England v South Africa, 1st Test, Preview: Focus on Root as England begin life post Cook’s era

England will be playing their first Test match since December 2016. In the seven months, the leadership of the Test side has been given to Joe Root after Alistair Cook decided to relinquish from the duties after 5 years at the helm. Cook will look to make as many runs as possible besides helping Root in getting settled in the new role.

South Africa too will have a new captain in Dean Elgar, which is just a stop-gap arrangement until Faf du Plessis joins the team ahead of the second Test. Elgar recently cemented his position in the Test side and now faces the challenge of leading his country in England. He will seek support from senior batsman Hashim Amla, who was the captain for a short while. The Proteas will seek inspiration from their 2-0 series win in England five years ago though they had a much superior team back then.

England has an exciting set of young players blended with some experienced ones like Root and Cook. In the bowling department, the partnership of Anderson and Broad, which has tormented visiting batsmen for years, will be the key. Ben Stokes’ has evolved a lot since he played his last Test and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to Test cricket after playing with the white ball for almost 7 months. All in all, England look a confident side which will keep getting better and better as the season progresses.

Toss: England won the toss and opted to bat

Playing XI

England: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson

South Africa: Heino Kuhn, Dean Elgar(c), Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock(w), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel

Focus will be on

Hashim Amla

The 34-year old started the Test series with a triple hundred the last time he was in England to play Test cricket. After a quiet season in Test matches in 2015, Amla is back to his best. The right-hander has all the attributes for succeeding in the seaming conditions of England. Batting at No. 3, Amla will be responsible for negotiating whatever early swing is on offer to the bowlers and then building an innings. His record in England is exceptional – 757 runs in 7 Tests at 75.70 with 3 centuries. Amla will face stern challenges from Anderson and Broad and if he sees them off, he is likely to amass big runs as the rest of the attack is pretty much average.

Joe Root

Root is the best batsman amongst the current crop of England cricketers. He usually bats at No. 3 but might be pushed to bat at 4 in this series following the selection of Garry Balance. The 25-year old will be in focus as this will be his first Test as captain. He has to lead well and perform well with the bat. Root’s technique will be tested against the likes of Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada, both different types of bowlers but equally threatening in English conditions. The right hander’s record in England is impeccable, 2601 runs averaging almost 60. He will relish the challenge of leading his side and making runs against a formidable bowling attack in front of the home crowd.

Team Combinations

South Africa

Stand-in skipper Elgar will open the innings alongside Heino Kuhn, who is likely to make his Test debut after impressing everyone with a solid 80 in the warm-up game. Amla and Duminy will have to take extra responsibility at No. 3 and 4 in the absence of du Plessis. Temba Bavuma will bat at No. 5 with de Kock following at 6. Theunis de Bruyn might be given a chance to strengthen the batting though South Africa will be tempted to play Chris Morris at 7, which will give them a four-man pace attack. Philander will lead the attack alongside Kagiso Rabada. Morne Morkel will be the third seamer and Keshav Maharaj, after an impressive show in New Zealand, will be the lone spinner in the XI.

England   

After Hameed faced the axe, Jennings is set to open the innings with former captain Alistair Cook. Balance and Root will take the No. 3 and 4 positions respectively. Ben Stokes will be the fourth medium pacer and will bat at No. 6. Moeen Ali, England’s leading spinner in Tests will bat at 7 besides bowling his off-spinners. Jonny Bairstow, who had a stupendous run in Test cricket last year, will bat at 5. Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson is set to play his second Test match after scoring a useful 66* in India at No. 8. Mark Wood, James Anderson and Stuart Broad will form an intimidating three-man pace attack.

Stat Attack

2008- was the last time England won a Test against South Africa at home. In the last series in 2012, South Africa won the series 2-0.

4- wickets required by James Anderson to complete 300 Test wickets playing at home. He will be the first Englishmen to achieve this record.

2- wickets required by Moeen Ali to complete 100 Test wickets. He will be 46th cricketer from England to achieve the landmark.

48- runs required by Hashim Amla to complete 8,000 Test runs.