5 things which went wrong for South Africa in the 4th Test match

South Africa's 2017 tour to England has been a miserable one, to say the least with the Proteas losing out to the hosts in all three formats of the game.

The final nail in the coffin came at Old Trafford as the visitors lost the fourth and final Test match by a margin of 177 runs. The victory meant that Joe Root's reign as Test skipper got off to a victorious start with England winning the series 3-1 following victories at Lord's and the Kennington Oval.

South Africa did manage to put a little fight with the victory at Trent Bridge in the second Test - that too when their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada had been suspended - but there's no doubt that they were thoroughly outplayed by the hosts in all three departments.

Here are 5 things which went wrong for South Africa in the 4th Test match.

#1 Underestimating Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali continues to remain a mystery with the ball but one would have expected the South African to have been a little more prepared considering the way he has been bowling throughout the series.

However, the Old Trafford Test proved that the Proteas did not pay enough attention to the all-rounder (the first player in Test history with over 250 runs and 25+ wickets in a four-match series - there's no way that one can continue ignoring him from that bracket) even after his hat-trick in the Kennington Oval Test match.

The South Africans fail to arrest his batting as well as he scored a quick-fire 75 in the second innings as well before running out of partners and it is high time that the world pays attention to Moeen Ali as a serious threat.

#2 Failing to convert starts into big totals

England managed to pick up wickets at regular intervals

When a side gets dismissed for just 226 runs despite the fact that as many as nine batsmen entered double figures, you know that things could have been done much better.

That's exactly what South Africa faced in their first innings as none of the batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts to register a big score. Wickets kept tumbling down at regular wickets as England managed to arrest the growth of big partnerships with much success.

Even when Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis managed to get a 123-run partnership in the second innings that gave a glimmer of hope for the tourists about an unlikely victory, Moeen Ali managed to nullify the benefits of that stand with three quick wickets to all but end South Africa's resistance in the second innings.

#3 A flawed batting line-up

Faf du Plessis should be batting higher up the order

With AB de Villiers' up to anyone's guess, it is imperative that the other South African batsman have to step up to fill the big man's shoes.

However, that has failed to materialise in this series and it is hard to ignore that the Proteas have themselves to blame by not sorting out the batting line-up properly.

In Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock, South Africa have their two most experienced batsman in the side but it is baffling to see the way they have been used throughout the series.

While De Kock came in at No 4 at the Kennington Oval, he was deployed at No 6 at Old Trafford. On both occasions, skipper Du Plessis batted at the No 5 spot.

As the cliche goes, the best batsmen have to bat at the top of the order and South Africa have simply not put this to practice. Du Plessis should ideally come in at No 3 or No 4 and De Kock should also be given the freedom to spend more time in the middle rather than batting him way down at No 6 or 7.

#4 Lack of a potent bowling line-up

South Africa badly missed the wicket-taking abilities of someone like Dale Steyn

In Dale Steyn, South Africa had someone who could pick up wickets at the top of the order as well as clean up the tail when the situation demanded. How South Africa would have wished for his presence after seeing how the English lower order managed to make some vital contributions after losing their top order relatively cheaply.

While it was Jonny Bairstow who did the work in the first innings with his knock of 99, Moeen Ali chipped in the second innings with a quick-fire 75.

And, it was the absence of a potent wicket-taker which proved to be the difference. Rabada and Morkel did do well in patches but against a strong side like England, you need much much more from your frontline bowlers.

#5 Giving in to the pressure

The home side was up for the match much than their South African counterparts

While the manner in which South Africa managed to make a comeback after the Lord's Test was highly commendable, a similar approach was badly missing at Old Trafford.

It seemed as if the visitors had already given in to the pressure following the loss in the third Test match with a lacklustre approach to the game and in the moments where they should have pressed home the advantage, South Africa simply failed to deliver and the hosts made them pay dearly.

England has adopted an aggressive approach to their gameplay successfully and in contrast, South Africa was simply going through the motions waiting for the mistakes to happen from the opposition rather than create them with a ruthless approach.