<div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 11:13:56 pm</span><div><p><span>Brad Haddin had dropped Joe Root on a duck, off the second ball he faced, in the first match of the Ashes 2015. All this when England were staring down the barrel at 43 for 3. Root then scored a magnificent 137, and England won the Test by 169 runs. Fast forward to July 2017. Duminy dropped Root on 16, and he remained unbeaten on 184*, leading England to </span><a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/series/south-africa-in-england-2017-200407/live-scores/england-vs-south-africa-live-cricket-score-1st-test-match-181614-summary.html" target="_blank">357 for 5 on Day 1 of the Lord's Test</a><span>. All this in his maiden Test as England captain and that at an iconic venue such as Lord's. Yes, the winsome Root could not have chosen a bigger occasion. </span> Here's the full report: <b><a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/england-vs-south-africa-1st-test-at-lords-joe-roots-magnificent-184-leads-hosts-to-357-for-5-on-day-1-622530">Root's magnificent 184* leads hosts to 357 for 5 on Day 1</a></b></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 11:13:13 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/883015539349704707</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 10:31:25 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/883003405911810048</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 09:06:55 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882985447235887104</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 08:37:36 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333">In the first session JP Duminy had dropped Joe Root when he was on 16. In the second session Morne Morkel cleaned up Ben Stokes when he was on 44 but off a no-ball. Both batsmen eventually made full use of the respites and notched up fifties to take England to comfortable position at 182 for 4 before tea. To put things into perspective, this session of the Lord's Test was strikingly different to one we witnessed in the morning. South Africa had sniped up as many as four English wickets, trapping three batters in front and one caught-behind. However, the thin film of grass dried up as the day progressed, helping Root and Stokes score runs with ease.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">Here is a detailed tea report: <b><a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/england-vs-south-africa-1st-test-at-lords-joe-root-ben-stokes-score-fifties-to-resurrect-hosts-innings-at-tea-622478">Root, Stokes score fifties to resurrect England innings</a></b></font></div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 08:07:37 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882968438121144327</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 07:15:03 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882956349260410882</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 07:03:53 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/HomeOfCricket/status/882911427455070208</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 07:03:32 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/SGanguly99/status/882951273225621505</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 05:50:17 pm</span><div><p>South Africa kept England on a tight leash in the first session of the Lord s Test. A tally of seam movement, ball nipping back sharply, and England s misjudgement of DRS put them in murky waters. Joe Root, however, did not bog down despite South African pacers breathing down his neck. Compiled with five delightful boundaries and a dropped catch, England s winsome captain remained unbeaten on 32. On Day 1, England stutter before lunch at 82 for 4. Here's the detailed lunch report: <b><a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/england-vs-south-africa-1st-test-at-lords-vernon-philanders-3-for-rocks-hosts-before-lunch-622404">Vernon Philander's 3-for rocks hosts before lunch</a></b></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:36:32 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 14/1; Jennings 8</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333"><i>Philander pans Cook back to pavilion</i>: Three slips and gully. Philander bowlers it back of length and nips it away from Cook. On another day, Cook would have left it alone. However, he tentatively flashes at it. Where was he going to put that anyway? Unnecessary stroke.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Cook c de Kock b Philander 3 (13)</b></font> <font color="#333333"><b> </b></font><font color="#333333"><b>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882906555598856192 </b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:30:34 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 48/2; Ballance 20, Root 13</b> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">Pitched up outside off and Ballance nicely leans forward to paint a cover-drive. He looks off-balanced when pitched in the length area, but when anything bowled full or short, he dispatches it to the boundary line. England need more of these.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">Meanwhile, James Taylor and Kevin Pietersen enjoy the show sitting in the stands. https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882915388949843968 </font></div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:11:34 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 17/2; Ballance 3</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">The commentators thought Jennings would take a review. He has a chat with Ballance. Both decide not to. S Ravi had no doubt. He raised his finger right away. What does the replay show? It pitches partially outside leg: not out. It misses leg-stump: not out. England squander under pressure. Philander gets his second scalp.