South Africa elect to bat against England in third Test at Lord’s

By CricketCountry Staff

 

South Africa captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat against England in their third and final Test at the Lord's on Thursday.

By CricketCountry Staff

 

London: Aug 16, 2012

 

South Africa captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat against England in their third and final Test at the Lord’s on Thursday. 

 

South Africa retained their playing XI from the third Test, which is the same side that took the field in the opening Test at Kennington Oval.

 

South Africa will be eyeing an outright win over the troubled English side, following the controversies surrounding star batsman Kevin Pietersen.

 

England recalled spinner Graeme Swann for the final Test, and pacer Steven Finn replaced Tim Bresnan.

 

England’s dramatic decision to drop Kevin Pietersen from the third Test at Lord’s starting Thursday, allegedly over text messages he sent to South African players during the drawn second Test at Headingley, has inevitably put the focus on their absent star batsman. 

 

The South Africa-born shotmaker averages nearly 50 in Tests and made a superb 149 at Headingley, where he drove South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn back over his head for six.

 

Teams:

 

England: Andrew Strauss (c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, James Taylor, Matt Prior (wk), Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson.

 

South Africa: Graeme Smith (c), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers (wk), Jacques Rudolph, JP Duminy, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir.

 

Catch live score and ball-by-ball commentary of the third Test match between England and South Africa at the Lord’s, here

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