Amidst the raging pay dispute down under in Australia, amidst the Kohli-Kumble crisis in India, South Africa and England will lock horns in perhaps one of the marquee series of the year with the hope that the cricketing world will forget all the controversies and cast their attention back to the action on the field.
South Africa and England are both smarting from their rather disappointing Champions Trophy outing for different reasons and would want to quickly stamp their authority on the longest form of the game.
The visitors have a stellar record against England but they are not a settled unit this time. AB de Villiers is still contemplating his future and regular captain Faf du Plessis will miss the first match owing to the birth of his first child. Dean Elgar will stand in as the skipper and perhaps this could be the chance for England under new captain Joe Root to draw first blood.
Here in this article, we take a look at 5 key players from both sides who could be key components for their respective teams.
#1 Joe Root (England)
England usher in a new era under Joe Root and the new captain would want to make a huge statement in his debut series as the skipper.
Root has been England’s best batsman over the last 15 months and coach Trevor Bayliss has already said that he should set the standard himself.
The best way to win the respect of the teammates is to put in individual performances and Root is well aware of the fact that he can only dictate terms if his willow is churning out runs at the top of the order.
“He is a pro-active guy and will captain with the same approach which is the way it should be,” Bayliss said about Root’s captaincy debut and England would hope his team rallies around the new guy at the helm.
#2 Alastair Cook (England)
On the other side of the coin is Alastair Cook who has given up captaincy and will now walk out to open the innings without the burden of captaincy and this could free him up.
The southpaw has been in brilliant form with the bat in the domestic set-up (667 runs in 7 matches) and looks to be in the groove and if he decides to put his head down, it could well mean that the South African bowlers and fielders would be sent on a leather hunt.
There is no doubting the potential of Cook, but over the last season he seemed to be weighed down with expectations and as a result runs seemed to dry up. However, there is no such pressure now and the Essex man could now start scoring runs for fun, all over again.
#3 Dean Elgar (South Africa)
The captaincy conundrum has hit South Africa once again and in the absence of Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar will lead the side at Lord’s and while this is a huge honour for the man, it brings it own set of pressure and expectations.
Elgar will open the batting for the Proteas and his runs at the top of the order will be crucial for South Africa especially because he has spent a considerable amount of time playing for Somerset this season.
In 6 matches, he has scored 517 runs for Somerset at an average of 47. These are promising numbers and South Africa would hope he continues his form for his National team.
#4 Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
The young fast bowler is currently one of the brightest spots in the game. However, he would play his first Test series in England and in the absence of Dale Steyn, the young man has to step up big time with the new ball.
With hostile pace and late movement, Rabada has all the ingredients to be successful at the International level. Also, he has given enough indications about his solid temperament at the highest level and hence his performance with the ball could well define the path for Proteas.
#5 Hashim Amla (South Africa)
The monk at the top of the order has always been a thorn in the English flesh and it will not be any different this time too.
In 17 matches against England, Amla has notched up 1574 runs at an impressive average of 57. His highest score of 311 at the Oval will always been one of the iconic innings to have been played between the two teams.
Without AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis for the first game, Amla assumes all the more importance and in many ways, he would be a key cog in the South African batting order.
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