Joe Root

Joe Root has been jostling for the place as the No. 1 Test batsman in the world over the last six months, but his gilded reputation can only have been further elevated by a richly enterprising hundred against South Africa

England's two-down batsmen have been the least prolific among the top eight teams in the last 40 years, but in Joe Root they have a possible long-term solution

England reached a respectable first-day total at Newlands, but a better bowling attack than South Africa's would have punished the impatience of their top five

Stats highlights from the first day's play at Newlands

Stats highlights from the fourth day's play at Kingsmead where Dane Piedt became the first South Africa offspinner in 50 years to take a five-for at home.

Stats highlight from the third day at Kingsmead, where Dean Elgar fought a lone battle for South Africa

They learned lessons from yet another World Cup debacle, and transformed themselves into a dynamic ODI side. In Tests, they won the Ashes but little else

Three days into this series England hold a 261-run lead over a South Africa side riddled with problems, chief of which was another injury to Dale Steyn, after their batting had slumped in the morning session

Playing the No. 1 team on their own patch will be a huge challenge for an inconsistent England side but there are signs of weakness in South Africa to be exploited

A day after the last piece in their bowling plans fell into place, England saw their batsmen take the chance to find some form and confidence with a series of encouraging performances

Joe Root believes England are up to the challenge of beating South Africa in a Test series for the first time in a decade

Joe Root has suggested that the absence of a cricketer from the list of nominees for BBC Sports Personality of The Year could be a "wake-up call" for cricket

The absence of any cricketers from the BBC's annual awards bash is another stark warning of the invisibility of the sport in the British mainstream

We assess three of the game's finest prospects for the future

Andrew Strauss has said England will have to make some "hard choices" as they look to improve their white ball cricket

England's captain and senior bowlers led the way but there were too few outstanding contributions elsewhere

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, made a visit to the match referee on the fourth day of the Dubai Test to voice his concerns that Wahab Riaz deliberately stood on the ball

Joe Root bemoaned the fact that he did not anchor the innings as England were left floundering against the pace of Wahab Riaz in Dubai

At the end of another day in which England went toe-to-toe with Pakistan, Joe Root was shaping as the pivotal batsman in this match