England v South Africa second Test preview: England to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

England will be nervously anticipating their second Test match at Old Trafford this Thursday with the pressure on to respond after an overwhelming defeat against South Africa last week.

A victory is necessary here for England, but do they have what it takes to turn the tables?

The Squads

Last week South Africa put in a stunning shift, crushing the England with ease, to lead them to victory by an innings and 12 runs. The result marks the first loss for Ben Stokes as Test captain, and with the pressure on, will England continue with their aggressive attacking play or attempt different tactics in Manchester?

Zak Crawley has been under fire for being terribly out of form, having been out for 13 and then nine, he will be undoubtedly disappointed with his performance. The question remains whether he will step it up in this second Test or his place in the squad may be at risk. He’s currently 7/1 to be England’s top batsman, which may be short enough given his current level.

Fellow opener, Alex Lees, didn’t have the best time of it either last week, being caught on 5 after facing just 11 balls in his first innings, before an improved effort to score 35 in the second. His long term form is a worry too, after only having scored 50 runs twice in his last 10 Test innings. However, he’s still marginally favoured by the bookies compared to Crawley at 13/2 to be the top batsman.

The key player to watch here will be Joe Root, England’s diamond in the rough, who has undoubtedly led the side to victory on multiple occasions. He leads the English top batsman market at 2/1, despite a sub-par performance in the opening fixture. Nevertheless, he will likely be instrumental if England are to triumph this week.

South Africa on the other hand will be brimming with confidence heading into the second Test, with their quiet, yet confident captain Dean Elgar pushing for another thrashing. South Africa’s bowling was top class to watch, with Anrich Nortje having a blinder – in one spell second innings spell removing Jonny Bairstow, Lees and Ben Foakes, and his speed exceeding 95mph.

Nortje is second favourite to be South Africa’s top bowler at 3/1, just trailing Kagiso Rabada at 12/5, who will also no doubt be as outstanding as he was last week, where he took seven wickets across the match.

For the South African top batsman market, captain Elgar leads the way at odds of 3/1. He’s shortly followed by Sarel Erwee at 7/2 who top scored for South Africa with 73 runs last match, and Keegan Peterson at 4/1.

England to bounce back?

Brendon McCullum’s side will have an uphill battle on their hands ahead of this week’s fixture, especially after the embarrassment of last week. England are still favoured by the bookies at evens to take the win at Old Trafford and tie the series.

The Proteas will be dying to put the nail in the coffin for England, and head into this match the slight underdogs at 15/8. The key to victory for the visitors will be to keep the calm and composure they displayed last time out, with their professionalism arguably leading them to victory and forcing England’s failures.

No matter how this plays out, it will no doubt be a highly tense game full of difficulties for both squads as they vie for victory in the key match of the series. Defeat would see England’s hopes of a series victory squandered this time around, and would mark the first Test series loss for Stokes’ captaincy.

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