Philander three leads the charge for SA

Lunch England 82 for 4 (Root 33*, Stokes 4*) v South Africa
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‘The water was red with blood’

England’s Test summer was launched amid nervous excitement and the clatter of early wickets at Lord’s, as South Africa immediately set about demonstrating why they are such indomitable tourists in this format. Vernon Philander, a veteran of South Africa’s 2012 series win in England, claimed three wickets in the morning session and it was left to the new captain, Joe Root, to begin his tenure leading from the front.

At lunch, Root had reached 33 not out, though he had already been given a couple of lives off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada, who pushed the speed gun above 90mph but went wicketless in the session. England’s new Test regime nevertheless began in much the same manner as the old one had finished, as they slipped to 49 for 3, with Philander removing both openers in his first spell and Morne Morkel ending Gary Ballance’s latest comeback innings.

Philander then switched to the Nursery End to trap Jonny Bairstow lbw – Bairstow chose not to turn to the DRS, which was England’s first good review of the morning – shortly before lunch. Ben Stokes struck his first delivery to the midwicket boundary but Root and his vice-captain went to lunch well aware of the nature of the challenge ahead.

The pitch, which had been cut first thing but retained a green tinge, demonstrated encouraging pace and carry from the start. Dean Elgar, South Africa’s stand-in captain, had suggested after losing the toss: “If there’s any moisture in the pitch, it’s going to be in this session.” That appeared a shrewd assessment and it could have been even better for South Africa had one of two fairly straightforward chances offered by Root been held.

It was 1983 the last time an English Test summer began as late as July but Lord’s was creaking into life as Root walked to the middle in his blazer to meet his obligations as England’s 80th Test captain. He has had to wait five months to get started in the job and was keen to have first use of a surface that was fresh early on but promised runs on what is expected to be a hot day in the capital. “I had a big say in this team and very excited to get going now,” he said.

It was not long before he had to re-tread his steps to the middle. His predecessor, Alastair Cook, took his place back in the ranks but could not carry his heavy scoring in county cricket so far this season into his first Test innings without having to contend with the burden of captaincy. The first ball of Philander’s second over was by no means his most probing, a touch short and wide, but it drew Cook into an uncharacteristic fiddle of the back foot that sent a thin edge to the keeper.

Philander had only been passed fit at the start of the week, having sat out the tour game in Worcester with an ankle injury sustained during his spell at Sussex. His record in five Division Two games was 16 wickets at 26.81 – solid rather than spectacular – but he did not take long to find his radar running in with the pavilion behind him, the Lord’s slope taking the ball away from England’s left-handed opening pair.

He claimed a five-wicket haul on his previous Test appearance on the ground, five years ago, and soon had his second this time around – though it owed more than a little to the (mis)judgment of both Keaton Jennings and umpire S Ravi. Philander rapped Jennings squarely on the pad, having straightened the ball off the seam, and Ravi raised his finger; Jennings then elected not to review after consulting with Ballance. Both decisions were proved to be erroneous, with Hawk-Eye suggesting the ball pitched fractionally outside leg and would have missed leg stump.

That brought the captain to the wicket. Root had gained his first slice of luck after winning the toss on a pristine morning, and so it continued. His second scoring shot was an uppercut over the slips, suggesting his attacking instincts will remain untempered, but an attempted hook off Rabada cleared fine leg, where the substitute fielder Aiden Markram was standing in from the rope and the ball bounced behind him for four, and then when a thick-edged drive at the same bowler burst through the hands of JP Duminy in the gully. Authorities as diverse as Napoleon and Richie Benaud have noted the importance of good leaders being lucky.

Among Root’s early decisions as captain, which included preferring Liam Dawson to Toby Roland-Jones, was his move back down to No. 4, with Ballance at first drop. Although Ballance struck a couple of attractive cover drives for four, South Africa’s judicious use of the short ball ensured he remained camped in the crease, which was to be his undoing when struck in from by a ball from Morkel that nipped into him. A burned review added to England’s sense of waste.

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Source: ESPN Crickinfo