england performed well with the bat in the second test against south africa, as they made 629–6. ben stokes and jonny bairstow batted superbly together, putting on 399 in a partnership, as bairstow made 150 and stokes 258. england passed 300 five times in the series in their seven innings. england scored 399 in the first odi, with jos buttler scoring a century. joe root scored back to back tons in the third and fourth games of the series, and alex hales's constancy was also a positive for england. england were less impressive with the bat in their t20is, with both targets being chased down by south africa.