WATCH: Anrich Nortje cleans up Jonny Bairstow with a 150 kph inswinger
South Africa speedsters have given hosts England a tough outing first up on Day 1 of the first of three Tests at Lord’s, having them four down within the first 90 minutes of play. England batters, barring Ollie Pope to a great extent, seemed rattled with a full-pronged pace attack comprising Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen.
Rabada set up Alex Lees early in just the third over of the game after South Africa opted to bowl, angling a few away, following with one that slanting in, before the left-hander sans much footwork drove lazily against one that held its line from back-of-a-length. The edge was pouched safely by wicketkeeper Kyle Verryenne. Zak Crawley’s poor run continued, with him edging one off Rabada through to Markram in the second slip for 9.
Joe Root was undone by Jansen’s left-arm over angle to be trapped leg-before, before Nortje produced arguably the most emphatic dismissal for the Proteas in the morning session.
Having registered scores of 136, 162, 71*, 106 and 114* in his last five Test innings, all of them collectively scored over run-a-ball, Bairstow found himself by Nortje’s late movement and extra pace, and perhaps, by the law of averages.
The right-hander’s stay ended for a five-ball duck, with him being castled by a pacy 150 kmph delivery from Nortje. Nortje pitched one up angling in, and the ball seamed in further to breach Bairstow’s attempted drive to crash into the middle stump.
According to Cricviz, the ball, clocked at 150kph(93mph) is the fastest delivery to take a wicket in Tests this year.
Watch Anrich Nortje dismissing Jonny Bairstow with a brilliant inswinger here:
Pope, meanwhile, unfurled imperious drives from the other end to register his eight Test fifty. Skipper Ben Stokes was unsurprisingly aggressive, and struck four boundaries before edging one off Nortje through to the slips when on 20 on the final ball of the morning session.
England were 100/5 at the lunch break.