South Africa's front foot nightmare

South Africa almost had them. But almost doesn't count.

Told to field first, they took four wickets in the first session and should have been pleased with the hold they had over England. But only should have, because by the first interval, South Africa had already made almost half the mistakes that allowed England to take the first day honours.

Joe Root was on 5 when he was let off the first time. Aiden Markram, the youngster who will in all likelihood go home when Faf du Plessis rejoins the camp, was fielding at fine leg in Vernon Philander's place when Root top-edged a Kagiso Rabada short ball. Markram had taken a few paces in and could not back-track enough to make the catch reachable. He put in a valiant attempt and almost got there. But almost doesn't count.

Root was on 16 when he was let off the second time and South Africa day was almost entirely defined by that moment. Rabada went wide and Root threw his bat at it only to send the ball to JP Dumny in the gully. Duminy had to react quickly but it's nothing modern-day sportsmen don't do, especially those of his athleticism. Duminy almost got his hands up in time. But almost doesn't count.

Root was on 54 when South Africa almost found a way to get rid of Root for a third time. Rabada was back to the bouncer, Root went back to the pull and the ball ended up at slip. South Africa thought Root had hit it, umpire Paul Reiffel didn't so they reviewed and the replays not only revealed that the ball had come off the helmet but that Rabada may have overstepped. But the third umpire thought he'd only almost overstepped.

If only, South Africa must be thinking, some of those kinds of almosts could happen more often.

Like when Ben Stokes was on 44 and Morne Morkel delivered what could well have been his best ball of the day, that nipped back off the seam and sneaked through the gate to flick the bail off, except that it was not a legal delivery. There were no almosts about it. Morkel's front foot was far over the line to take his number of non-wickets, according to a thorough search of Cricday commentary, to an unlucky 13.

Among those lucky to escape was Andrew Strauss in August 2008 when he was caught at leg gully after a crafty field placing from then-captain Graeme Smith only to survive because Morkel had overstepped. Strauss was on 4 at the time and went on to score 58 in a successful England chase of 197. Morkel made the mistake again the next time South Africa played England in 2012, in what could have been a series-changing situation. Matt Prior was on 67 and leading England's quest for 346 to keep the Test mace when he miscued a scoop but could bat on. England were 283 for 8 at the time and Prior only added six more to his score so Morkel did not have too many nightmares about that one, though he has since added to his collection.

Perhaps Morkel's two most costly wickets off no-balls were Ed Cowan and Michael Clarke in the same Test in November 2012 . Cowan was on 47 when he gloved a catch to AB de Villiers and Michael Clarke was on 135 when he inside-edged to the keeper. Cowan went on to score 136 and Clarke 259. Had Morkel not overstepped, Australia's total of 565 could have been more than 200 fewer. In the end, the match was drawn so it may not have mattered anyway but in the five years since then, Morkel's problem is still not solved.

He bowled two of the 13 no-balls South Africa sent down in their tour match in Worcester last week when bowling coach Charl Langeveldt warned that unless they took a step back, they could cost themselves dearly in the Tests. He may not have had Keshav Maharaj in mind when he made that statement but even the spinner was guilty of the greatest of errors.

Root was on 149 when his day should have ended. He was lured down the pitch, was beaten by sharp turn and stumped off Maharaj, who had almost got South Africa back onto an even keel. But bizarrely for a spinner, his front foot was over the line too and England were almost in complete control.

Vernon Philander probably summed up the missed opportunities best. Reflecting on the first time South Africa could have dismissed Root, he said: "Had we taken him there, we might have bowled them out for under 200."

South Africa's missed opportunities were not just limited to those five incidents but also included strategic issues such as why Philander was not used a little more. H was the team's most successful seamer, despite the one with the most no-balls, but did not bowl as much as Rabada and until late in the day, had not even bowled as much as Morkel.

Philander came into this match having just recovered from an ankle injury so there may still be concerns about his fitness. Philander was passed fully fit by CSA's medical team and you would think they know playing someone who is almost fit is hardly ever a good idea so perhaps it was just a tactical oversight from a new captain. South Africa cannot afford any more of those and history suggests they almost certainly know that.

As a unit, South Africa are notoriously slow starters. After the first day at The Oval five years ago, England also held the advantage. They were 267 for 3, Alastair Cook had scored a hundred, was undefeated overnight and the bowling looked flat but South Africa surged back the following morning then batted themselves to position from which they could not and did not lose. On that occasion, South Africa actually had them. And actually is what counts.