HOVE: England’s middle-order batter Nat Sciver and the debutant Alice Davidson-Richard recovered the home side from the collapse with their centuries as they attained the 44-run lead over South Africa on the conclusion of the second day.

In the one-off Test between the two sides, the hosts started their first inning from 0/0 in response to South Africa’s 284 and were off to a brilliant start as their opening pair provided a solid foundation with a 65-run stand.

The duo of Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont displayed determination and dominated the touring bowlers till the 19th over before Anneke Bosch trapped the latter in her legs to draw first success for her side. Beaumont scored 28 off 61 balls with the help of four boundaries.

Following her departure, the home side began to lose wickets at a regular interval and soon slipped to 121-5 after Lunch.

England’s star pair of Sciver and Davidson-Richard then anchored the innings with both scoring centuries and bolstered their side to take a decent 44-run lead before the latter perished on the last delivery of the second day’s play.

The debutant scored 107 off 194 balls, laced with 17 boundaries, while Sciver remained unbeaten with her astounding 119 off 207 deliveries with the help of 15 boundaries.

For South Africa, Bosch led the way with three wickets, while Tumi Sekhukhune Nonkululeko Mlaba made one scalp each.

Sciver 119* and Sophi Ecclestone will now resume England’s first innings at 328/6 as they looked to gather a handsome lead over the opposition.

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