England vs South Africa 2017: 5 positives for England from the Manchester Test

England’s home Test series against South Africa presented the hosts with several moments to cherish. They lost the second Test at Nottingham by a massive margin of 340 runs, which could easily have dented the England team’s morale.

Nevertheless, they staged a stupendous comeback to win back to back matches and clinch the series by a margin of 3-1. In the final Test at Manchester, South Africa played their hearts out, but Joe Root’s men turned out to be insurmountable as they went on to humble the Proteas by 177 runs.

As the curtains come down on the one-sided, yet enthralling Test series, we take an insight into the positives England can draw from their final victory of the series.

#5 Partnerships down the order

Tough situations are pretty common for any team, but it’s the champion sides that weather every storm and stage a comeback. In the fourth Test, England were in more than a spot of both of bother during their first innings with the bat.

England were staring down the barrel with the score at 187/5. However, the lower-order came to the team’s rescue and added crucial runs, which lifted their team up to a respectable first innings total of 362. It was the partnership of 63 runs between Jonathan Bairstow and Ben Stokes that started the resurrection.

Extra cover: 5 best batting knocks from England - South Africa Series

After Stokes’ dismissal, Bairstow took the onus upon himself and along with the tail, he shepherded England to safer shores. Bairstow was unlucky though not to reach his century, falling for 99 runs to Keshav Maharaj.

#4 Wickets in quick succession

England were excellent with the ball throughout

After dismissing England for 362 in their first innings, South Africa started off handsomely with the bat. After 40 overs, with the score at 131, the Proteas trailed by 231 runs with 7 wickets remaining in hand.

However, the English bowlers kept pegging away at the Proteas batsman and it paid dividends for them. The South African innings experienced a slump as they lost their final 7 wickets for just 95 runs. More importantly, it gave England a massive lead of 136 runs.

Several of South Africa’s middle and lower order batsmen got their eyes in and threatened to take the game away from England. However, they perished one after the other courtesy some marvellous bowling by Anderson and Broad.

#3 Tom Westley’s promise with the bat

Tom Westley showed promised in his brief innings

Tom Westley was drafted into the English team in the third test at the Oval with the series hanging in the balance at 1-1 after the first couple of Tests. Gary Ballance’s poor run of form in recent times enforced the change by the English team management.

After a gutsy innings of 59 on his debut, he carried forward the form to the Manchester Test. Though he couldn’t muster on a significant knock, he showed enough promise with his batting skills for England to persist with him for at least the next series.

During his short-lived knock of 29 runs, he scorched 5 boundaries. He played efficiently both of the front foot and back foot and also demonstrated an unflustered temperament during the course of his brief innings.

#2 Anderson-Broad partnership thrives once again

James Anderson was England's wrecker-in-chief with 7 wickets in the Test

Test cricket requires pressure to be built from both ends and not give batsmen even a sniff of an opportunity to cash in. Over the years, there have been several fast-bowling pairs who like to hunt in pairs and unsettle the opposition batting lineup.

The bowling partnership of James Anderson and Stuart Broad has gifted England several victories. They have absolutely been scintillating for England, especially in Test cricket. It was no different for the pair in the fourth Test.

While Anderson ripped apart the top order in the first innings with 4 wickets, Broad cleaned up the middle and lower order with 3 wickets. The pair displayed exemplary line and lengths during the second innings and conceded a meagre 40 runs in 26 overs.

#1 Moeen Ali’s rise as a genuine all-rounder

Moeen Ali was outstanding in all the departments

Moeen Ali’s meteoric rise as a prolific all-round performer is a big positive for England from the Manchester Test. He was a major contributor in England’s emphatic victory over the South Africans in the final Test.

During England’s first innings, Ali started well with three boundaries in quick time, but perished to Kagiso Rabada. He came back to compile decent bowling figures, which included a couple of wickets. Meanwhile, he also gave very little for the Proteas batsmen to work with.

It was in the second innings when the Birmingham-born cricketer ripped the heart out of the tourist with both bat and ball. With a five-wicket haul and a quick-fire knock of 75 runs at more than a run-a-ball, he stamped his authority on the game.