Preview

England vs South Africa: Bazball has already claimed New Zealand and India. While New Zealand faced it when it was new, India were ready to take the challenge head on, only to be pushed aside by Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root. South Africa are also saying that they are up for the challenge as Dean Elgar feels his side is ready for any assault that comes up. Like India, South Africa rely on their bowlers alot with the likes of Rabada, Ngidi and Nortje expected to do a lot of work. Duanne Oliver is out for the tour and Rabada’s fitness is a slight concern. Keegan Peterson though, is back after missing the New Zealand tour and is going to be a massive boost to the batting line-up.

After a horrible season last year, England are off to a perfect start. Four Test wins in four games and they are getting back in their own style. While a WTC Finals spot is far away from them, this series will allow them to test their style of play against a pretty strong bowling attack.

England vs South Africa Head to Head

Played-153 | South Africa-34 | England-64 | Tie-55

Match Details

Match: England vs South Africa

Date: 17th August 2022

Time: 3:30 PM IST

Venue: Lords, London

Weather Report

The weather is fine at Lords with a few clouds and occasional showers during the England vs South Africa game.

Pitch Report

A green track is expected. There will be some swing through the innings and the Lords slope will give some uneven bounce as well. Batting second is a better option as the track is expected to get better as the match progresses.

England vs South Africa Predicted Playing XI

South Africa Playing XI

Dean Elgar, Aiden Markaram, Keegan Peteresen, Temba Bavuma, Rassie Van Der Dussen,Kyle Vereynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje

England Playing XI

Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Stuard Broad, Matthew Potts, James Anderson, Jake Leach

Key Players

Jonny Bairstow

When it comes to Bazball, Jonny Bairstow has been the best at it. He is in the middle of a dream Test summer after struggling to keep his place back in the beginning of 2021. His presence is as harmful as Joe Root’s and Ben Stokes as the three form a formidable middle-order. If South Africa are to do any damage in this Test they will need to get past him early.

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada is one of the best fast bowlers in the world. He came in 2017 as a young pacer and is now the attack leader. With a lot of experience behind him, he will be leading an attack which has a lot of bowlers playing Test Cricket in England for the first time. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah could not keep a litd on Bazball, and it will be interesting to see what strategies Rabada brings to counter England. He is a versatile bowler and his battle with England will be one to watch.

England vs South Africa Match Tips

England are in wonderful Test form. They finally have a settled eleven. South Africa though are in pretty good form as well. They have a team full of talented and capable cricketers, who are not very flashy, but do the job effectively. They have a strong bowling attack as well, with four potent pacers, who could make the difference as England blast away. Given Rabada is coming off injury and the others have not played Test Cricket in England, England come in with a slight advantage, that could look big if Bazball works well for them.

Match Prediction: England Will Win the Match