Toss England chose to bat v South Africa
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03:38
‘The water was red with blood’
Joe Root gained his first slice of luck as England’s Test captain, winning the toss on a pristine morning at Lord’s and choosing to bat. The pitch, which had been cut first thing but retained a green tinge, may be fresh early on but appeared also to promise runs on what is expected to be a hot day in the capital.
Root, who has had to wait five months since being appointed Test captain for his first assignment, was keen to get into the game on what he hoped was a good surface. “I had a big say in this team and very excited to get going now,” he said.
South Africa chose to go with the extra batting of Theunis de Bruyn in their XI, with Chris Morris missing out. Dean Elgar, standing in for the absent Faf du Plessis for this match, was also keen to bat but accepted his fate with a wry smile. “If there’s any moisture in the pitch, it’s going to be in this session,” he said.
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. His predecessor, Alastair Cook, in such prolific form in county cricket already this season, will perhaps be a little lighter on his toes as he heads to the middle shortly.
England had already signalled the start to the Root era by confirming their XI the day before. Liam Dawson has been preferred to Toby Roland-Jones, meaning England play two spinners at Lord’s for the first time since 1993.
Root is also set to return to No. 4 in the batting order, having moved up last summer, with Gary Ballance coming in at first drop. Root used to share a flat with his Yorkshire team-mate but was told they should end the arrangement if they had “any aspirations of playing for England”. Root, in particular, has come a long way since then.
England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson
South Africa 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Heino Kuhn, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Temba Bavuma, 6 Theunis de Bruyn, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Morne Morkel
Alan Gardner is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo