England and South Africa player ratings from the Oval as Ben Stokes gets top marks but Faf du Plessis endures Test to forget

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  • Captain Joe Root and man of the match Ben Stokes.

    Moeen Ali finished the 100th Oval Test with a hat-trick as England surged to a 239-run victory over South Africa for a 2-1 series lead.

    The off-spinner therefore became the 13th England bowler to take a hat-trick, and the first from any country in this famous venue’s 137-year history.

    Here, we look at how each of the teams rated in south London.

    Do you agree with our ratings?

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    ENGLAND

    Alastair Cook – 8: Scored a typically stubborn 88 from 200 balls in the first innings and once again showed why he is the batsman England rely on more than ever, aside from Joe Root. Unlucky to be on the receiving end of excellent deliveries by Morne Morkel in both innings.

    Keaton Jennings – 5: The Durham man’s England future hangs by a thread. After a duck in the first innings, he managed 48 in the second – but showed his frailties again to deliveries outside off-stump and the short ball. Dropping Dean Elgar on day four at slip only added to his woes.

    Tom Westley – 7: The Essex batsman seemingly has answered England’s call at number three, drawings comparisons to Michael Vaughan, with two fluent, easy-on-the-eye knocks. He has a big chance to cement his Ashes berth at Old Trafford now.

    Joe Root (C) – 7: Got a start in the first innings and made 50 in the second, it wasn’t vintage Root but he’ll be a relieved captain. His gut bowling picks worked well in bringing on Toby Roland-Jones and Ben Stokes at the right time but declared a little late when England had a totemic lead.

    Dawid Malan – 5: One Test wonder for the Middlesex man? He’ll likely get one more go at Old Trafford but the 29-year-old failed to impress, scoring just 11 runs in two outings that accentuated his vulnerability to getting out lbw.

    Ben Stokes – 9: A sublime performance from England’s one man X-Factor machine. His first innings ton led the recovery and swung the game in the hosts’ favour, and he was equally devastating with the ball in South Africa’s second innings effort.

    Jonny Bairstow (wk) – 7: Kept well and contributed in both innings – with his quickfire 63 sucking the life out of a weary South African side. Seemed to be suffering with a slight injury so England will hope that’s nothing serious.

    Moeen Ali – 8: This would have read ‘quiet game’ but his last-gasp hat-trick with the ball to seal England’s win – making him the first bowler in the Oval’s 100-Test history to do so – reverses that on its head.

    Stuart Broad – 7: Not at his best but got through a decent amount of overs and backed-up the more productive Roland-Jones and Anderson well.

    Toby Roland-Jones – 9: An absolute glorious debut. Eight wickets in the match has all but secured his place in England’s Ashes squad.

    James Anderson – 7: Playing in his 125th Test, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker was happy to let Roland-Jones take the limelight and tie things up from the other end, which he did very effectively in the first innings.

    SOUTH AFRICA

    Dean Elgar – 9: The opener batted his heart out to keep the Proteas alive on the final day with a superb ton. Elgar showed grit and determination which was unfortunately in short supply elsewhere.

    Heino Kuhn – 5: The end for the veteran? Kuhn’s late arrival into Test cricket hasn’t gone to plan and he has looked all at sea throughout this series. His time is surely up at the top of the order.

    Hashim Amla – 5: For a man of his experience and pedigree, he was powerless to stop Roland-Jones working him over and taking his wicket twice in the match. Struggling to exert himself on the series.

    Quinton de Kock (wk) – 5: Another South African who offered little with the bat and seemed more than vulnerable to any pace or movement off the Oval pitch. Aside from that, stumped Westley nicely in the second innings.

    Faf du Plessis (c) – 6: What a difference a game makes. He won’t look back on this one fondly and will be ruing the way Stokes was able to take the game away from his side. Du Plessis’ focus on everyone else probably affected his batting too as he registered just one run from two innings.

    Temba Bavuma – 7: Again, played well and scored vital runs down the order. He always seems to be up for the fight and has grown in confidence as the series has developed.

    Vernon Philander – 7: The South African was impressive in the England first innings – taking 2-32 – but was taken to hospital on Friday with a mystery bug. We hope it’s not too serious but he was clearly not right when he got a first baller on Monday.

    Chris Morris – 6: The pace ace toiled away and is never short of energy or endeavour. Not as effective as he was at Trent Bridge but still a man who du Plessis isn’t afraid to throw the ball too.

    Keshav Maharaj – 6: The spinner has been decent during the series and was more or less used as a stop-gap at the Oval, helping the seamers to recover some gas and to try to tempt the batsmen into a shot or two.

    Kagiso Rabada – 7: Three wickets in the first innings, including that snorter of a ball to Malan, announced his comeback to the side but he struggled once again to find that all important consistency with the ball.

    Morne Morkel – 8: The pick of the Proteas bowlers, the 32-year-old claimed four wickets in the match and was unlucky not to have taken more. His bowling, which had great zip to it, certainly merited that.

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