England needed just 25 minutes to make 33 runs, giving them victory over South Africa on day five of the third Test, allowing them to win the series 2-1. Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope contributed immensely to the victory of the team on the fifth day.

The team had just two days to put themselves on the path to the victory after the first day was affected by rain and the second day had to be cancelled over the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The victory is yet again another testament to the changes England made at the beginning of the year to address their failures. Before now, England only had just one win in 17 Tests. This led to England changing the director, coach, and even the captain, and it seems that all of that may finally be paying off as England has now won six out of seven Tests this summer. This is the first time since 2004 that England would win more than five Tests in their home during the summer.

England’s next feat would be against Pakistan when they tour the country later this month for seven T20Is, while they return to the country for another Test series in December, after the end of the T20 World Cup.

Speaking after the match, skipper Ben Stokes, who replaced Joe Roots earlier this year, said that the series against South Africa was more about collective team effort rather than focusing on an individual’s performance. He said, “I think it has been a great series for us as a team. It has been a series where we haven’t had any real individual stand-out performances, but different people throughout the series have put their hands up in crucial periods for us.”

Players, including Pope, who was the player of the match, had high praises for Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum for their effort in steering them towards victory in this series.

Leon Osamor