Centuries of Nat Sciver and Alice Davidson-Richards in a stand of 207 runs dragged England from a questionable position at 121 for five and put them firmly in control at 328 for six, 44 runs ahead of stumps on day two.
Sciver’s unbeaten 119, her first Test tone, was the perfect complement to Marizanne Kapp’s 150 for South Africa on Monday. She hit 15 fours, drove with aplomb at the top and dismissed anything briefly as if she was running a carnival ride with a height restriction.
She was competently supported by Test rookie Davidson-Richards, who raced her innings like a seasoned pro before climbing 17 boundaries en route to 107. She slid the last ball of the day from Tumi Sekhukhune straight to back point chopped. No matter, she is the first English player since WG Grace to score a century and take a wicket on Test debut. “Blood drive brilliant,” is how she described her performance.
When Davidson-Richards joined her high school friend Sciver, Amy Jones had just been bowled past the outer edge by slow-left Nonkululeko Mlamba. Eight balls earlier, Anneke Bosch had taken her third wicket when she caught Sophia Dunkley when she slipped a loose ball.
But the source of the chaos was the disastrous run out of Heather Knight on the first ball after lunch. Sciver pushed Mlaba from the back foot to the center wicket and immediately started. Knight responded, but her fate was sealed. Not even a desperate dive could save her.