England had lost every session of this Test match convincingly up to tea on day two and were meandering towards an enormous first innings deficit when the unlikely duo of Ben Stokes and Jack Leach – where have we heard that before? – conjured a spell of fierce bounce and genuine spin to disrupt South Africa’s momentum.
The tourists still hold a commanding 124-run lead after reaching stumps on 289-7, boosted by a late flurry of runs from bowlers Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen, having toppled their hosts earlier in the day for only 165 led by Kagiso Rabada’s five-wicket haul. Yet as the sun began to dip, the home supporters would have left a humming Lord’s with some small cheer having watched their captain lead the kind of fightback that has become a familiar part of England’s weird and wonderful summer.
