Stokes says England team-mate deserved Player of the Match award after SA win

Ben Stokes reserved special praise for Ben Foakes after his England team smashed South Africa in the second Test at Old Trafford to level the three-match series.

England succumbed to an innings-and-12-run defeat in the series opener at Lord’s but produced a much-improved performance in Manchester to thrash the tourists by an even bigger margin.

James Anderson and Ollie Robinson shared six wickets in the first innings and Stokes chipped in with two as South Africa were skittled for just 151 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

The hosts then took complete control of the match by making 415-9 declared, Stokes and Foakes both scoring fine centuries.

South Africa tried to battle back in their second innings but were eventually bowled out for 179 to slip to an innings-and-85-run loss.

‘It’s been an incredible week,’ Stokes said after England levelled the three-Test series. ‘It was an amazing atmosphere to be a part of.

‘To come back from last week’s disappointment at Lord’s and put in the performance we have this week, it give us a lot of confidence back and set things up nicely for the last game at The Oval.

‘It was set up wonderfully by the way we played in the first innings, and we just flew in and gave it our all today. One of the most impressive things was the fact we never let up.

‘Ben Foakes should have been man of the match really – seven catches, a match-defining innings. He is a delight to have there.’

South Africa skipper Dean Elgar described his team’s defeat as a ‘reality check’ and said the match was lost on day one.

‘It was a reality check for us and we lost it in the first innings,’ he said. ‘You need runs in Test cricket and we were way short.

‘England were far better than us throughout the last three days and congrats to the way they played.

‘There’s a lot of learnings to take out of this game. We’ve got quite a few days till the next Test so I’m sure we’re going to go back to the drawing board.

‘It’s all set up for the third Test – two proud nations and a great stadium.’

The series decider starts on September 8.

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