Question:

England vs South Africa – 2nd Test – Toss Report

by | earlier

England vs South Africa – 2nd Test – Toss Report
With their Test supremacy on the line, Andrew Strauss and England will bowl first against South Africa, favouring a four-pronged pace attack at the bowler friendly track of Leeds, Headingley.
That the management has made a tough call to leave out premier spinner, Graeme Swann, preferring the exuberance of Steven Finn and the home knowledge of Tim Bresnan. It is the first time since 2003, ironically against South Africa, that the Poms don not
have a specialist spin option at their disposal.
Swann, who is also suffering from a chronic elbow injury, sent down 52 wicketless overs at the Oval, and had had a lean summer, with just six wickets. His omission ends his run of featuring in 43 consecutive Tests.
"We took a look at the pitch and also the forecast for the second half of the match," Strauss said. "We don't expect spin to play a big part."
The other major news was the inclusion of young Nottinghamshire player James Taylor, who makes his debut in the absence of Ravi Bopara. Taylor was presented with his cap by former England captain Michael Atherton and will bat at the problematic no.6 position.
South Africa has named an unchanged lineup, with Smith returning from his paternity leave to lead the side in the winner takes all second Test. The Proteas’ skipper seemed in a confident mood and said that he would have batted anyway.
A lot of talk has taken place regarding the outlook of the track, which looks helpful for bowlers – of both sides.  England will be hoping to make the early advantage count and make important breakthroughs in the first session.
A win for the Proteas would see them surpass the hosts at the no.1 ranked team.
England Playing XI:
1 Andrew Strauss, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 James Taylor, 7 Matt Prior, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, Steven Finn.
South Africa Playing XI:
1 Graeme Smith, 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir.