England beat South Africa by nine wickets in the third Test to secure a 2-1 series win; Ben Stokes' side needed just 25 minutes to knock off the 33 runs needed on day five at the Kia Oval and make it six wins in seven under the new captain and head coach Brendon McCullum this summer
Monday 12 September 2022 20:47, UK
England took just 25 minutes on day five to seal a nine-wicket win over South Africa in the third Test at the Kia Oval and clinch a 2-1 series victory.
Starting the day on 97-0, only 33 runs shy of their target, Alex Lees and Zak Crawley brought up their century stand from the second ball of the day.
Lees (39) was dropped after edging Kagiso Rabada behind next ball but the South Africa fast bowler dismissed him lbw, after a review, in the next over.
However, Ollie Pope (11no) came out to join Crawley (69no from 57 balls) and they quickly got England to their target. It was left to the under-pressure opener to hit the winning runs, thumping Marco Jansen for four through the covers.
The win continues England's remarkable turnaround in Test cricket under the leadership of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
After a run of one win in 17 Tests prior to their appointments, England have won six of seven this summer with a 3-0 sweep of World Test champions New Zealand, a record-breaking chase to beat India and now coming from behind to see off a Proteas team that began the series at the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings.
Although the match went to day five, there were only 151.3 overs bowled in the match - less than two days worth of cricket - with day one washed out and day two cancelled as a mark of respect following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
Before the match resumed on day three, The Queen was honoured at The Oval with a military guard of honour and a minute's silence.
Next up for the Test side is a first tour of Pakistan since 2005. The first Test of three begins on December 1. The white-ball side are in Pakistan at the end of September for seven T20 internationals ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, which starts in October.
England captain and player of the series Ben Stokes: "I think it has been a great series for us as a team.
"It has been a series where we haven't had any real individual stand-out performances but different people throughout the series have put their hands up in crucial periods for us.
"For me it is about the clarity of the decisions. Me and Brendon (McCullum) are the guys who are sending this message to this group of players, I said to the lads in the dressing room the other day that the person who is delivering the message can only do so much."
Player of the match, England bowler Ollie Robinson: "It has been a really enjoyable comeback for myself and the team.
"The experience over the last few weeks has been really enjoyable and it has just been great to be with the lads again.
"It is nice to get where I am at the moment but I don't think I am the finished article by any means."
Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain: "Often you just tick a few boxes. You play good cricket, but you don't win every game, you play dull cricket at times but you get the result done. They've pretty much ticked every box.
"The captain has been exceptional, the coach has been incredibly good and kept a consistent message throughout.
"The message is just crystal clear, and I think that's what Stokes and McCullum have done. It's a crystal clear message that we'll go again."
