Daijiworld Media Network

London, Jul 19 : Hello and Welcome to the live coverage of the first Test between England and South Africa. Get ready to witness a high voltage encounter between the top 2 sides in international cricket currently. The last couple of encounters between these two sides have been edge of the seat contests.

England have won the toss and elected to bat

The weather forecast predicted showers for the day. Luckily, the conditions are sunny for the moment. So, the toss and the start will happen on time.

If one looks at both the teams, there is nothing there to suggest which team has the better composition. Both teams have world class pace bowlers and the top order of both sides are loaded with star batsmen. Half of England's batting line-up is South African, so it is very difficult to distinguish indeed.

In a high voltage clash between the top two sides, there are battles galore between individual players. The battle last time in 2008 centered around Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis. Both fought tooth and nail, with Flintoff emerging victorious on many occasions.

The last team to defeat England in their home turf was South Africa. In the 2008 tour, they won the four match series 2-1 with Graeme Smith leading from the front. Today, the South African skipper is playing his 100th Test match.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Andrew Strauss(c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior(w), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

South Africa (Playing XI): Graeme Smith(c), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers(w), Jacques Rudolph, Jean-Paul Duminy, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir

Match Preview :

South Africa in England - a brief history:

Ever since South Africa's re-admission, they have toured England four times - twice drawing the series, winning once and losing once. South Africa's first tour to England since their re-entry was in 1994. The Kepler Wessels-led side managed to defeat Michael Artherton's men by 356 in the opening match at Lord's while the second match was a draw. Riding on a dream spell by Devon Malcom (9/57) in the second innings, England managed a comfortable 8 wicket win as the series ended in a draw. South Africa's next visit to England was in 1998 when Hansie Cronje's men faced Alec Stewart's team in a series of 5 Tests. South Africa ended up on the losing side with England managing a 2-1 finish. South Africa next toured England in 2003, led by a 22-year old Graeme Smith. The Proteas managed big wins at Lord's and Leeds, but England too won comfortably at Nottingham and The Oval and the series yielded a 2-2 finish.

South Africa's last visit in 2008, was a successful one for the visitors. It was a four Test series with the first one at Lord's ending in a draw. Fine centuries by AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince helped the tourists to a comfortable 10-wicket win in the 2nd Test. A combined team effort in the third match meant that South Africa were victorious by 5 wickets to win a series in England for the first time in 43 years. England did salvage some pride by winning the final Test by 6 wickets.

England: There is no doubting the fact that the hosts have in their possession a quality batting line up that has served them well over the past couple of years. However, the form of some of their batsmen in the recent months remains a concern. In the last twelve months, only Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell have averaged more than 50 while the likes of Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior, averaging in the mid to late thirties, have only a few good knocks to boast about. Alastair Cook has contributed his fair share at the top of the order and averages a healthy 44.21. But he too like most of the others, has not been as consistent as his team would have preferred. Looking into England's batting performances in Tests this year, what is seen is even poorer numbers with none of the batsmen averaging more than 40. While England's poor record in Asian conditions could be considered as a reason for the slump in the performance, some of the batsmen were made to work hard against West Indies, who toured England just a few months back. All Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower will be hoping is for the batting department to click as a unit and hold firm against the quality South African attack.

England's bowling department is certainly one of the best the country has ever had. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan can be lethal prospects in English conditions while Graeme Swann's crafty abilities as a spinner will also be an important weapon for England. In Steven Finn and Graham Onions, the hosts also have the ideal pace back-up. Strauss will be expecting nothing short of a 100% from his bowlers, and if they do that, the South African batsmen will face some hard times.