PLAYS OF THE MATCH

INNINGS Joe Root. South Africa gave him enough chances to show off his prodigious talent. Twice he was missed on the first morning, then he was dismissed off a no-ball. And when you give someone as good as Root that many chance he’ll make you pay. His shot-making was crisp and in combination with Ben Stokes took the game to South Africa especially in that final session of the first day, when South Africa was really flat.

SPELL Hard to look past Moeen Ali yesterday. The pitch was helpful throughout the match, but he made it count especially in South Africa’s first innings getting Hashim Amla early. He found bounce and turn and as the pitch gradually deteriorated, he made it tougher and tougher for the South Africans. He finished with match figures of 35-11-112-10. Along with his 87 runs in the first innings he was an easy choice as Man of the Match

HERO Has to be Moeen Ali. One three all-rounders in England’s starting XI. It’s somewhat reminiscent of South Africa in the late 1990s when they had the likes of Kallis, Pollock and Klusener in the starting team. It gives them a lot of versatility. Moeen was the outstanding one of England’s trio of all-rounders.

WHAT NEXT The second Test at Trent Bridge starts in four days time and South Africa need to put what happened at Lord’s out of their minds. Faf du Plessis’s back and his leadership will be vital in the next few days. They also need to have some efficient and disciplined fielding drills in the next few days and the bowlers need to work on eliminating the no-balls. There are selection issues too...Kagiso Rabada has to be replaced, while JP Duminy’s confidence looks shot. It’s hard to argue in his favour at the moment.