Joe Root rues first-innings collapse as England lose to South Africa

Joe Root lamented England’s first-innings batting after his illness-hit side lost the series opener to South Africa at Centurion.

The tourists were dismissed for 268 in their second knock as they suffered a 107-run defeat as they pursued an improbable 376 for victory.

But Root says England’s 181 in their opening dig, in which they lost seven wickets for 39 runs to collapse from 142-3, was the match’s key phase.

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Root had inserted the Proteas at the toss but says he does not regret that decision, citing the fact his side had made early inroads.

“That was the real crux of it – it was very disappointing,” Root said of England’s first innings.

“When we get the opportunity to turn the screw, we really need to take it, both with bat and ball. That’s where the game was won and lost this time round, the first innings with bat and ball.

“I still think the toss was a 50-50 call. It is very easy to stand here now and [question it] but if you get a side 111-5 you think you are ahead of the game so maybe we had a slight opportunity missed there.

“Ultimately I have to give credit to South Africa. I thought they played very well this week.”

Ten England players have been afflicted by a virus on tour so far, with Root and Buttler spending time in quarantine on Saturday during South Africa’s second innings and Ben Stokes suffering from dehydration on day one.

Root hailed his players’ attitude after a trying few days and hopes the illness in the camp has subsided ahead of the second Test in Cape Town from Friday, which you can watch live on Sky Sports Cricket.

“It’s been a tough week off the field. Pretty much everything has been thrown at the group, with 10 guys having gone down but we’re not going to hide behind that as an excuse,” said Root.

“Credit to everyone – they have stood up and tried to put in the best performance possible. At no stage have they let anyone down.

“When we find ourselves behind in the game, we show a lot of character and determination and we find ways of getting ourselves back into things.

“Pretty much everyone has been ill now so hopefully that is out of the way and we can prepare extremely well and bounce back strong.

England were hoping to complete a record Test chase for the second time this year, having memorably reached 359 to beat Australia in August.

Stokes, the Headingley hero with an unbeaten 135, and Joe Root steered England to 204-3, only for another collapse to end any hopes of victory, with Stokes’ dismissal to Keshav Maharaj proving pivotal.

“It has not been long since we saw a similar chase from a very similar group of players,” added Root, who was eventually caught behind for 48.

“We got ourselves into a position, even at lunch with me and Ben, where it was pretty much a similar equation to what it was at Headingley.

“We were fully confident we could chase those runs down, we just knew it would take one or two reasonable partnerships and that we needed to negotiate the new ball very well.”

Jofra Archer took a five-wicket haul in South Africa’s second innings, albeit he went at six runs an over from his 17 overs.

Root was delighted to see the seamer back in some sort of form after a chastening experience in New Zealand when he managed two wickets in two Tests at an average over 100.

“He is a huge talent and we know what impact he can have on the game,” Root added of Archer. “He is still very much at the start of his career and he is going to keep learning and getting better.

“It was good to see his response after a difficult tour of New Zealand when he had a lot thrown at him on and off the field. He had a lot of criticism at times and has shown character to perform as he has.”

Watch day one of the second Test between South Africa and England, in Cape Town, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30am on Friday.

(c) Sky Sports 2019: Joe Root rues first-innings collapse as England lose to South Africa