South Africa vs England 2019-20: Proteas furious about Jofra Archer escaping bowling ban

South African players were absolutely fuming after England fast bowler Jofra Archer bowled two back-to-back beamers and was still not stopped from bowling any further in the first Test.

Archer bowled two consecutive beamers to nightwatchman Anrich Nortje and both were called no-ball by umpire Paul Reiffel, but the second no-ball call was later overturned, much to the surprise of the South African players.

The second no-ball was overturned after the England players protested that it was rather a failed attempt to bowl a slower ball and that Nortje made it look worse. This meant that England were saved from losing their main weapon for the entirety of the second innings.

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Vernon Philander, however, was very vocal about the displeasure the South African team felt after the umpire reversed his decision. He said after the end of day's play,

“I suppose if you’re at square leg and you call no-ball you’ve got to stand your ground. At no time did they actually cancel it.”

Philander believes that whatever happened was not in the spirit of the game and he felt that the umpires having made their decision should have stuck to it. He asserted,

“I don’t know what happened but there was a little bit of a conversation going on after the game. For me it’s plain and simple, we’re playing a game and we’re setting an example for the rest of the people coming into this game.”

South Africa ended the day on 72-4, but more importantly, they have a lead of 175 runs after England went through a stunning batting collapse, losing their last seven wickets for just 39 runs. The first session on the third day will be very crucial in determining in which direction the match is heading towards.