ENG vs SA: 5 player battles to watch out for in Test series

4. Ben Stokes vs Anrich Nortje

As always, as it is in any format, the middle phase of the innings will be crucial for both teams. And the England skipper and one of the middle-order batters in the world, Ben Stokes could face South Africa’s tearaway pacer Anrich Nortje during the innings in the coming Test matches.

Nortje has picked up 18 wickets in four Test matches against the Three Lions, with an average of 27.111 and a five-wicket haul. He has never played in England yet, and it would be fascinating to watch someone like him, who is a hit-the-deck-hard kind of a bowler, bowl in the English conditions.

Stokes, on the hand, has one of the best records against the Proteas, scoring over 1,000 runs and averaging almost 47. In 2022, so far, he has scored 548 runs in nine matches at an average of 68.50 with a hundred and four fifties.