South Africa vs England, 2019-20: 2nd Test, Day 1 – De Kock's catches record, England's young line-up, Denly's 48 consecutive dot balls and more stats

England ended the first day of the Cape Town Test match against South Africa at the score of 262/9 after electing to bat first after winning the toss. Ollie Pope’s unbeaten 56 played a key role in pushing England’s total past 250-run mark. Wickets at regular intervals unsettled the visiting team’s batting line-up. No one barring Pope reached at least 50-run mark even though six of the top seven batsmen scoring in excess of 25 runs.

All the statistical highlights from the opening day of the Cape Town Test match:

A young England Test line-up:

4 – As many as four players aged 22 or less featured in England’s playing XI in this Test match; the first such instance in Test cricket for England. During the Hamilton Test in their recent tour of New Zealand, England fielded three players aged 21 or less in the playing XI; the first such instance for the English team in this format.

De Kock takes 5 catches yet again:

5 – With the five catches on day 1, Quinton de Kock became only the 2nd South African keeper to affect 5 or more dismissals in a Test innings at the Newlands in Cape Town. Mark Boucher took six wickets in Sri Lanka’s first innings in the 1998 Test match at this ground.

Among visiting players, MS Dhoni also took five catches in the first innings of the 2011 New Year Test in Cape Town while Wriddhiman Saha claimed five catches apiece in both innings of the 2018 Test at this venue.

6 – For the 6th time in his Test career, Quinton de Kock has claimed at least five catches in a Test inning. He is one of the six keepers to take 5+ catches in six or more Test innings. His countryman and now South Africa head coach Mark Boucher leads the list with 14 such innings.

Broad’s misery with the bat:

5 – Average balls Stuart Broad faced per dismissal in Test cricket in the ongoing 2019-20 season. He batted in six Test innings in this season and has been dismissed on all six instances. Broad managed to aggregate only 10 runs in these six innings including two ducks.

De Kock @ 400:

404 – The first of the five catches claimed by Quinton de Kock in this match was his 400th dismissal as keeper in International cricket. De Kock is the 15th keeper to achieve the feat. Among South African keepers, only Mark Boucher (998) affected 400 International dismissals before Quinton.

Denly blockathon:

48 – Joe Denly batted 48 consecutive dot balls when on 21 – Scored his 21st run on 46th ball and hit a boundary on the 95th ball he faced to move to 25. He spent nearly 60 minutes at the crease without scoring a run.

The last England player to bat for an hour without scoring a run in Test cricket was James Anderson during the 2014 Leeds Test against Sri Lanka. Anderson batted 55 balls in 81 minutes without getting off the mark before he got out on the penultimate ball of the match.