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">In comes captain Root.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Jennings lbw b Philander 8 (12)</b></font> https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882910059604262913<font color="#333333"><b> </b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:11:28 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 17/2; Ballance 3</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">The commentators thought Jennings would take a review. He has a chat with Ballance. Both decide not to. S Ravi had no doubt. He raised his finger right away. What does the replay show? It pitches partially outside leg: not out. It misses leg-stump: not out. England squander under pressure. Philander gets his second scalp.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">In comes captain Root.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Jennings lbw b Philander 8 (12)</b></font> https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882910059604262913<font color="#333333"><b> </b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:11:20 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 17/2; Ballance 3</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">The commentators thought Jennings would take a review. He has a chat with Ballance. Both decide not to. S Ravi had no doubt. He raised his finger right away. What does the replay show? It pitches partially outside leg: not out. It misses leg-stump: not out. England squander under pressure. Philander gets his second scalp.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">In comes captain Root.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Jennings lbw b Philander 8 (12)</b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:11:10 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 17/2; Ballance 3</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">The commentators thought Jennings would take a review. He has a chat with Ballance. Both decide not to. S Ravi had no doubt. He raised his finger right away. What does the replay show? It pitches partially outside leg: not out. It misses leg-stump: not out. England squander under pressure. Philander gets his second scalp.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">In comes captain Root.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Jennings lbw b Philander 8 (12)</b></font> <span>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882910059604262913</span><font color="#333333"><b> </b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:11:03 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 17/2; Ballance 3</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">The commentators thought Jennings would take a review. He has a chat with Ballance. Both decide not to. S Ravi had no doubt. He raised his finger right away. What does the replay show? It pitches partially outside leg: not out. It misses leg-stump: not out. England squander under pressure. Philander gets his second scalp.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">In comes captain Root.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Jennings lbw b Philander 8 (12)</b></font> <font color="#333333"><b>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882910059604262913 </b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:09:42 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 14/1; Jennings 8</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333"><i>Philander pans Cook back to pavilion</i>: Three slips and gully. Philander bowlers it back of length and nips it away from Cook. On another day, Cook would have left it alone. However, he tentatively flashes at it. Where was he going to put that anyway? Unnecessary stroke. The track will only get better as the ball edges.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Cook c de Kock b Philander 3 (13) https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882906555598856192 </b></font></div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:08:57 pm</span><div><p></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:08:51 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 17/2; Ballance 3</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">The commentators thought Jennings would take a review. He has a chat with Ballance. Both decide not to. S Ravi had no doubt. He raised his finger right away. What does the replay show? It pitches partially outside leg: not out. It misses leg-stump: not out. England squander under pressure. Philander gets his second scalp.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">In comes captain Root.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Jennings lbw b Philander 8 (12)</b></font> <font color="#333333"><b> </b></font><font color="#333333"><b>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882910059604262913 </b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:55:05 pm</span><div><p><b>Gary Ballance's best scores in his last 10 County innings</b>: 152*, 98*, 69*, 74, 71</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:12:09 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 14/1; Jennings 8</b></font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333"><i>Philander pans Cook back to pavilion</i>: Three slips and gully. Philander bowlers it back of length and nips it away from Cook. On another day, Cook would have left it alone. However, he tentatively flashes at it. Where was he going to put that anyway? Unnecessary stroke.