END vs SA: England slumped to 116-6, heavy rain forced early end first Test against South Africa

• Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje take three wickets each for South Africa.
• Heavy rain cuts play short on day one of the first Test at Lord’s.
• England fell to 116-6, with only Ollie Pope unbeaten on 61.

END vs SA: South Africa fast bowler  Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje did most of the damage, and England fell to 116-6 before heavy rain cut the first day of the first Test at Lord’s short.

Rabada took out Alex Lees and Zak Crawley in the first few overs of the game. He was cleared to play after having an ankle injury, and he did so in 12 overs.

And Nortje, who was one of eight South Africans playing their first Test in England, took three wickets, including that of England’s captain, Ben Stokes.

Only Ollie Pope, who was unbeaten with 61, put up a fight for a long time before it started to rain half an hour after lunch and turned into a downpour that soaked the outfield.

After weeks of hot weather in England, the bad weather on Wednesday meant that only 32 overs could be played before the players had to leave the field.

But that was still long enough for the Proteas’ fast attack to tear through England’s top order.

The home team came into the game having won all four Tests they had played since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took over as leaders.

All of those wins came from chasing down goals in the fourth innings. That can’t happen in this game because South Africa captain Dean Elgar won the toss and chose to field on a green-tinged pitch under cloudy skies.

Elgar had doubts that England could keep up their aggressive approach with the bat against a South African attack that has helped them get to the top of the World Test Championship table. He was soon proven right.

Opening salvo: Leading fast bowler Rabada, 27, had left-handed batsman Lees caught behind for five, and struggling opener Crawley was out for nine after nicking a ball that went low and straight to second sliper Aiden Markram.

Crawley was a specialist batsman, but his Test average of 26 from 47 innings was not good for a specialist.

The best batsman, Joe Root, couldn’t stop things from getting worse. The former England captain was out lbw for eight after being hit by a huge inswinger from left-arm pacer Marco Jansen.

Root looked over Nitin Menon’s call, but replays showed that the ball would have hit the leg stump.

Last month, England beat India by seven wickets at Edgbaston, and Jonny Bairstow scored 106 and 114 without being out.

But as he tried to drive on the up, Nortje bowled him between the bat and the pad for a five-ball duck, putting England at 55-4.

Pope got to 50 off of 69 balls, but with the last ball of the session, Nortje squared up Stokes and Stokes was caught in the slips for 20. At the break, England was 100-5.

Soon after, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes played on to Nortje for six, putting the score at 116-6.

Pope was now at the end of the team’s turn at bat, but rain stopped the Proteas’ fast bowlers from doing any more damage to England. Only Lungi Ngidi had not yet taken a wicket.

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