England v South Africa 2017: 2nd Test, Day 3 – Statistical Highlights

South Africa tightened the grip over the Nottingham Test after extending their lead to 473 runs before declaring their 2nd innings at 343/9. Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis scored fifties and added to the frustration of the English bowlers’. Vernon Philander continued his form with the bat by adding some crucial runs along with the lower order. England survived the last 4 overs of the day without losing a wicket scoring a run.

Here we look at all the stats and records created during the day’s play.

2 – Number of sixes Hashim Amla has hit in this Test. This is only the 2nd Test match in which Amla has hit more than one six. The other such game was in 2012 against Australia in Brisbane, 2012. Amla has hit 12 sixes in his Test career so far with not more than one six in an innings.

2 – Hashim Amla has hit two fifties in this game and both the times he got there with a six. Since 1999, only Andrew Symonds (v West Indies in 2008) and Amla (in this game) have brought up both their fifties with a six.

6 – Number of innings Hashim Amla has batted in first-class cricket at Trent Bridge in Nottingham including the two in this Test. He had scores of 129, 58, 64* and 67 while playing for Nottinghamshire in 2010 at the venue. He became only the 6th player to score 6 consecutive first-class fifty-plus scores at Nottingham and only the 2nd one after Derek Randall (in 1984) in the last 50 years.

8 – Number of times Hashim Amla has scored fifty-plus scores in both the innings of a Test. This game was only the 2nd such instance for Amla since 2012 with the other one being also against England at Centurion from 2016.

474 – Target set by South Africa for England; the 4th biggest by any team against the English team in England in the last 40 years. The highest target they have been asked to chase in the 4th innings at home in the last 40 years is 512 by Australia in 1993.

650 – Runs South African batsmen aggregated in this Test without scoring a century. The last time when they scored 650 and more in a Test without a hundred was 682 runs at Cape Town against Australia in 2002. Overall, this is the 4th such instance for them.

2013 – Last England spinner before Moeen Ali to have taken three or more 4-wicket hauls in a Test series on England soil was Graeme Swann in 2013 Ashes.