Ben Stokes put his team on the cusp of paying the perfect tribute to Her Majesty with a sixth Test win out of seven in touching distance.
It is unclear whether the late monarch thought a good game was a quick game, but that is precisely what Stokes has inspired with three days proving to be more than enough time to force a result.
Only the fading light and the briefest of rearguard actions from the South Africans prevented the final Test of the summer from finishing inside two days of play on Duchy of Cornwall land. And while the nation might have had a new king installed this weekend, English cricket had theirs complete his accession back in April and Stokes’ reign could not have got off to a better start.
