said Sir Ian Botham. "I like the way he runs in, he keeps going. He's 20 and at the moment everything is going his way. I would just let him grow and he'll get quicker."
His 6-32 in England's second innings ensured he finished as the leading wicket-taker for the series with 22, despite missing the first Test. South Africa have found themselves a new star and at just 20, there is plenty more to come from him.
Two sides of Amla
While Rabada is just beginning his international career, Amla is approaching veteran status after 11 years at the top level. However, his class shows no sign of diminishing after knocks of 109 and 96 at Supersport Park.
Not only that but the former Proteas skipper showed his adaptability, scoring his runs in very different ways in both innings.
His century in the first innings was classic Amla, all timing and elegance, and while that was still on show to an extent in the second innings, he also showed incredible resilience and impeccable temperament on a deteriorating pitch.
"He's shown a lot of character, we all know his skill and his temperament but he's shown a lot of character," said Nasser Hussain. "He's taken a lot of blows to the gloves on both hands. He has played beautifully, he uses the pace well and he plays late which is the key."
Top order troubles continue
There has been plenty of positives for England in this series but heading into the final Test, there were still question marks over a number of the top order batsmen and a dead rubber at Centurion was seen as the perfect opportunity to answer their critics in a less pressurised environment.
Alas, that was not how it turned out. Alex Hales, Nick Compton and James Taylor all made starts in the first innings but none of them made it out of the teens and things weren't much better in the second.
Hales went for one, albeit in unfortunate fashion with a ball that stayed low, Compton snicked off for six and having again made a start, Taylor was undone by a superb rising delivery from Morkel for 24.
All three now face an anxious wait to see if they are named in the next Test squad, especially with the likes of Jason Roy, James Vince and even Ian Bell waiting in the wings.
Anderson bites back
When AB de Villiers made a remark in the lead up to the game that 'some of the guys have lost some pace' in reference to the England bowlers, it was widely presumed to be a dig at James Anderson.
The England seamer had been short of wickets in the series but Alastair Cook did suggest that winding up the Lancastrian might not be a wise move, and so it proved.
Having been dismissed for a duck in the first innings, De Villiers came to the crease in the second after Anderson had removed Stephen Cook. The Proteas skipper lasted just two balls before be was trapped lbw.
"We don't need any extra motivation but it was mentioned when he got a pair today," said a smirking Anderson at the end of day four. "You have to be careful what you say in the media because it can bite you on the backside."
The best of Bumble
How much do our Sky Sports cricket pundits really know?
Of course, they prove their in-depth knowledge of the game on a regular basis, each of them having been there and done it at the highest level.
However, what they know about anything other than cricket is less clear and over the past five days David Lloyd has taken to the role of quiz master in a bid to find out.
In the latest instalments of Brain Teasers, Bumble asks the questions with Michael Atherton and Bob Willis in the hotseat. The pair try their hand answering questions on their specialist subjects - it's Ernest Hemmingway for Athers while Bob goes for Bob Dylan.
