Four years ago, for the opening two days of the Newlands Test, England’s supporters gloried in batsmanship of the highest order, a thrill-a-minute romp that brought their team its highest Test score at the ground. Yesterday, these same supporters probably came here with their sights lowered, happy for small mercies after a wretched few weeks, and fearful of the cyclical nature of sport. They were wise to be cautious, if indeed it is possible to come to a beautiful ground in a magnificent city in such a downbeat mood. England’s players certainly left feeling down in the dumps, after failing to take advantage of enticing conditions for batting, losing wickets at regular intervals, hanging on grimly to their honour at the end, nine wickets down,…

Source: The Times January 03, 2020 18:11 UTC