England vs South Africa LIVE: Cricket score from first Test as superb Stuart Broad catch helps England dismiss Proteas

Stuart Broad took a remarkable catch on the third morning at Lord’s (AP)

England had lost every session of this Test match convincingly up to tea on day two and were meandering towards an enormous first innings deficit, when the unlikely duo of Ben Stokes and Jack Leach – where have we heard that before? – conjured a spell of fierce bounce and genuine spin to disrupt South Africa’s momentum.

The tourists still held a commanding 124-run lead after reaching stumps on 289-7, boosted by a late flurry of runs from bowlers Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen, having toppled their hosts earlier in the day for only 165 led by Kagiso Rabada’s five-wicket haul.

Yet as the sun began to dip behind the Main Stand, the home supporters would have left a humming Lord’s with some small cheer having watched their captain lead the kind of fightback that has become a familiar part of England’s weird and wonderful summer and they will look to build on that on day three.

Follow the latest score and over-by-over updates from the first Test below.

England vs South Africa

England finally dimiss South Africa for 326. A lead of 161

WICKET! Ngidi c Bairstow, b Broad 0 – South Africa 326 all out

WICKET! Jansen c Crawley, b Broad 48 – South Africa 318-9

WATCH: Stuart Broad takes phenomenal catch on the third morning

WICKET! Rabada c Broad, b Potts 3 – South Africa 289-8. Incredible catch by Broad

South Africa led by 124 runs at close of day two, reaching 289-7

England fought back in the evening session with Ben Stokes and Jack Leach shining

England were earlier dismissed for 165

England vs South Africa

12:07 , Luke Baker

161 runs is no small deficit for England to overcome. If ever they needed their openers to finally put together a big partnership, it’s now… Their second innings will be underway shortly.

WICKET! Ngidi c Bairstow, b Broad 0. South Africa 326 all out

12:00 , Luke Baker

And that’s that. England take the final wicket as Ngidi edges one to third slip where Jonny Bairstow fumbles the initial chance but grabs it before it hits the floor with his right hand.

Story continues

Hand to the mouth from Stuart Broad. Wouldn’t have wanted to be Bairstow if that one went down!

South Africa all out for 326.

South Africa 326-9 – Nortje 28, Ngidi 0; England 165

11:57 , Luke Baker

89th over: Nortje deciding not to hang about now. Back-to-back boundaries as he dabs one through the slip cordon for FOUR before crunching one down the ground past mid-off for another FOUR!

Gareth Southgate in the crowd

11:55 , Luke Baker

One England coach watching another national team today as England men’s football manager Gareth Southgate is at Lord’s. He’s a big fan of a wide range of sports, so not a huge surprise.

South Africa 318-9 – Nortje 20, Ngidi 0; England 165

11:53 , Luke Baker

88th over: Lungi Ngidi in at No 11 and with a test average of around four, he might not be at the crease for too long. An exaggerated leave, a duck out of the way and a block see him through.

WICKET! Jansen c Crawley, b Broad 48 – South Africa 318-9

11:49 , Luke Baker

88th over: And England finally get another WICKET! Broad pitches one up, just outside off and Jansen drives. It finds the edge and Zak Crawley safely pouches it at slip.

Jansen falls just short of his 50. Out for 48 off 79 balls

South Africa 318-8 – Jansen 48, Nortje 20; England 165

11:47 , Luke Baker

87th over: Ben Stokes continues but bowling to a more conventional field, so presumably pitching the bowl up. Lovely shot punched down the ground by Nortje and it races away for FOUR!

That’s a better use of the short ball, slightly unexpected as it rears up at Nortje and he’s forced up into the air, rocking back and manages to fend it down.

South Africa 314-8 – Jansen 48, Nortje 16; England 165

11:42 , Luke Baker

86th over: Spoke too soon. Short-ball field remains and Broad comes round the wicket. Nortje pulls a delivery into the off-side and they run three before Jansen pushes a single.

Ah, now a field change. Three slips, six men on the off-side and Broad coming over the wicket. One more single comes. The lead is now 149 – this is not going to plan for England.

South Africa 309-8 – Jansen 47, Nortje 12; England 165

11:38 , Luke Baker

85th over: This slightly bizarre strategy doesn’t seem to be working – England have got so many good swing bowlers sitting unutilised. But the short stuff continues from Stokes.

Three singles off the over it finally looks as if Stuart Broad will be entering the attack. Will he be bowling short? Surely full and swinging it?

South Africa 306-8 – Jansen 47, Nortje 10; England 165

11:33 , Luke Baker

84th over: There has to be an argument to start bowling a little more conventionally, i.e fuller, with the new ball doesn’t there? I know the bouncers worked last night but this feels like a slight waste of a fresh cherry and South Africa are dealing with it well.

