First LV Insurance Test, Lord's (day three of five) |
England 165 & 149: Lees 35, Broad 35; Nortje 3-47 |
South Africa 326: Erwee 73, Jansen 48, Elgar 47; Stokes 3-71, Broad 3-71 |
South Africa won by an innings and 12 runs |
Scorecard |
The first Test between England and South Africa was lost in three days at Lord's.
The first defeat of the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era was suffered by the home side when they collapsed to 149 all out.
It wasn't a loss caused by the swashbuckling approach that brought four wins at the beginning of the summer, but a timid surrender to the great bowling of the South Africans.
Anrich Nortje was sensational, bowling at rapid pace and taking three no runs in ten balls.
The collapse was started by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who took 2 for 2.
Even though England took the last three South African wickets for 39, they continued to use short-ball tactics.
England should have used the best batting conditions of the match to try and drag the contest into the weekend.
They are one behind in the three- match series, with the second Test starting on Thursday.
The way in which England have played Test cricket this summer has captured the imagination of the public.
England reverting to some of the bad habits that saw them earn only one win in 17 Tests was the reason why they lost this match.
They can argue that they were on the wrong end of a crucial toss and that it was ideal for bowling.
The manner in which they conceded the momentum by bowling too short on the second evening, followed by the same failed tactics on Friday morning, had all the hallmarks of an old England performance.
They will respond to this loss in a fascinating way. Even if England had lost all of their previous matches, he would still trust the new method.
It is the job of the captain and coach to make sure that the belief and confidence they have built stays intact and that they find a way to combat the South Africa attack.
England's strange morning was overshadowed by the afternoon collapse, which may have given the paceman more motivation to bowl.
By that point, Pope was leg before when he played across the line to the same bowler, and Crawley was LBW when he played across the line to the same bowler.
It looked like the three-day finish would happen when Joe Root poked Lungi Ngidi to second slip.
Bairstow, Lees, and Foakes were all caught behind as England lost 3 for 5 runs.
Stuart Broad missed his arm and was deceived by a slower ball from Kagiso Rabada for the second time in the match.
James Anderson was the last man to be taken down by Marco Jansen and he was the only one who didn't score a point.
England were dismissed twice in less than 90 overs, the fourth time they have been dismissed in less than 90 overs.
South Africa, the top ranked team in the World Test Championship, defeated only once in their past six series.
Dean Elgar questioned the long-term viability of England's aggressive approach, which led to the Proteas carving a victory from old fashioned Test values.
Their batting was determined but it was their bowling that made the difference.
Left-arm seamer Jansen was supported by the muscular Ngidi and wily spinner Maharaj.
Simon Harmer is the leading bowler in the County Championship over the past six seasons, so they can call on him.
They are one win away from ending a run of three consecutive series defeats by England.
This isn't a wake-up call for Ben. South Africa were better than us because we haven't been able to do the things we want.
Dean Elgar said that it was some of the fastest bowling he had seen. The catch our keeper Kyle Verreynne took to get rid of Jonny Bairstow was one of the fastest balls he has ever had to catch.
It was a tough spell of bowling. You don't want to poke the man.
The former England captain said that England didn't bat like that. They were taken apart. Nortje was bowling extremely well. It was really fast.
South Africa were quick, accurate and on a pitch that did a bit, they got far more out of it by bowling quicker. England was not good enough. The batting conditions were great but South Africa stole the show.