Hashim Amla‚ Quinton de Kock put SA on top

Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock scored half-centuries to earn the edge for South Africa in the second test against England at Trent Bridge on Friday.

Amla was 65 not out with De Kock on 68 in a stand that had reached 113 at tea on the first day‚ when South Africa were 179/2 after Faf du Plessis chose to bat in conditions that favoured swing and seam bowlers.

Dean Elgar opened the innings with Heino Kuhn‚ and they were separated in the ninth over with only 18 runs scored.

James Anderson induced a slashed drive from Elgar and Liam Dawson‚ in the gully‚ dived to snare a fine catch.

Kuhn needed medical attention after being hit on the glove by Stuart Broad in the eighth over and again in the 12th after taking a bouncer from Mark Wood in the head.

He batted on until lunch with Amla‚ and with focused discipline despite a 20-minute interruption for rain.

In the fifth over after lunch Kuhn dragged a delivery from Stuart Broad onto his stumps to end his innings at 34.

At that‚ over the boundary stepped neither JP Duminy — who has been dropped — nor his expected replacement‚ Du Plessis‚ who missed the first test at Lord’s to attend the birth of his and his wife Imari’s first child.

Instead‚ De Kock‚ who batted at No. 7 or 8 in 20 of his previous 32 innings‚ strode out at No. 4.

He and Amla wrought the advantage from England with batting that was at turns innovative and sensible.

But the stand might have been ended at 73 when Alastair Cook at first slip dropped a low chance Amla offered off Ben Stokes on 56.

Duanne Olivier came in for Kagiso Rabada‚ who was banned for the match for disciplinary reasons‚ and a fourth seamer‚ Chris Morris‚ was picked at the expense of batsman Theunis de Bruyn.

England won the first test by 211 with a day to spare on Sunday.