De Villiers lauds England's bowlers
Proteas Test captain AB de Villiers lauded England for their
ruthless second innings bowling performance that sealed the third Sunfoil Test
as well as the series for the visitors.
After bowling England out for 323, the Proteas trailed by just 10 runs when they began their second innings. In a commanding position to set England a competitive target to win the Test, the match was poised in South Africa's favor.
Step up Stuart Broad. The English seamer produced a near perfect display of fast bowling, taking 6 wickets for seventeen runs to help bowl the Proteas out for just 73 runs - with Kagiso Rabada top scoring with 16 runs.
De Villiers was understandably crushed by the defeat in what was his first match as captain of the Test side after taking over from Hashim Amla. However the skipper remained composed and paid tribute to England's fine performance.
"That's some of the best bowling I've ever faced from their whole unit," De Villiers said.
"The conditions suited them really well and they made full use of that. They asked a lot of questions right throughout our innings. They didn't ask us many questions in the first innings and I thought that's where we missed the trick," De Villiers said as he reflected on his side's first innings total of 313.
The skipper believed they gave England some soft dismissals in that first innings, but gave full credit to England's ruthless second innings in the field.
"This time around, they were spot on, a little bit fuller in their lengths. The ball was moving around a lot, they showed some good skill and you have to give them credit for that. Especially Broad, but as a unit I though they bowled pretty well."
"There were quite a few opportunities that we had throughout the Test - one was that first innings. We were getting a lot of partnerships going, a lot of guys got in and there was a great opportunity for us to get 400 plus and we didn't take that. 400 on this wicket is very tough to play against and we missed that," the skipper said.
De Villiers also highlighted the fact that a number of inexperienced players are being blooded and only time in the middle would help them settle.
"I think the talent is there, it's just a matter of finding a bit of consistency and apply the pressure more often."
The fourth and final Test gets underway next Friday at Supersport Park in Centurion.
England are 2-nil up going into the last match and have already won the series. That means the Proteas have relinquished their number one spot on the ICC Test rankings.
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