Highlight
- South Africa lead 1-0 in the three-match Test series
- England lost the first Test against South Africa by an innings and 12 runs
- The second test match will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester
World Test Championship 2023: When Dean Algary And his Proteas side came for the Lord’s Test match, no one knew what was going through their mind. With the concept of buzzball spreading like wildfire in various parts of the cricket fraternity, the Ben Stokes-led English side was seen as the absolute favorite for the series. By this time, the world was puzzled by the style of gameplay of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes and how they managed to change the fate of England in the red-ball format. Before the first Test match against South Africa at Lord’s, England had won 4 consecutive Test matches (3 against New Zealand and 1 against India). But as South Africa prepared for the Lord’s Test match, things were about to change for Ben Stokes and his team. Ahead of the second Test, England have named their playing XI which will take the field against South Africa on August 25, 2022 and includes an unexpected change.
To everyone’s surprise, Dean Elgar won the toss and made the bold decision to field first in the Lord’s Test match. England were expected to dominate and steamroll the visitors with an explosive batsman Jonny Bairstow Waiting in your ranks. South African Pace Battery which includes the likes of Kagiso Rabada, lungi ngidi, Marco Jensen and Enrique Nortje pulled England apart and they had no answer for the thunderbolt being thrown at them. South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took 5 wickets and scored only 52 runs in his quota of 19 overs at an economy of 2.73. On the other hand, fast bowler Enrique Nortje dismissed 3 English batsmen, making the situation worse for the hosts. To England’s fortune, Ollie Pope scored 73 off 102 to help England reach 165 points.
South Africa started their innings with a strong statement in response to England’s total. Captain Dean Elgar put on 85 runs for the first wicket with Searle Irvi. Elgar scored 47 runs in 81 balls and Irvi scored 73 runs in 146 balls. Marco Jansson scored 48 off 79 and a late attack from Enrique Nortje helped South Africa reach 326 as they took an impressive 161-run lead. When England went into action for the second innings, they were expected to put up a good performance, an uphill battle that never really happened.
Like what happened in the first innings, the England batsmen kept falling prey to the fast pace of South Africa. Showing little or no intention, the England batsmen seemed in a hurry to get back into the dressing room. Rabada took 2 wickets, Nortje took 3 English wickets and Keshav Maharaj Who did not bowl in the first innings, dismissed 2 English batsmen. Marco Jensen and Lungi Ngidi hunted in pairs and dismissed 3 English batsmen,
With England losing the first match by an innings and 12 runs, they have a job to do. The series is online as the Proteas ruthlessly halt their unquestioned victory parade. England will take on South Africa at Old Trafford, Manchester on August 25, 2022.
England’s Playing XI for the 2nd Test:
Jack Crowley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe RootJonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Fox (wk), Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson