TRENT BRIDGE - South Africa won the toss and chose to bat under cloudy skies, with returning captain Faf du Plessis claiming the pitch might be slow on the first day, but that it would be a challenging first session.
South Africa made three changes to the side beaten by 211 runs in the first Test at Lord’s.
Du Plessis returned to the starting team after the birth of his first child, in place of the out of form JP Duminy, while Duanne Olivier, the leading wicket-taker in the Sunfoil Series last summer, came in for the suspended Kagiso Rabada.
The final change saw Chris Morris selected ahead of Theunis de Bruyn, meaning South Africa went away from the seven-four batting split which has served them well in the last five years.
The surface is well grassed surface, which according to head groundsman Steve Birks contains plenty of moisture owing to recent rain.England captain Joe Root said he would have bowled first had he won the toss and he was looking forward to how the leaders of his attack, Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who’ve both performed well here previously, will go.
Teams:
South Africa:
Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Chris Morris, Keshav Maharaj, Morne Morkel, Duanne Olivier
England:
Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Joe Root (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
Umpires:
Simon Fry (Aus), Paul Reiffel (Aus).
IOL Sport