Toby Roland-Jones upstages Ben Stokes to put England in control

It is not easy to steal the limelight from Ben Stokes, especially when he has just become the first Englishman to hit three consecutives sixes in a Test match since Wally Hammond on his way to a superb century. But Toby Roland-Jones managed it on Friday.

Roland-Jones took four wickets in the first 33 balls he bowled in Test cricket. He kept beaming a broad, semi-bewildered smile, especially after his dismissal of Hashim Amla, and his new team-mates did their best to engulf him, not an easy task since Roland-Jones is almost six and a half feet tall.

Within his first six overs he had propelled this match emphatically in England’s favour. It was an extraordinary start to his international career on a frenetic day of Test cricket, which left South Africa in desperate trouble at the close. In reply to England’s 353 they were 126 for eight. The topsy-turviness of this series remains. The two sides are taking turns to bully one another.

Of course Roland-Jones bowled well, full of length from a great height at around 83mph. But there was still an indefinable magic about the way the wickets kept tumbling to him under glowering south London skies. His unfamiliarity to the South Africans must have helped; so too the wide-eyed ambition of a novice at this level, who had already raised a few eyebrows by the ease with which he had hit a run-a-ball 25 earlier in the day. Somehow the force was with him and Joe Root sensibly let him run for eight consecutive overs in that first spell, albeit with an interruption for tea.

This can happen on Test debuts by Middlesex bowlers. A certain Mike Selvey dispatched Roy Fredericks, Viv Richards and Alvin Kallicharan in 20 balls in his first match for England at Old Trafford in 1976 (Roland-Jones took 24 deliveries to dispose of Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn and Amla, not quite such a distinguished triumvirate). Phil Edmonds contrived five for 28 against the Australians at Headingley in 1975 in his first outing in an England sweater.

On both those occasions England were unable to win the game – because of the ruthless brilliance of West Indies in 1976 and the combination of rain and the “Free George Davis” protests on the last day in Leeds in 1975. Here it would be astonishing if South Africa avoided defeat now Roland-Jones, an old debutant for a fast bowler at 29 and the first double-barrelled English cricketer to take a Test wicket since George Simpson-Hayward in 1910, has set his side on their way.

Once Roland-Jones had made the initial breakthroughs Jimmy Anderson was on hand to capitalise on his good work against a beleaguered South African side – Vernon Philander, their No7, was in hospital trying to sort out his increasingly troublesome stomach bug.

Roland-Jones’s wickets came in the approved manner. Elgar feathered an edge; Kuhn was lbw, surprised by in-drift after the previous delivery had swung a little towards the slip cordon. But the prize delivery was reserved for Amla, a triple centurion the last time he played a Test match here. The ball leapt from a length and Amla could not avoid giving a simple catch to Jonny Bairstow. Soon Quinton de Kock sliced a drive to gully and the South African innings was in tatters.

Even Faf du Plessis must have been flustered as he padded up to a straight delivery from Anderson; his subsequent review was the act of a desperate man. Shortly Chris Morris spooned a catch back down the pitch, gleefully received by Anderson. Then Stokes joined the fun by finding the edge of Keshav Maharaj’s bat. The game was accelerating fast in England’s direction, though they were stalled a little by a gutsy partnership of 53 between Temba Bavuma and Kasigo Rabada, which was eventually ended by Stuart Broad’s first intervention of the innings.

Stokess fifth Test century was one of his most mature innings since it changed pace according to the state of the game. He had been watchful alongside Alastair Cook on Thursday afternoon. He was more positive on Friday morning even after Cook was lbw to Morne Morkel. England’s opener is not exactly Morkel’s bunny but the big South African has now dismissed him more frequently (10 times) than anyone else.

Soon Stokes crashed three boundaries off a wayward Morris and Bairstow, back at seven, bristled especially when Maharaj was introduced. Maybe he recognised seam bowlers should enjoy these conditions – the sun seldom made an appearance – so the spinner had to go.

Bairstow was taken at second slip off Rabada soon after the unwrapping of the second new ball. Moeen Ali only flickered before he was caught behind off the inside edge and front pad but then Roland-Jones gave a hint that he was comfortable as a Test cricketer. He flicked leg-side boundaries with aplomb; one pull shot went for six even if it did not fly from the middle of his bat. Then he fell lbw to the first ball he received from a spinner. Thus he displayed the presence of mind to suggest an early weakness against slow-bowling, a reputation that all intelligent lower-order Test batsmen crave.

Broad soon departed with Stokes still nine short of his century. Thus the peculiar game within a game, one of cricket’s specialities, was in progress. Could Stokes reach his hundred before Anderson succumbed? Well, he took the simplest, shortest route. He hit Maharaj for those three sixes, the first of which was caught by Du Plessis, who then tumbled on to the boundary rope. The other two cleared that rope by about 20 yards.

Apart from that spectacular climax to his innings, which had every man, woman and child at The Oval on their feet, this had been a wonderfully pragmatic innings from Stokes. It was a reminder that he, like Bairstow, would warrant a place in this team as a specialist batsman. His technique is more solid and secure‚ especially against the quicker bowlers‚ than some of the other specialists. There is just one proviso that applies to both of them: they would have to deal with the different expectations and peculiar pressure that comes from the knowledge there is just one string to their bow.