South Africa v England: Ben Stokes could repeat 200 - Bayliss
- From the section Cricket
England all-rounder Ben Stokes could play another innings like his record-breaking 258 against South Africa, says coach Trevor Bayliss.
The Durham man's innings in the drawn second Test in Cape Town took 198 balls, making it the fastest 250 in Test history, and contained 11 sixes.
"I probably won't play like this ever again," Stokes said afterwards.
But Bayliss said: "I'm not sure it was a one-off. It's quite possible he could do it again, he's that type of player."
Stokes' feat came seven months after the 24-year-old scored the fastest Test hundred at Lord's, off just 85 balls against New Zealand.
"He's in the prime of his career and we all look forward to watching more of that," Bayliss added.
The Australian defended Stokes after the all-rounder was seen to aim foul language at South Africa batsman Temba Bavuma, who made a century.
"He's a guy that plays the game with passion," said Bayliss. "As he gets older, he'll tone it down a little bit and he'll realise that some comments come back to bite you."
England lead their four-match series 1-0, having won the first Test in Durban.
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'Catching let us down badly'
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England dropped eight chances as South Africa amassed 627-7 declared in their first innings, in reply to the tourists' 629-6 declared.
Bayliss acknowledged those missed opportunities cost his side the chance to push for victory.
"If all the catches had been taken there would definitely have been a result," he said. "Our catching let us down badly.
"We could have been bowling for a win on the last day if we'd taken even half of our catches. That's something we'll have to continue to work on."
'Bairstow will get better'
Bayliss praised wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who made his maiden century in England's first innings.
"Jonny scored a lot of runs for Yorkshire last year and he's done quite well over the last few Test matches for us as well," he said.
"He could very easily play in this team just as a batsman and I think he'll just get better from now."