Late wickets provide hope for Anderson

The England pace bowler, who claimed 1-42 from 20 overs, said the home side were relatively satisfied after the visitors closed day one on 262-5.

South Africa had been 254-3 before two late wickets with the second new ball put a flattering gloss on England’s display.

“We’re pretty pleased with the way things went to be honest,” said Anderson.

“We created chances all day. We could have got a few with the new ball in the morning and they played and missed a lot and a few catches went down.

“We’re pretty pleased with the way we fought and that late burst with the second new ball has swung it back.”

Five wickets in the day represented a poor return but was still an improvement on events at the Oval, where England managed only two wickets during the entirety of the first Test.

Anderson felt the Leeds surface proved to be significantly more helpful.

“There was a lot more encouragement in this pitch than there was at the Oval,” he said.

“We knew that if we stuck at our task and put the ball in the right areas that the wickets would come.

“I thought we bowled brilliantly after lunch and created a lot of pressure.

“That really set us up to have a good burst with the second new ball towards the end.”

South Africa batsman AB de Villiers, one of the two late wickets along with nightwatchman Dale Steyn, said batting was never a straightforward task.

De Villiers made 47 from 109 balls and insisted he had to battle for his runs.

“I didn’t find it easy at all for my knock,” he said.

“I had to fight really hard for my 40-odd.

“Overall, we played well and we’re not too unhappy about being five-down, but it could have been better.

“I would love to have been three-down at the end of the day but they just bowled too well towards the end, I think.”