South Africa v England: fourth Test, day four – live!

Live updates as England seek victory at the WanderersThe Spin: sign up and get our free email every TuesdayAnd you can email Daniel or tweet @DanielHarris 1.56pm GMT 66th over: South Africa 216-4 (De Kock 6, Bavuma 14) England complain about the ball again and this time it doesn’t pass through the hole so they get a new one with magic swinging powers. Woakes can’t find them though, and after De Kock cracks a drive to mid on, he pulls four to square leg then cleanses four more through cover. That’s a lovely shot – not aesthetically so, but in terms of hand-eye, it’s perfection. 1.51pm GMT 65th over: South Africa 208-4 (De Kock 8, Bavuma 14) After De Kock takes a single, Bavuma adds two to fine leg then, when Stokes finds bounce off a length, he half-commits to a drive and gets nowhere near it. He’s not hanging about here, because next ball, he goes again and this time finds it, but well away from his body and without a semblance of control. It gets him four through backward point, but too many more of those and it’ll get him back to the hutch. “I had something similar last season,” says Carl Jones of my pulsating tale related earlier. “Opening the batting for my village team and going well. The opposition captain set a 9-1 onside field to which I made a suitably disparaging remark about the obviousness of the ploy. Got caught out at long on two balls later. Departed, with suitable chagrin, to a rather smug ‘Worked though didn’t it…’” Continue reading…
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