England vs South Africa LIVE: Cricket score from first Test at Lord’s after Zak Crawley wicket

‘Stokes ODI retirement is England’s gain in test cricket’ – Buttler

England’s Test cricket revolution continues with the first of a three-match series against South Africa getting underway at Lord’s this morning.

It’s been a wild start to life under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes with a new fearless brand of cricket – labelled “Bazball” after their new coach – helping today’s hosts stop the rot after languishing during a run of just one victory in 17 Tests. Momentum seized, England secured memorable win after memorable win this summer and now face another tough test in the shape of the Proteas, who sit top of the World Test Championship table.

England go in with just one change from the side that stunned India last time out with wicketkeeper Ben Foakes returning after a bout of Covid in place of Sam Billings. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Matthew Potts make up the pace attack with Ollie Robinson, who hasn’t played for his country since the final match of the Ashes in January, kept waiting for a recall. In-form Yorkshire batter Harry Brook also misses out.

Follow the latest score and over-by-over updates from what should be a fascinating first Test below.

Show latest update 1660728102 England vs South Africa: Lord’s prepares for the first Test

Groundstaff prepare for the start of day one:

Lord’s readies for the visit of South Africa

(Ashley Western/Colorsport/Shutterstock)

Lawrence Ostlere17 August 2022 10:21

1660727878 England vs South Africa: Rain forecast this afternoon

It is dry right now at Lord’s and looks promising for some play this morning, although showers and thunderstorms are forecast later in the day.

Mark Butcher’s analysis of the pitch suggests there’s a little green on the wicket and the potential for some uneven bounce, but perhaps more important this morning is the cloud cover above and humidity in the air. It looks like good bowling conditions, and given Ben Stokes’ new philosophy at the helm, England are sure to take the ball in hand should they win the toss.

Dean Elgar will fancy challenging England’s ‘Bazball’ approach and will probably want to have a bat, so this coin toss could be academic.

Lawrence Ostlere17 August 2022 10:17

1660727471 Ben Stokes: England will not compromise their style

England’s new ultra-aggressive approach has filtered down, with the Lions playing in the same manner in thrashing South Africa in Canterbury last week.

Centuries by Harry Brook and Ben Duckett, plus Dan Lawrence’s run-a-ball 97, saw the Lions post 672 and win by an innings and 56 runs in the four-day match.

Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton impressed with the ball but England’s only change from the win over India is that fit-again Ben Foakes is back behind the stumps in place of Sam Billings.

But Stokes added: “We have a certain type of way of playing and everyone else needs to know that who is trying to push to get in this England team.

“There’s perhaps more excitement than normal (about playing for the Lions) because I think you’ve been able to really express yourself in the way that you feel like you’ve always wanted to, but not felt like you can because you’ll get a slap on the wrist for playing a stupid shot. Well you’re not going to get that in our team here.

“You see the likes of Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, those guys are seriously excelling at the moment with the way we want guys to play.”

While Brook in particular is knocking on the door, Stokes’ faith in opener Zak Crawley remains unwavering.

The Kent batter averages 17.75 in eight Test innings this summer but earned praise from his captain for his contribution of 46 in a century stand for the first wicket with Alex Lees that kick-started England’s excellent chase of 378 to beat India last month.

“Him and Leesy were the main reason why we won,” Stokes insisted.

“Hand on heart I can say that was the most pleasing thing to me over those four or five weeks, that opening partnership at Edgbaston. To see Zak go out and still play in such a selfless manner.

“When you look at it from my point of view, I think you can see why these guys are getting the backing from me. They’re buying into what we’re doing and it’s not about them, the bigger picture is about winning the game.”

Ben Stokes warming up at Lord’s this week

(Getty Images)

Lawrence Ostlere17 August 2022 10:11

1660727217 Ben Stokes: England will not compromise their style

There has been a lot of talk about England’s front-foot style in the build-up, but Ben Stokes has promised England will not change their new bold and aggressive approach to Test cricket no matter the challenge in front of them.

After four thrilling victories against New Zealand and India earlier this summer, South Africa are the next opponent trying to burst the hosts’ bubble.

