A rain-abridged opening day in which 116 runs were scored and six batters were dismissed did nothing to dent England’s ambitions in their first Test against South Africa, with Paul Collingwood declaring there was “no ceiling” to their batting potential and that the home team’s bowlers were itching to be let loose on a helpful surface.
While South Africa’s fast-bowling quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje all impressed, Ollie Pope was outstanding in compiling an unbeaten 61 off 87 balls. “He was fantastic,” Collingwood said.
