Lord’s London pitch report 1st Test: England take on the South African challenge in the first of three-match Test series at the Lord’s.
Advertisement
After winning the three-match T20I series 2-1, South Africa, under skipper Dean Elgar will take on England in the three-match Test series starting today, at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
England, under Ben Stokes are yet again set to play the imminent series in their aggressive and now popular ‘Bazball’ approach, which has yet again become the topic of discussion, thereby igniting a mini off-the-field contest of sorts between skippers of both the sides on the eve of the first Test.
Meanwhile, Elgar is the only South African batter amongst the present squad members for the series, to have played a Test match at the Lord’s, with the team last playing at this venue back in the year 2017.
England, on the other hand, last played a Test here in June this year, when they defeated New Zealand by 5 wickets, as their former Test skipper Joe Root completed 10,000 runs in the format.
Lord’s London pitch report 1st Test
Today’s pitch at Lord’s, London will have a significant tinge of grass, which is likely to assist the seamers, especially with the new ball.
Despite hot weather conditions experienced by the city in the past few days, the first day and perhaps the rest of the match days as well, is likely to experience significant rainfall. Thus, the overcast conditions are likely to assist the bowlers throughout the match duration.
However, as was the case during the previous match at this venue, batters have enjoyed their time in the middle even during the fourth innings. The average first innings score at Lord’s is 311, and the teams batting first have won more matches comparatively.
Thus, all in all, the pitch is likely to be a balanced one, although with the pace bowlers likely to take the field with a slight advantage.
