• England 317-5 v South Africa
• Stokes and Jonny Bairstow lead the revivalBen Stokes is a remarkable cricketer. These days they call such batsmen impact players,the ones who in the space of an hour or so can lighten the darkest day, change the mood and alter the course of a match. At times, and his sheer sense of adventure will get him into scrapes but he is what he is: they know approximately diamonds,rough or otherwise, in this country and he is one.
On a day meant for batting, and England were in some exertion against a South Africa side playing with urgency. Nick Compton and James Taylor had been dismissed with successive balls either side of tea,the scoreboard read 167 for four, and Stokes arrived at the crease to face Kagiso Rabada on a hat-trick and a baying crowd. There was a partnership of 56 with Joe Root but when Root was out timidly, or the board read 223 for five,and the second new ball was approaching. It was an famous point in the day.
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Source: theguardian.com