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England 499-9 dec:
South Africa 209 & 102-6• Captain Root claims Test-best haulThere has been much talk of Joe Root’s consistency since he has been made England captain but here in Port Elizabeth he has been landing the ball on a length often enough to cause his opponents great concern. Root, the off-spinner, conjured four vital wickets in the second half of another grey day and his side is on the verge of another victory. At the close South Africa, who were compelled to follow on 290 runs behind, were languishing on 102 for six and in desperate need of a lot more rain on the final day to escape with a draw.
Bowling around the wicket Root propelled fast off-breaks, sometimes touching 60mph; the ball gripped and turned often enough to torment frontline batsmen. There was nothing flukey about his dismissals; either he found the edge of the bat or the middle of the pad against players who were usually defending dutifully.