South Africa A v England XI

At Pietermaritzburg, December 20-22, 2015.England XI won by an innings and 91 runs. SouthAfrica A 136(56 overs) (S. C. Cook 53*; B. A. Stokes 3-25, S. T. Finn 4-34)and 187(42.5 overs)(Q. de Kock 53; M. M. Ali 6-77); ‡England XI 414-6 dec(97.5 overs) (A. N. Cook 126, A. D.Hales 56, J. E. Root 117, B. A. Stokes 66; K. A. Maharaj 4-129).

England produced a fineperformance to despatch a strong South Africa A side, containing four men who would feature in theTest series (and two other Test players). Steven Finn demolished the middle order on the firstafternoon with three wickets in nine balls, though Stephen Cook carried his bat, before AlastairCook and Joe Root constructed a big lead. On the third morning Moeen Ali put a sobering timeagainst Pakistan behind him, finishing with his best figures since taking 6-67 against India at theRose Bowl in 2014. Finn removed Khaya Zondo for a pair.