Since red-ball captain Stokes and new head coach Brendon McCullum took over, England have produced exhilarating cricket where records have tumbled with 378 chased down at Edgbaston last month.

It has resulted in the playful term ‘Bazball’ being coined but outsiders like Steve Smith and Dean Elgar have cast doubt over the longevity of a philosophy which has transformed the way the longest format is viewed again in the UK.

Lord’s is the venue for Wednesday’s opening Test of a three-match series and Stokes is adamant even if his team bat first, having chased for their victories in 2022, it will not make a difference.

“No matter what conditions we have, we’ve got our way of playing and we’re going to stick to that. We’ll adapt to situations, but we’ll always go out with the same mindset that you’ve seen over the last four games,” he said.

“We’ve said if we have to chase down 400 in 60 overs on day five, we’ll try and do it, but it’s the same mindset with the ball. If we’ve got 40 overs to bowl a team out on day five, we’ll be doing everything that we can to do that and not just hope it happens.

“One of my desires as captain, away from the cricket and results, was how can we capture the imagination of the English followers again?

“I still firmly believe that if we had walked away on the wrong side of those games and not come away with a win, especially the Trent Bridge game if we hadn’t chased those (299) runs down, the people there and watching on TV would obviously have been disappointed with the result but they would have been excited with what they’d seen and would have wanted to come watch us.

“We would have got their support even if we hadn’t won, which is a very rare thing to do as a sporting team that you lose but you gain more fans and excitement out of the way you play, so honestly if we’d lost 4-0, I wouldn’t be sitting here changing the way I ask the lads to play.”

England captain Ben Stokes is gearing up for the first Test against South Africa (John Walton/PA).

(PA Wire)

Lawrence Ostlere17 August 2022 10:06

1660726828 South Africa ready to test England’s bold new era – just don’t mention Bazball

Ben Stokes may want to spread the gospel of “Bazball” and change what the world believes about Test cricket, but he will not find a disciple in South Africa captain Dean Elgar.

Elgar is a straight-laced, hard-nosed cricketer almost from another era, stern and stoic like a man who’s never been hugged, whose grafting method could not be more at odds with England’s showboating summer. Where Stokes sees a duty to entertain, Elgar sees only duty. England and South Africa meet on Wednesday at Lord’s for the first of a three-Test series, and if the pre-match discourse offers a glimpse of what’s to come, it’s going to be a confrontational, combustible affair.

“I’ve got absolutely no interest in the style they’ve played,” Elgar said this week of England’s transformation under new coach Brendon McCullum, before going on to discuss it in some detail. Elgar predicted England will be left with “egg on their faces” by their gung-ho approach and dared Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and co to take on South Africa’s formidable bowling attack.

South Africa ready to test England’s bold new era – just don’t mention Bazball

South Africa captain Dean Elgar has shown little time for England’s revolution under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes ahead of an intriguing first Test at Lord’s on Wednesday

Jack Rathborn17 August 2022 10:00

1660726228 England vs South Africa: Teams

England XI: Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes (wkt), Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, James Anderson.

South Africa XI (probable): Dean Elgar, Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje

Jack Rathborn17 August 2022 09:50

1660726010 England vs South Africa: Team news

England’s only change from the Test against India is the return of wicket-keeper Ben Foakes – who missed that clash after testing positive for Covid – in place of Sam Billings. That means under-fire opener Zak Crawley retains his spot atop the order despite the prolific form of Harry Brook, while Matthew Potts continues as the third seamer behind James Anderson and Stuart Broad after bursting on to the scene this summer, even though fit-again Ollie Robinson shone for the England Lions last week.

South Africa will name their team on Wednesday morning with their main concern surrounding seamer Kagiso Rabada, who underwent a fitness test on Tuesday and is due another check-up after straining the medial ligament in his right ankle. The Proteas seem confident he will be fit to play, however. They are also likely to select all 6ft 8in of all-rounder Marco Jansen, unless they opt for an extra out-and-out batter, in which case Ryan Rickelton or Khaya Zondo could get the nod.

Jack Rathborn17 August 2022 09:46

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