Alice Davidson-Richards replicates WG Grace by scoring a century and taking a wicket on Test debut

Centuries from Nat Sciver and Alice Davidson-Richards in a 207 run stand dragged England from a precarious position at 121 for five and placed them firmly in control at 328 for six, 44 runs in the lead at stumps on day two.

Sciver’s unbeaten 119, her first Test ton, was the perfect riposte to Marizanne Kapp’s 150 for South Africa on Monday. She struck 15 fours, driving on the up with aplomb and dismissing anything short as if she were operating a carnival ride with a height limit.

She was ably supported by the Test-rookie, Davidson-Richards, who paced her innings like a seasoned pro before clattering 17 boundaries en route to 107. She chipped the final ball of the day off Tumi Sekhukhune straight to backward point. No matter, she is the first English player since WG Grace to score a hundred and take a wicket on Test debut. “Bloody brilliant,” is how she described her achievement.

When Davidson-Richards joined her high school mate Sciver, Amy Jones had just been bowled past the outside edge by the slow left-armer Nonkululeko Mlamba. Eight balls earlier, Anneke Bosch claimed her third wicket when she had Sophia Dunkley caught at slip off a loose drive.

But the source of the chaos was the calamitous run-out of Heather Knight on the first ball after the lunch break. Sciver nudged Mlaba off the back foot towards midwicket and immediately set off. Knight responded but her fate was sealed. Not even a desperate dive could save her.

“I was feeling guilty,” Sciver said. “She has forgiven me, apparently. If I didn’t get to a hundred maybe she wouldn’t have.”

It was a moment that threatened to break the game apart. Openers Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont were untroubled up front in their partnership of 65 and were aided by South