Jansen nudges a single off Potts before Nortje flashes at one that is in the air for a long time but bounces short of a sprawling Zak Crawley and goes for FOUR! That’s also 300 UP for the Proteas and a couple more singles come before three off the final ball as Potts is forced to chase the ball almost all the way to the boundary off his own bowling. Huge gap in front of square on the off-side.

South Africa 296-8 – Jansen 45, Nortje 2; England 165

11:28 , Luke Baker

83rd over: Stokes is still bowling and he gives away the first bye of the innings, slipping to leg and Ben Foakes does well to get something on it to prevent the boundary. He really is a superb wicketkeeper (hence the no byes until now).

Jansen then prods one for a single and Nortje sways out of the way of a bouncer.

South Africa 294-8 – Jansen 44, Nortje 2; England 165

11:23 , Luke Baker

82nd over: Thought we might see Jimmy Anderson here but Potts continues for now and Nortje fends one off his hip for a single. Quite a defensive field for a new ball, although there are two slips at least – a show of respect to Jansen’s batting ability.

Potts beats the bat a couple of times but doesn’t find the Jansen’s edge.

South Africa 293-8 – Jansen 44, Nortje 1; England 165

11:19 , Luke Baker

81st over: Yep, new ball taken by England. Can they polish off these final couple of wickets? Jimmy Anderson appears to be warming up in the field but Ben Stokes continues from the Pavilion End for now.

Second-ball single from Jansen before more short stuff at Nortje. He jabs a bat at one that loops over the slip cordon and they take a run.

South Africa 291-8 – Jansen 43, Nortje 0; England 165

11:17 , Luke Baker

80th over: Matty Potts continues and concedes just one single to Jansen nudged through mid-on. The plan is clearly to bowl short to Nortje – a brave plan given that he’ll have the ball in his hand at some point soon and has serious pace – but he comfortably survives.

Looks like the new ball will be taken now.

WATCH: Stuart Broad’s remarkable catch

11:14 , Luke Baker

Here’s that unreal catch from Stuart Broad. Incredible athleticism from the veteran. Everyone thought the ball had gone over him to the boundary but a big paw pouches it.

South Africa 290-8 – Jansen 42, Nortje 0; England 165

11:11 , Luke Baker

79th over: Ben Stokes bowling from the other end. A Durham double in the attack for England. Jansen gets the first run of the morning with a flick to leg for a single before Nortje is treated to some short bowling. He avoids any damage though.

South Africa 289-8 – Jansen 41, Nortje 0; England 165

11:08 , Luke Baker

78th over: Wow. What a start to the morning for England. Exactly what they needed. The rest of the over passes with little of note as Anrich Nortje is the man in at No 10.

WICKET! Rabada c Broad, b Potts 3 – South Africa 289-8

11:04 , Luke Baker

WOW! What a start for England! A couple of bouncers from Potts that Rabada sways out of the way of before he pulls another short one and Stuart Broad takes a PHENOMENAL catch!

Leaps into the air like a salmon at wide mid-on, raises a hand and it sticks! Unbelievable grab. Wow!

England vs South Africa

11:00 , Luke Baker

Right, here we go. Matty Potts steaming in for the first over with Kagiso Rabada on strike

Play about to get underway

10:58 , Luke Baker

OK, the players are just heading out, so we’ll be getting underway shortly. As a reminder, South Africa ended day two on 289-7 – 124 runs ahead of England.

Marco Jansen (41 not out) and Kagiso Rabada (3 not out) are at the crease. Jansen put on a very entertaining partnership of 72 with Keshav Maharaj before Ben Stokes bounced out the latter and he showed he knows how to swing a bat.

Forecast set fair

10:56 , Luke Baker

Some good news on the weather front at Lord’s. It’s currently dry and the forecast suggests there’s no rain due today – the wet weather of day one feels increasingly like a distant memory.

There is plenty of cloud cover, which should help England’s swing bowlers, although they’ll be eager to be batting themselves as soon as possible, so that could prove to be a double-edged sword…

Jack Leach promises England will stick at it and fight back

10:51 , Luke Baker

England certainly won’t be giving up the ghost in this game, according to spinner Jack Leach.

“We are behind in the game, but we’ve stuck at it really well,” Leach told Sky Sports at the end of day two. “We are always trying to take wickets, that’s our mindset. We could have had a few more, but we just have to keep at it.

“I felt like we were creating half-chances and we have to believe we can take them. It’s the way it goes, we are just thinking about how to impact the game in front of us and not about the scoreboard.”

