Erwee conquers body and mind to bat Proteas ahead at Lord's: 'I tried to stay in the moment'

Proteas opener Sarel Erwee said one of his tougher tasks was to control the emotions of playing at Lord's on the second day of the first Test against England on Thursday.

Erwee, who was SA's top scorer with 73 from 146 balls in the total of 289/7, said staying in the moment while also enjoying it was one of his tougher tasks.

Erwee shared an 85-run opening stand with captain Dean Elgar as SA first whittled down England's total, from where they pushed on to a 124-run lead.

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Erwee said the pleasure of playing at Lord's meant focusing on the core batting job wasn't always easy.

"I do have moments where I look around and I say 'wow, this is what it feels like'," Erwee said.

"The space that I'm in and the time that I'm playing cricket for South Africa is when I'm trying to do my best as possible.

"I'm trying to stay in the moment and not think about other things that can fill my mind.

"When there are small breaks, I'll take time to look around and I'll get a fuzzy feeling that this is the home of cricket.

"I try to control my thoughts and my body as much as possible so that it doesn't overwhelm me because it's a special place."

Erwee's wicket was the fourth to fall as England staged a fightback through captain Ben Stokes.

Stokes's short-ball ploy worked as it got rid of Erwee, who fended a bumper to Ben Foakes while Rassie van der Dussen (19) was trapped in front while hanging on the back foot.

Erwee said he wasn't too hard on himself after being outfoxed by England's skipper.

"Some of the balls stuck in the wicket and some skidded through a touch. It was about trying to be aware as much as possible in terms of playing and then getting out of