NBA | Page 5 FORMULA 1 | Page 6 Knicks want Hamilton to talk it over could walk with Anthony, away from F1... report says or maybe not Tuesday, July 18, 2017 FOOTBALL Shawaal 24, 1438 AH Messi and Neymar GULF TIMES praised by Barca boss Valverde SPORT Page 3 SPOTLIGHT Philander leads South Africa rout of England ‘All the senior players put their hand up and made it easy for us. Coming into the HAPPY SKIPPER Test I was a bit cold, but I got my groove going and I’m feeling a lot better’ Du Plessis’s joy as SA go back to basics AFP match, led South Africa’s attack with Nottingham three wickets for 24 runs in 10 overs of accurate fast-medium bowling. “There were periods in the fi rst outh Africa captain Faf du Test when we played well but then let Plessis said his side had gone England dominate us,” said du Plessis. back to basics in a com- “This was an important Test for us.” manding 340-run win over SEngland in the second Test at Trent ‘REFRESHED’ Bridge yesterday. The Proteas now have a nine-day Victory saw the Proteas bounce break until the start of the third Test back in style after they suff ered a 211- at The Oval on July 27, with no tour run defeat in the fi rst Test at Lord’s — match in between. a fi xture du Plessis missed following But with several of South Africa’s the birth of his fi rst child. multi-format players in England “We did the basics a lot better and since May, du Plessis reckoned a put England under pressure for long break may be no bad thing. periods,” du Plessis told Sky Sports. “A few of the guys have had a long “We focused on getting back to tour — I’ve just had a break so I feel things this side does really well,” he mentally refreshed and strong, but I added of a South Africa side with a feel a couple of days off will give the proud away record of just one series guys a chance to relax and get away loss in their 19 previous Test cam- and in a week’s time come back with paigns on the road. the same intensity,” he said. Du Plessis took the bold decision For England this reverse again to bat fi rst after winning the toss at raised questions about their fallible Trent Bridge, a ground known for top three, a problem for them while aiding swing bowlers, and was re- they lost eight Tests last year. warded with a competitive total of “No, I don’t think it (the top three) 335 all out. is a concern,” insisted number four Du Plessis’s painstaking 63, dem- Root. onstrating an ability to graft for runs “They just need some runs and to quite beyond most England batsmen spend some time out in the middle. this match, helped South Africa to a “Credit has to go to South Africa, second innings total of 343 for nine who played very well over the course declared. of the game, but we’ve got to make That left England needing a mam- sure this doesn’t happen again,” he moth 474 for victory. added. England, however, collapsed to 133 Meanwhile England coach Trevor all out with more than a day to spare Bayliss was adamant none of the side on a pitch, which while worn was no were trying to hide from the scale of ‘minefi eld’ and with sunny blue skies this defeat. providing some of the best batting “The boys are fairly honest in the conditions of the Test. changing room and realise they have Vernon Philander, the man-of-the- had a shocker,” the Australian said. England captain Joe Root (L) is bowled out by South Africa’s Chris Morris (R) yesterday during the second Test between England and South Africa at Trent Bridge. AFP the fourth innings of a Test is the West skipper at Lord’s. Cook’s near two-hour innings ended England’s Alastair Cook (3rd L) survives an appeal for lbw from South Africa’s Nottingham Indies’ 418 for seven against Australia at “We weren’t good enough with the when he was beaten for pace by a well- Vernon Philander (R) during the second Test yesterday. St John’s in 2003. bat for the whole game,” he said. directed Morris bouncer and gloved But the more immediate task for Eng- England resumed with Cook and fel- down the legside, where wicket-keeper England v South Africa 2nd Test scoreboard ernon Philander led a fi ne all- land on Monday was to see if they could low left-handed opener Jennings both Quinton de Kock held a fi ne