England v South Africa: First Day at Lords

South Africa elected to field after winning the toss in the first test match of the series with England at Lord's this morning. Both captains felt that there would be something in the wicket for the seam bowlers. However, the South African captain, Graeme Smith, was probably regretting his decision come lunch after his side were unable to take any wickets in the morning session, with England going into the break 71-0. However, the tea and sandwiches clearly gave the South Africans a boost and during a ten minute spell of the afternoon session they had claimed the wickets of Cook (60), Vaughan (2) and Strauss (44). The English seemed on tilt at 117/3. England responded in a positive manner with Ian Bell setting the tone for his innings with a four off the first ball he faced. Pieterson's start seemed somewhat nervous and a poor decision almost led to a run-out and a very early walk back to the pavilion. These early jitters were soon cleared away and replaced by another stunning performance with the bat. Pieterson notched up his first test 100 in his first test against South Africa proving that, while he may have been born in South Africa, he was definitely made in England. After a solid performance on a pitch that has not offered much for the bowlers, England are in a commanding position going into tomorrow. The South African bowling attack will no doubt learn from the mistakes of today and bowl a fuller length tomorrow, forcing the English batsmen to play at the ball more often. Today was surely England's day.

The day's play finished with England on 309/3
K Pieterson 104*
I Bell 75*.