5 best batting knocks from England - South Africa Series

The four match Test series between England and South Africa exhibited some quality cricket from both sides. Although England dominated the series courtesy of all-around performances, South Africa too had their moments of glory.

The Test series was played in conditions that aided bowlers and both sides featured quality bowling artilleries that tested batting skills. Hence, the series was a tough challenge for the batsmen and the top knocks from this series are worth in gold.

Here we look at the five best batting performances from this Test series that made a decisive impact on the outcome of the game and also were a treat to watch.

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#5. Moeen Ali- 75, Old Trafford, 4th Test

After gaining a decisive lead in the first innings of the crucial fourth Test, England were struggling at seven for 153 in their second innings. The game was in their control but the doors were still wide open.

And then came Moeen Ali who batted South Africa out of the game and also ensured England's series victory. He smashed 75 runs off just 66 balls and pushed England's lead above 350 on a pitch that was deteriorating quickly.

With little support from the other end, Ali accumulated quick and significant runs at a brisk pace to ensure his team had enough time and runs to take care of South Africa's fourth innings.

The last three wickets added 90 runs for England while the total contribution from the batsmen at number nine to eleven was just 18 runs. This stat reveals how important the left-hander's knock was.

#4 Joe Root - 190, Lord's 1st Test

Playing his maiden Test as captain, Joe Root laid the perfect foundation for the Test series by producing a fine knock of 190 in the first innings of the first Test.

Coming to bat in a tricky situation, Root displayed his class and wide array of strokes to bail his team out from a position of four for 76. In the first session, he was quiet and then upped the ante in the second session.

However, he went berserk in the post-tea session and took full advantage of the old ball and tired South African bowlers. The England captain brought up his hundred off 150 balls and added the next 90 runs in just 84 balls. In that process, he ensured England piled up a mountain of runs in the first innings.

Root was outstanding in the first innings of the first Test

Finally, Morkel found the outside edge of Root's bat but by that time the damage was already been done. Root's 190 was undoubtedly one of the finest batting performances of this year and it was also special as it arrived on his captaincy debut.

#3 Dean Elgar- 136, Oval Third Test

Dean Elgar's hundred was produced in the toughest conditions against a red hot bowling attack and amidst a hostile crowd. The century may have proved insignificant in altering the fate of the match, but it was an inning that would make Elgar proud.

South Africa was chasing a target of 492 runs in the fourth innings of the third Test on a crumbling Oval pitch. James Anderson was bowling tight while the trio of Stuart Broad, Toby Roland-Jones, and Ben Stokes spat venom and claimed wickets regularly.

But somehow Elgar found a way of surviving this ordeal. He was barraged with short-pitch deliveries and was tied down by some accurate bowling. But the South African batsmen didn't deter and played one of his finest knocks ever.

Elgar's finest hundred came in the toughest conditions

He waited for the English bowlers to make mistakes and pounced on even a slight error. He pulled with authority and drove the ball with impeccable precision. There was class, finesse and above all grit.

South Africa lost the match but by scoring 136 tough runs in the fourth innings Elgar emerged victorious.

#2. Hashim Amla- Twin fifties (78 and 87) at Trent Bridge, Second Test.

Amla was resilient and classy in the second Test

In the second Test England faced a total of 577 balls in their innings. Hashim Amla faced 329 balls in his two innings in the same Test. The South African batsman alone faced more than half of the balls faced by the entire England team.

This was the difference between the two teams at Trent Bridge. Hashim Amla's half-centuries not only increased South Africa's total score but also negated the threat of England's seamers and made batting easy for other Proteas batsmen.

Both fifties were rich in class and displayed the trademark resilience of the right-hand batsman. In tough conditions, he stood tall, weathering the storm and building South Africa's dominance in the only Test which hosts won in this series.

He scored two hundred run partnerships with Quinton de Kock and Dean Elgar in the first and the second innings respectively and was the chief architect of South Africa's win.

#1 Ben Stokes- 122 at the Oval, 3rd Test

Stokes was brutal and at his best in his counter-attacking punch

South Africa arrived at the Oval after annihilating England in the second Test by 340 runs and had the hosts reduced to 120/4 in the first session of the third Test.

The momentum was with South Africa, the conditions favored their bowlers and they were threatening to take the game as well as the series away from England. And then Ben Stokes happened.

The left-hander started cautiously and stitched a crucial 63 run partnership with Alistair Cook for the fourth wicket and then raised the tempo by adding quick runs along with Jonny Bairstow.

All through his innings, Stokes kept on attacking the South African bowlers and pushed England's first innings score away from South Africa's reach.

He was brutal with the pulls and flicks and his drives reflected sheer power. Francois du Plessis tried all his options but in vain, watching helplessly as Stokes earned the momentum back and dismantled the Proteas bowling attack.

The biggest blow came against Keshav Maharaj who was collared for three consecutive sixes. These three sixes brought Stokes' hundred and also England's 350 but more importantly, it dented South Africa's morale and by the time Stokes' carnage was finished, South Africa was done and dusted.