Toby Roland-Jones exposes the flaw in modern batting with his brilliant spell

When Toby Roland-Jones stood at his bowling mark on the second day of the Oval Test, waiting to deliver his first ball in Test cricket, South Africa and the rest of the world had little idea of his capabilities.

It was said that Roland-Jones likes bending his back and generally pitches the ball on the seam. The little seam movement is what he focuses on along with tidy lines. He is not known for his pace and had made his name in the county cricket by bowling consistently for long periods.

But everything changed in six overs. South Africa’s top order was wrecked and demolished by the debutant. It was not some magical bowling; it was simple Test match bowling that tested batting skills and patience.

And South Africa’s famed top order had no answer to his testing lines and lengths. Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock are all quality batsmen who have negotiated far more dangerous bowling in their careers. But in front of this debutant, they all fell flat, exposing their flaws.

Elgar tried to fetch a ball that was moving away from his stumps while De Kock looked to play across on a ball that was too close to his body. Both men ended up edging the ball while Heino Kuhn missed a straight delivery that was heading towards his stumps.

The best of all deliveries sent back Amla, arguably the best Proteas batsman. The length ball bounced a little more and moved away squaring up Amla and kissing his glove. It was a perfect ball that left the batsman hapless and brought his downfall.

It took only 33 balls for the England pacer to destroy the South African top order. And after these 33 deliveries, the world had a clear idea of what he is capable of.

In helping conditions, with his decent pace and the little movement he can trouble quality batsmen. His action is not mysterious; it is smooth, high-arm and effective for generating extra bounce from the surface. And as it was evident from Amla’s wicket, this extra bounce makes him lethal.

The sensational debut has made everyone stand up and take note of Roland-Jones. However, hailing him as the future of England’s bowling artillery is a premature assumption. He is just one Test old and hence nothing can be predicted about him. But his probing bowling that reaped heavy benefits has once again highlighted the Achilles heel of modern Test match batting.

Roland-Jones highlights modern batsman’s flaws

Roland-Jones was all over the South Africans

The right-arm pace bowler wasn’t swinging the ball too much. He was just pitching the ball in the right areas and with the right angles. His pace was not threatening but the moment his deliveries landed on the seam it created troubles for the men with the willow.

He used this formula throughout his spell. Keeping the ball in the channel and using the conditions to extract little yet significant swing. And this formula was enough to torment the South African top order.

Modern batsmen have excelled in power hitting and are also capable of accumulating runs in quick time. However, their defence against genuine seam movement has become an afterthought and the patience to wait for the bad balls has slumped as well.

The lack of patience and the skills to negotiate the threat of swing bowling has resulted in several batting collapses in the last two years. Sri Lanka’s annihilation at Leeds in 2016 by James Anderson and Stuart Broad and West Indies’ destruction of Pakistan in the fourth innings of the Bridgetown Test in 2016 are just a few examples of how slight seam movement has resulted in batsmen surrendering all their glories.

In the last one decade, the game has become batting friendly courtesy of changed rules, shorter boundaries, and heavier bats but in Test cricket, the bowlers still have a few weapons left in their arsenal that can create havoc. And seam movement is one such weapon that most modern batsmen have no answer to.

It is not surprising that since 2010, pacers (minimum 100 wickets, less than 50 Tests) who have registered the best averages are bowlers who rely more on seam movement. Dale Steyn ( avg 21.46), Vernon Philander (22.14) Ryan Harris (23.56) and Josh Hazlewood (25.39) are known for hitting the right lengths for eternity and moving the ball just enough to take the edge.

The only swing bowler in the top five is James Anderson with an average of 24.99.

Troubling times ahead for South Africa

In a spot of bother

In the second Test of this ongoing series against England, the South African batsmen were in similar position but Amla bailed them out by playing a classic Test match innings. However, in the first innings of the third Test, the opener's early departure exposed the gaping holes in South Africa’s batting unit.

Roland-Jones wasn’t the problem; he was only the face of the problem. The problem for South Africa is not the debut bowler but is the seam movement. In the next innings, Faf du Plessis and Co. have to somehow find the key to decode this bowling threat otherwise another batting collapse is inevitable.

Maybe next time it would be someone other than Roland-Jones who will run through the batting order. But the mode of destruction would be same, the slight seam movement.