Stats from Day 2 - England's 2nd highest partnership, South Africa bowlers get worst hammering at home in 15 years
If the moods and intentions of Ben Stokes during the closing moments of day 1 were anything to go by, the storm that was coming on the second morning of the Test could have easily been predicted. But its stature and magnitude, and most importantly, in the manner that it came, left everyone panting for breath.
England began their proceedings at 317/5, and by lunch, they had added 196 runs in 25 overs, with Ben Stokes 'stroking' his innings on from 74 to a mind-boggling 204, an increment of 130 runs in a single session of play.
That stat wasn’t the only one that transpired during the day that perhaps set the tone for 2016, as it saw the year’s first century converted into a double-century, shortly followed by the second centurion of the year, Jonny Bairstow.
Here is all that happened on day 2 of the Test match, in the form of some befuddling stats.
258- This score registered by Stokes encapsulated in it the first Test hundred and the first Test double hundred for 2016.
150- Bairstow followed that up with the second hundred of the year en route his unbeaten 150.
399- The partnership between Stokes and Bairstow of 399 runs for the second highest in Tests for England with the highest being the one between Colin Cowdrey and Peter May of 411 runs against West Indies on 30 May 1957.
50- years since an English batsman made a Test hundred at the Newlands, Cape Town. The last such occasion was when Mike Smith scored a hundred in the 1964-65 season.
7- Stokes is only the seventh English cricketer to score 150 or more in an away Test batting at no. 6 or lower. The last instant was that of Mark Ramprakash scoring 154 in Bridgetown against West Indies.
1993- the highest score by a batsman at no. 6 or lower inTests for England. Before Stokes’ marvel, Graeme Hick’s 178 against India in 1993 was the highest.
2- It was the second fastest double hundred in Test history, marginally behind Nathan Astle’s feat that he achieved in 153 balls. Stokes got his off 163.
2002- first instance in 14 years that 4 Proteas bowlers conceded more than 100 runs in a home Test. The last such occasion was against Australia in Johannesburg in 2002.
1- The 399 runs put up by Stokes and Bairstow was the highest Test partnership on South African soil beating the previous best of Greg Blewett and Steve Waugh who combined for 385 runs for Australia in Johannesburg again.
11- the 11 sixes hit by Stokes is the second-most that have been hit in a Test innings tied with Brendon McCullum, Nathan Astle and Matthew Hayden, and only behind Wasim Akram’s 12 sixes in his innings of 257* against Zimbabwe.
21- Stokes became the 20th player to score a hundred in the pre-lunch session, and took the no. of instances to 21 when a batsman has scored a hundred in the first session of a day in a Test match.
130 – The no. of runs scored by Ben Stokes in the first session today was the highest by any player in the pre-lunch session in Tests, surpassing the previous best of 123 by Les Ames in 1935.
163- Stokes’ was the fastest Test double century for England beating the previous best by Ian Botham that came in 220 balls.