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div> <font color="#333333"><b>OUT! Cook c de Kock b Philander 3 (13)</b></font> <font color="#333333"><b> </b></font><font color="#333333"><b>https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/882906555598856192 </b></font> </div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:39:23 pm</span><div><p><div><font color="#333333"><b>England 5/0; Cook 3, Jennings 0</b> Back of length, and Cook nicely comes behind the line of the ball and pushes it into the ground.</font></div> <div><font color="#333333"> </font></div> <div><font color="#333333">Morkel from one end: he bangs it in. Philander from the other: he floats the ball in the air, swinging it on Cook's pads. There is Jennings as well, but all eyes on Cook. The last time we saw him in a Test was in December 2016, against India.</font></div></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:31:20 pm</span><div><p>Seam movement. Bounce. Carry. Ball beats the outside edge. Welcome back, Test cricket. We dearly missed you.</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:21:45 pm</span><div><p>33-year-old <a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/players/heino-kuhn/">Heino Kuhn makes Test debut</a> for South Africa, and what better venue than the iconic Lord's. However, he will have to wait to showcase his batsmanship. The skies are clear and the wicket looks like a featherbed for the batters. England will make merry of the conditions.</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:20:55 pm</span><div><p>33-year-old <a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/players/heino-kuhn/" rel="nofollow">Heino Kuhn makes Test debut</a> for South Africa, and what better venue than the iconic Lord's. However, he will have to wait to showcase his batsmanship. The skies are clear and the wicket looks like a featherbed for the batters. England will make merry of the conditions.</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:17:02 pm</span><div><p><u>Full report</u>: <b><a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/sachin-tendulkars-son-arjun-nearly-injures-jonny-bairstow-in-nets-ahead-of-eng-vs-sa-1st-test-622375">Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun nearly injures England batsman in nets ahead of the first Test</a></b></p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:06:33 pm</span><div><p><b>TOSS</b>: Joe Root wins toss in his first match as captain. England elect to bat first.</p></div></div><div><span>Thu, 06 Jul 2017 03:02:49 pm</span><div><p>https://twitter.com/bbctms/status/882894725379915776</p></div></div>[caption id="attachment_622373" align="aligncenter" width="628"]<a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/england.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-622373" alt="The first England-South Africa Test starts at Lord's on Thursday Getty Images" src="http://www.cricketcountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/england.jpg" width="628" height="355" /></a> The first England-South Africa Test starts at Lord's on Thursday Getty Images[/caption] <p></p> <p></p><i>Good afternoon! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry s live blog session of Day 1 of the <a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/series/south-africa-in-england-2017-200407/live-scores/england-vs-south-africa-1st-test-match-181614-summary.html" target="_blank">first Test </a>of the four-Test series between hosts England and visitors South Africa at the Lord s on Thursday. I am Kaustubh Mayekar, and I will be bringing to you the live updates from today s action. The match will mark beginning of a new era in English cricket, as <a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/players/joe-root" target="_blank">Joe Root</a> takes command of the side for the very first time. Announced as the English Test captain after Alastair Cook relinquished the leadership, Root will be tested at home against a strong South African side. Interestingly, in his first match as England captain, his opposite number too will be making his captaincy debut. </i> <p></p> <p></p><a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/players/dean-elgar" target="_blank">Dean Elgar</a> will be marshalling the troupes for the tourists. However, unlike England, South Africa have been forced to have a new leader, as the regular captain Faf du Plessis has stayed back in his hometown after the birth of his child. While Root is all set to be England s 80th Test skipper, Dean Elgar will be the 36th cricketer to captain South Africa in Test cricket. <p></p> <p></p>South Africa would be itching to get back to the winning ways, after losing the One-Day Internationals (ODIs), Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) as well a failed Champions Trophy campaign. They would be hoping that the change in format also results in change of fortunes for them. Influx of fresh faces in the form of Test specialists in the side will give them some confidence going into the first Test. They are likely to hand Heino Kuhn Test debut. The 33-year-old has been having a honeymoon in England, with his scores in First-Class games over the past month in England reading 200*, 10, 105, 5 and 80*. <p></p> <p></p>For England, the pace duo of <a href="http://www.cricketcountry.com/players/james-anderson" target="_blank">James Anderson</a> as well as Stuart Broad will return. Also playing this Test would be the spin duo of Moeen Ali and Liam Dawson, while Keaton Jennings will open the innings as Haseeb Hameed missed the cut. <p></p> <p></p>Likely XIs for the first Test: <p></p> <p></p><b>England (confirmed):</b> Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (c), Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Mark Wood. <p></p> <p></p><b>South Africa (probable):</b> Dean Elgar (c), Heino Kuhn, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Theunis de Bruyn, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel.
