South Africa vs England, 2019-20: 3rd Test – A rare innings defeat at home, Most expensive Test over, South Africa's record streak without a draw and more stats

England took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the 4-match Test series against the hosts South Africa as they completed an innings victory in the Port Elizabeth Test. England had to wait for 26.5 overs on the final day morning all thanks to an attacking partnership for the final wicket between Keshav Maharaj (71) and Dane Paterson (39*). The pair had their moments to cherish during the 99-run partnership which came off only 12.1 overs. Maharaj smashing Joe Root was one of them as South Africa took 28 runs from an over alone which was bowled by Root.

All the statistical highlights from England’s innings victory in the Port Elizabeth Test match:

A rare innings defeat for the Proteas:

2009 – The last instance of South Africa losing a Test match at home by innings margin was back in 2009. They lost the Boxing Day Test in Durban to England by an innings and 98 runs. In the last 17 years, these two are the only innings defeats for the Proteas.

3/5 – South Africa now have lost three of their last five Test matches by an innings margin which includes back to back such losses on Indian tour. Prior to this spree, the South Africans spent 83 Test matches across 9 years without losing a Test match by an innings margin.

Draws less streak for South Africa:

27* – Each of South Africa’s last 27 Test matches has produced results; the longest streak for any team without a draw in Test cricket. South Africa’s draw-less streak began during their tour of England in 2017. South Africa broke the record held by Zimbabwe with 26 consecutive Tests without a draw between 2005 and 2017.

A rare double for Pope:

2 – Ollie Pope became only the 2nd England player and only the 6th player overall to score a century and claim six catches as a fielder in the same Test match. England’s Frank Woolley was the first player with this double during the 1912 Sydney Test against Australia. He scored an unbeaten 133 in the first innings and claimed six catches. In fact, Woolley also bagged three wickets in that Test.

A record partnership for the last wicket:

99 – The 99-run stand between Keshav Maharaj and Dane Paterson is now the highest 10th wicket partnership for South Africa in a home Test. The pair of PW Sherwell and AEE Vogler added 94 runs in the 1906 Cape Town Test also against England.

Overall, the 99-run stand by Maharaj-Paterson pair is the 3rd highest 10th wicket partnership in Test cricket for South Africa. HGO Owen-Smith and AJ Bell put on 103 during their second innings during the 1929 Leeds Test against England. Later during the 2010 Abu Dhabi Test against Pakistan, the pair of AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel set South African record with an unbeaten 107-run partnership.

The most expensive over in Test cricket:

28 – As many as 28 runs came in an over bowled by Joe Root at Keshav Maharaj which included four byes. Those are the joint-most number of runs coming off a single over in this format.

Stats: Most expensive overs in the history of Test cricket

A decent debut with the bat for Paterson:

39* – Dane Paterson’s unbeaten 39 is the 4th highest individual score by a No.11 batsman on Test debut. Ashton Agar scored 98 in his debut innings against England in the 2013 Nottingham Test; a score which is more than twice of the next best score. Warwick Armstrong against England in 1902 MCG Test and Chamila Lakshitha against Bangladesh in the 2002 Colombo Test scored 45* and 40 respectively.

Root’s best with the ball:

4/87 – Joe Root’s bowling figures of 4/87 are the best for an England captain in Test cricket since 4/51 by Bob Willis in the 1984 Christchurch Test against New Zealand. In between these two performances, only one England captain took a 4-fer in Test cricket – Andrew Flintoff (4/96 vs India in 2006 Mohali Test and 4/99 vs England in 2006 Brisbane Test).