Debutant Cook shines as S Africa reach 107-1 at lunch

England will begin the fourth Test against South Africa looking to secure a 3-0 series win and make light of AB de Villiers’ critique of their side. He grew in confidence and along with Hashim Amla, who also scored a wonderful century, shared a 202-run stand.

After winning the toss, the hosts opted to bat first. Stephen was handed a debut while JP Duminy was drafted in for Faf du Plessis.

Temba Bavuma (32 not out) and Quinton de Kock (25no) put on an unbroken stand of 56 for the sixth wicket after South Africa had lost four wickets for 36 runs after tea.

Cook said Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan and uncapped Mark Footitt were all in contention to replace injured fast bowler Steven Finn.

James Taylor, at short leg, showed good anticipation and presence of mind when Elgar’s stinging shot hit him in the leg and the ball somehow got stuck around his calf, allowing him to pluck it before it could drop on the ground. It was a really tough chance for the wicket-keeper though.

Having also lost its No. 1 ranking with this series defeat, South Africa made five changes to its team for the last game, and one of them immediately paid off.

England lacked intensity for the first two sessions. Amla had just sent a sweet cover drive off Ben Stokes to the cover boundary.

9 – The second-wicket partnership was the ninth instance of a partnership of 200 or more was added by a South African pair for any wicket in Centurion.

For much of the day, England’s bowlers looked as if they would rather still be playing golf at the exclusive Leopard Creek golf course near the Kruger Park, where they enjoyed a well-deserved break this week. Hasim Amla was at the other end on 34*. Batting without the pressure of captaincy on his shoulders, Amla brought up his 25th Test hundred in 131 balls. With a double-century in the second Test and now a century here, it seems like Amla is back to his magical style of scoring runs.

A burst water pipe caused a delay to the start of the final session.

“It happens to everyone – unfortunately it is happening to us right now, but we have to stick together as a team and stay positive”.

De Villiers, captain for his second test, was out for his second duck in successive innings, caught at second slip by Joe Root off Broad.

“Last night he gave me a call before I went to bed and he said, “My boy if you don’t go out to the first one, you are already better than me”, Cook junior told reporters after becoming the 100th batsman to compile a debut test ton. He’s fit, he runs half-marathons in the winter and goes to the gym.

De Kock had to miss the Johannesburg Test with a knee injury, reportedly suffered while out walking his dog on the eve of the match – resulting in a dramatic last-minute call-up for stand-in Dane Vilas.