England facing tricky chase for unlikely win

England have an opportunity "to do something special" after Rory Burns and Dom Sibley gave them a strong start to a challenging run chase on the third day of the first Test against South Africa at Centurion's SuperSport Park on Saturday.

Burns and Sibley put on 92 for the first wicket after England were set to make 376 to win. Sibley fell for 29 to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj but England reached 1-121 at stumps, needing another 255 runs to win.

"We made it very hard for ourselves the way we batted in the first innings," England batting coach Graham Thorpe said of the side's dismissal for 181, which put them 103 behind on the first innings.

"But we'll wake up tomorrow morning with a chance," he said. "It's a long shot, we'll have to play very well but for some reason the pitch appeared to play slightly different today.

"We've given ourselves a fighting chance. It's a lot of runs to get but there's belief in our dressing room."

Burns made 77 not out and saw out the day with first innings top-scorer Joe Denly, who was on 10. Burns made his runs off 117 balls and hit 11 fours.

Thorpe said it was especially important that England made a good start because of illness which kept Jos Buttler off the field all day and forced captain Joe Root to spend two extended periods in the dressing room.

"They'll benefit from a good night's sleep," he said.

 

That England were set a larger than expected target was largely due to a fifth wicket stand of 91 between new cap Rassie van der Dussen (51) and nightwatchman Anrich Nortje (40).

Van der Dussen became the first man in cricket history to post at least a fifty on his debut in all three formats of the game, having also done so against Zimbabwe in T20 internationals, and against Pakistan in ODI cricket.

They were not parted until half an hour before lunch and there were further useful contributions from Quinton de Kock (34) – whose first two scoring shots were hooked sixes off Jofra Archer – and Vernon Philander (46).

Van der Dussen and Nortje fell in successive overs to Archer, who claimed the third five-wicket haul of his short Test career, taking 5-102.

But Archer was expensive and one of the main offenders as England persisted with short-pitched bowling for most of the morning on a pitch where a fuller length had challenged batsmen.

 

Nortje said South Africa would have liked to have struck early in England's second innings but said they had managed to keep the run rate down as the innings progressed. "We have had a good evening session and hopefully we can strike tomorrow," he said.

Nortje agreed with Thorpe that the pitch had played easier on an overcast day than it did on the first two days. "Hopefully tomorrow conditions will be in our favour and it will be a bit more up and down so we can take a few wickets."

Denly said on Friday that there were no demons in the pitch and that the key was to see off the new ball. 

Burns and Sibley did exactly that, seeing off the threat of Kagiso Rabada and Philander, although Rabada surprisingly only bowled three overs in his first spell before making way for Nortje.

Sibley looked less comfortable against the spin of Maharaj than against the faster bowlers. He was tied down by the spinner before trying to punch a shorter ball off the back foot and hitting back a simple catch.

Philander agrees terms on Somerset deal

Somerset have agreed personal terms with South Africa's Vernon Philander, the club announced Saturday after the Proteas paceman had already confirmed he would be playing for the English county.

Somerset, runners-up in last season's first-class County Championship, will now look to complete the paperwork on a deal that would see the 34-year-old Philander heading to Taunton as a Kolpak player following South Africa's home Test series with England.

"Somerset County Cricket Club are today able to officially confirm that we have agreed personal terms with Vernon Philander for him to become a Somerset player in 2020," the county said in a statement.

 

"It has been widely reported over the last few days that the South African would be joining the county, but the official paperwork required to complete the deal is being finalised with the ECB, with the club working towards the full procedure being completed successfully in the New Year."

Philander, who took four wickets as South Africa dismissed England for 181 in the first innings of the ongoing first Test in Centurion, confirmed on Friday he would be returning to Somerset, having previously played for the county in 2012.

"Everyone knows that," he told reporters.

But the Proteas stalwart added it was incorrect he had signed a three-year contract. 

"We're going to go on a year-by-year basis and see how we go," he said.

The Kolpak ruling means citizens of countries who have signed European Union association agreements or who are lawfully working within an EU country, have the same free movement rights as EU citizens.

Kolpak signings, as well as cricketers with EU passports, are currently eligible to play in England without counting as "overseas" players.

But both these employment rulings could be directly affected by Britain's withdrawal from the EU – or 'Brexit – that is now set to take place next month.

The ruling, allied to the low value of South Africa's rand currency, has seen several former Proteas internationals join English county clubs in moves that have effectively signalled the end of their international careers so they can be deemed 'home' players under the regulations.

 

And while Morne Morkel joined Surrey after a long career with the Proteas, fellow fast bowlers Kyle Abbott (Hampshire) and Duanne Olivier (Yorkshire) cut short their time in international cricket to sign Kolpak deals intensified concerns about a damaging talent drain from the South Africa set-up.

Dwaine Pretorius, on debut for the Proteas in their Boxing Day Test against England, was reportedly talked out of joining Nottinghamshire on a Kolpak deal by new South Africa director of cricket and former captain Graeme Smith.