Anrich Nortje leads way as South Africa’s pace puts England in trouble

The laws of cricket may be the domain of MCC but on the opening day of England versus South Africa at Lord’s it was the law of sod that held sway: after a six-week wait for Test cricket to return and the driest July since 1935, rain returned with a vengeance.

Still, some 32 overs were sent down before the terminal deluge began at 2.09pm and, though enough play to rule out a refund for the soggy spectators, it also underlined predictions of a particularly tasty series ahead. England, aggressors these days under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, stumbled to 116 for six with Ollie Pope, 61 not out, the only batter to resist a fine bowling display from Dean Elgar’s tourists.

Amid a bombardment of questions during the build-up regarding England’s so-called “Bazball” approach, one of Elgar’s stock replies has been along the lines of “let’s see how this caper fares against my bowlers”. Most captains talk up their attacks but the South African has a particularly potent one through a blend of class, pace and variety.

Elgar was just as certain upon winning the toss, citing the moody cloud cover overhead for his decision to bowl rather than a deliberate attempt to throw England off kilter after their four successive Test wins batting second. Even with Kagiso Rabada slightly undercooked following an ankle ligament injury on tour, it looked to be the obvious call.

And so while England hustled along at 3.6 runs per over and struck 13 fours, there was a case to say that team orders could be blamed for only one of the six wickets to fall. Alex Lees was the culprit here, the first of Rabada’s two early new-ball strikes when, shortly after slashing his first boundary over the slip cordon, the opener looked to force a rising ball through the