London — Vernon Philander again proved a thorn in England’s side as Alastair Cook held firm against SA in the third Test at The Oval on Thursday. England were 171/4 at stumps, having won the toss, with 31 of the scheduled 90 overs lost to bad weather on the opening day of the 100th Test at The Oval. Pace bowling all-rounder Philander had superb figures of 2/17 in 12 overs, including five maidens, in spite of a stomach bug. That followed his man-of-the-match display with bat and ball in SA’s crushing 340-run victory in the second Test at Trent Bridge last week. But former England captain Cook was 82 not out at Thursday’s close. Already England’s leading Test run-scorer, the left-handed opener spent more than four-and-a-half hours at the crease to be in sight of his 31st century at this level. Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 21. England had been heavily criticised by several former captains for an inability to bat time and wear down the Proteas at Trent Bridge, where they were twice bowled...
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