Leach bowled superbly in the evening session and while he deservedly took the wicket of Aiden Markram, could easily have had a couple more.

“I felt like I had nothing to lose and could just go for it, spin the ball hard and see what is in the surface,” he added.

“I feel that belief in me now. I have confidence having played enough Test cricket. You get that confidence through performances.

“When I get into a rhythm, I feel I have more control and energy. It’s about not rushing things. If you feel excitement and nerves you can rush through your run-up.”

(Getty Images)

Sarel Erwee say South Africa remain confident

10:45 , Luke Baker

South Africa opener Sarel Erwee top-scored for the Proteas on day two with 73 and then witnessed an entertaining 72-run stand for the seventh wicket between Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj that shifted the momentum back to the visitors after England’s post-tea burst.

Earlier in the day, Kagiso Rabada got himself on the Lord’s honours board with a five-fer that helped dismiss the hosts for 165 and Erwee is confident his team are still in control.

Erwee said: “We have got a bit of momentum with that partnership at the back end and with one of our bowlers getting a five-fer. If we rock up again with the same energy, I am sure we will stay ahead of the game.”

Stuart Broad backs Jimmy Anderson to keep going “for as long as he wants”

10:37 , Luke Baker

On day two, Broad himself got Kyle Verreynne to edge behind for his 100th Test wicket at Lord’s while Jack Leach, Matthew Potts and James Anderson all claimed scalps.

The latter celebrated his first Test wicket since turning 40 earlier this month and his partner in crime backed him to keep going.

Broad said: “It’s really special to see. I look at Jimmy and he’s not really changed physically since he was 35.

“As long as he keeps that competitive spirit and enjoyment, he can go for as long as he wants.”

(Action Images via Reuters)

Stuart Broad impressed by skipper Ben Stokes

10:30 , Luke Baker

Ben Stokes battled through left knee pain to bring England back into the first Test towards the end of day two and Stuart Broad – who took his 100th wicket at Lord’s during the day’s play – was impressed by his skipper.

Broad said: “He’s doing OK. I think his knee just jars a little bit on the odd occasion but he seems to be coping and he’s pretty tough when it comes to that sort of thing.

“He carries an inspirational style about what he does. He’s all action isn’t he? He actually wanted to bowl from the Nursery End, he’s not a big lover of the Pavilion End because it drags him too close to the stump.

“We had to persuade him a little bit but once he settled and got moving, we needed a couple of breakthroughs and the bouncer to get rid of the opener was a cracker. You can’t play that.

“I thought that got us moving, that was a really big wicket. It gave us a bit of energy, got the crowd going and that’s what those players do.

(Getty Images)

Stuart Broad feels England have fought their way back into the first Test

10:26 , Luke Baker

Stuart Broad insists England remain positive but conceded they need “a couple of great days” in the first Test against South Africa to continue their winning streak in red-ball cricket.

Ben Stokes inspired a much-needed fightback in the evening session on day two at Lord’s after Sarel Erwee’s 73 had threatened to take the match away from the hosts.

South Africa had reached 187-3 – replying to England’s 165 – only for Stokes to drag his team back into the mix with two wickets in seven balls and a third late on.

The Proteas ended the day 289-7 and hold a 124-run lead, but Broad feels it is still all to play for.

“Anything above 150 on day four and five, you’ve got a chance if you bowl great and create pressure,” Broad said. “We feel like tomorrow is a must-win day and we can come back and attack it.

“We’ve got a genuine feeling like we’re still in this game. I know South Africa are 120-odd ahead, but there’s no doubt it was pretty good batting conditions, particularly when the ball got softer, so that’s something we’ll want to take forward.”

Stuart Broad feels England have fought their way back into the first Test

Ben Stokes leads England fightback after South Africa take control of first Test

10:24 , Luke Baker

England had lost every session of this Test match convincingly up to tea on day two and were meandering towards an enormous first innings deficit, when the unlikely duo of Ben Stokes and Jack Leach – where have we heard that before? – conjured a spell of fierce bounce and genuine spin to disrupt South Africa’s momentum.

The tourists still hold a commanding 124-run lead after reaching stumps on 289-7, boosted by a late flurry of runs from bowlers Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen, having toppled their hosts earlier in the day for only 165 led by Kagiso Rabada’s five-wicket haul. Yet as the sun began to dip behind the Main Stand, the home supporters would have left a humming Lord’s with some small cheer having watched their captain lead the kind of fightback that has become a familiar part of England’s weird and wonderful summer.

Lawrence Ostlere with the report from Lord’s:

Ben Stokes leads England fightback after South Africa take control of first Test