catch. round bowling eff ort as South at least keep South Africa in the fi eld. unbeaten on nought. It meant Morris had taken two for two South Africa 1st Innings 335 B. Stokes c and b Philander 18 Africa thrashed England by They failed miserably, the hosts bowled Philander, renowned for his ability to in 20 balls, with Cook’s exit the cue for (H Amla 78, Q de Kock 68, V Phi- M. Ali c Kuhn b Maharaj 27 340 runs in the second Test at out in 44.2 overs despite South Africa be- move the ball at a lively fast-medium England to lose their last seven wickets lander 54; J Anderson 5-72, S Broad L. Dawson not out 5 VTrent Bridge yesterday. ing without Kagiso Rabada after the fast pace, had a wicket with just his fi fth ball for just 61 runs. 3-64) S. Broad c Morkel b Maharaj 5 Victory saw the Proteas level the four- bowler was suspended for swearing at yesterday. South Africa-born Jennings Only last year Stokes (258) and Jonny M. Wood c Morris b Olivier 0 match series at 1-1 after they themselves England’s Ben Stokes at Lord’s. (three) was undone by a nip back deliv- Bairstow (150 not out) shared a stunning England 1st Innings 205 J. Anderson c de Kock b Olivier 0 had been well beaten by 211 runs in the A sign of the diff erence in batting ap- ery that uprooted his off stump. partnership of 399 against South Africa (J Root 78; K Maharaj 3-21, C Morris Extras (lb5) 5 fi rst Test at Lord’s. plication between the teams was that Gary Ballance, in his third stint of Test at Cape Town. 3-38) Total (all out, 44.2 overs) 133 England, set a mammoth 474 runs for South Africa’s fi rst innings 335 lasted cricket and under huge pressure for his Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Jennings), 2-28 victory, collapsed to 133 all out 40 min- 96.2 overs, while England were bowled place, was then lbw to Philander on re- ‘DUMB BATTING’ South Africa 2nd Innings 343-9 (Ballance), 3-55 (Root), 4-72 (Cook), utes before tea on the fourth day. out twice in 96.1 overs. view for four. But their stand yesterday was worth dec (H Amla 87, D Elgar 80, F du 5-84 (Bairstow), 6-122 (Ali), 7-126 Man-of-the-match Philander took A delighted Philander said: “All the Philander had taken two for eight in just 12 when Bairstow (16) dragged an Plessis 63; M Ali 4-78) (Stokes), 8-133 (Broad), 9-133 (Wood), three wickets for 24 runs in 10 overs, in- senior players put their hand up and 19 balls, with Root once more coming in intended drive off left-arm spinner Ke- 10-133 (Anderson) cluding an early double strike. made it easy for us. after a top-order slump. shav Maharaj straight to mid-on. England 2nd Innings (target 474, Bowling: Morkel 13-4-30-0; Philander That gave him fi ve wickets in total in “Coming into the Test I was a bit cold, Root had made 190 in his fi rst innings “I can’t believe I have seen that,” said overnight: 1-0) 10-3-24-3; Olivier 3.2-0-25-2; Morris a match where he also made scores of 54 but I got my groove going and I’m feeling as captain at Lord’s and top-scored with angry former England captain Michael A. Cook c de Kock b Morris 42 6-3-7-2; Maharaj 12-2-42-3 and 42 with the bat. a lot better.” 78 in their meagre fi rst innings 205 this Vaughan, commentating on BBC Radio’s K. Jennings b Philander 3 Result: South Africa won by 340 No England batsman made a fi fty in For England captain Joe Root this match. But he fell cheaply yesterday, Test Match Special. G. Ballance lbw b Philander 4 runs a second innings where former captain chastening defeat, the hosts’ fi rst loss Chris Morris producing an excellent “All you need to do is dangle the car- J. Root b Morris 8 Man-of-the-match: Vernon Philander Alastair Cook’s 42 was the top score. in eight Tests at Trent Bridge, was in yorker to knock over the Yorkshireman’s rot and they’ll go for it. Dumb batting! J. Bairstow c Morris b Maharaj 16 Series: Four-match series level at 1-1 The most made by any side to win in marked contrast to his fi rst match as off -stump. What is he thinking?” Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, July 18, 2017 CRICKET WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: SEMI-FINAL INDIA TOUR OF SRI LANKA / TESTS Injury rules Vijay out, In-form England Dhawan gets nod face S.