SA crush England, level series

Nottingham, South Africa took full advantage of an abject England batting display on Monday to complete a crushing 340-run win in the second Test at Trent Bridge which levelled the series 1-1 with two games remaining.
The defeat was Joe Root’s first as captain in his second game in charge, and England’s eighth loss in 13 matches. But it was the manner of their capitulation inside 45 overs and with a day and a half to spare that will trouble Root most. Instead of mounting the required rearguard action, England collapsed to 133 all out, with the last three wickets falling without the addition of a run.
The wickets were shared among four bowlers with Man of the Match Vernon Philander (3/24), Keshav Maharj (3/42) and Chris Morris (2/7) taking the honours. South Africa outplayed England in every aspect of the game, with the tourists’ first innings lasting one ball longer, at 96.2 overs, than England’s two combined. Hopes that England might chase down a world-record 474 runs for victory were dispelled by the second over when Philander removed Keaton Jennings’ off-stump, following up soon afterwards by having Gary Ballance for LBW.
With their departure, England looked to Root and former captain Alastair Cook for resistance but the excellent Morris claimed both batsmen before lunch, bowling Root (8) and bouncing out Cook (42) with a vicious lifter. The hosts fell away alarmingly after the interval when Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali surrendered their wickets to poor shots while Philander removed the dangerous Ben Stokes with the sharpest of return catches.
The final indignity came when Stuart Broad, Mark Wood and Jimmy Anderson all fell on 133.