Summary

  • South Africa slip to 88-6

  • Three wickets for Wood

  • Wood strikes with final ball of day

  • De Kock 32*, Elgar 26, Malan 15

  • England 400: Root 59, Pope 56

  • Broad 43 (28), Wood 35* (39)

  • Last-wicket stand of 82 off 50 balls

  • Nortje 5-110 - maiden five-wicket haul

  • Fourth Test, day two, Johannesburg

  • England lead 2-1 in four-Test series

  1. Eng 195-4published at 55 overs

    Root 27, Pope 23

    The England fans are off again singing Jerusalem in the stands with the Barmy Army trumpeter Billy providing the music. Billy is retiring after this Test. It has been a fine innings and England matches won't be the same without him.

    There's a bit of swing for Hendricks this morning.

  2. Eng 192-4published at 08:45 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    The players are out early in a real shocker. Beuran Hendricks was midway through his over last night when they went off for bad light. Ollie Pope is on strike.

  3. Postpublished at 08:44 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Paul Farbrace
    Ex-England assistant coach on The Cricket Social

    Will England go for the win here with the Test Championship in mind? I don't think so. I think they will be more concerned with building a side that can win the Ashes in Australia. We have talked about being number one team in the world but you have to win series at home and away.

  4. Postpublished at 08:43 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    The Wanderers is a great ground and this is an amazing walk to the middle. When it's full and the locals are banging on that tunnel as you walk out, it must be intimidating for a batsman.

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  5. Postpublished at 08:38 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Vikram Solanki
    Ex-England batsman on The Cricket Social

    This partnership is very important, given that Jos Buttler isn't in a rich vein of form.

    Pope and Root are two exceptional players - one at the height of his career, the other an emerging talent.

    If they can put on another 100 runs then England could score 400, which is a very competitive total. But the fact remains, getting through this first hour, especially when there is a bit of cloud cover and there has been rain, will be tricky.

  6. Postpublished at 08:35 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Andy Zaltzman
    Test Match Special statistician on The Cricket Social

    With this South African batting side, you'd think 350 is enough for England.

    If you look at past games played on this ground, a lot have been won by the team batting first scoring in the 200s.

  7. Postpublished at 08:33 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    We're already discussing food in the office, which is a worrying sign. I've caused upset by suggesting salt and vinegar flavoured anything is a no.

  8. What time is lunch...?published at 08:30 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Adam Mountford
    BBC Test Match Special in Johannesburg

    Here are the amended playing hours...

    • Morning: 08:45-10:45 GMT
    • Afternoon: 11:25-13:40
    • Evening: 14:00-16:00, with 30 extra minutes available to bowl remaining overs.

    95 overs have been scheduled for today, which means we’ve lost three from the original allocation. However, bad light later may mean we lose some more.

  9. Postpublished at 08:30 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    I agree that 350 would be a pretty good score. Can England get there?

  10. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 08:29 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    #bbccricket

    Evan Byrne: At the risk of mockers, if England can make 350 I can't see where a significant SA lead will come from.

  11. Postpublished at 08:25 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Jonathan Agnew
    BBC cricket correspondent in Johannesburg

    What's a good score? It's really difficult to say in these conditions. South Africa's batting has been very fragile in this series, so if England can put 350 on the board then they can put South Africa under pressure.

  12. Postpublished at 08:22 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Niall O'Brien
    Former Ireland wicketkeeper on The Cricket Social

    Buttler has had a couple of situations this series when the platform has been set and he hasn't delivered.

  13. Postpublished at 08:21 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Jos Buttler hasn't scored a Test fifty this winter. His last half-century was at The Oval in the Ashes. He still only has one Test hundred.

    He'll be hoping to watch Ollie Pope and Joe Root bat for a while yet this morning but it will be an important innings when he does get out there.

  14. 'Buttler playing for his Test career'published at 08:19 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Paul Farbrace
    Ex-England assistant coach on The Cricket Social

    Absolutely he is. Jos knows he has got to perform. He needs to score to keep himself in the team.

  15. Postpublished at 08:17 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Henry Moeran
    The Cricket Social

    Is Jos Buttler playing for his Test career here?

  16. Postpublished at 08:16 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Paul Farbrace
    Ex-England assistant coach on The Cricket Social

    England are in a good position. If they can get this partnership another 70 or 80 runs plus, they will put themselves in a great position.

  17. Play to start at 8:45 GMTpublished at 08:14 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    News has come from the umpires that play will begin in half an hour at 8:45 GMT.

  18. Postpublished at 08:13 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Niall O'Brien
    Former Ireland wicketkeeper on The Cricket Social

    It's pretty average behaviour from the spectator to charge down and give a bloke a lot of stick. Stokes has reacted. It's not acceptable, but he has held his hands up straight away. It's disappointing for Stokes after having such a good time before Christmas with the Sports Personsality award. And it detracts away from the cricket, which has been pretty good.

  19. Postpublished at 08:12 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    Paul Farbrace
    Ex-England assistant coach on The Cricket Social

    My experience of being on the boundary edge is you hear players getting a lot of stick. There's a fine line between banter and abuse. This was obviously a lot worse for Ben to react in the way he did.

  20. Postpublished at 08:12 Greenwich Mean Time 25 January 2020

    It seems both people were in wrong. Move on.