England can hit back against South Africa by exposing batting frailty

Stuart Broad did not get to make use of the favourable bowling conditions that his South African counterparts enjoyed at Lord’s. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

After his side’s thumping victory at Lord’s last week the South Africa captain, Dean Elgar, praised his batting unit’s ability to score “ugly runs”. For a man whose own technique has been compared to a scuttling crab, this was a compliment of the highest order.

“We batted hard,” Elgar told the BBC. “We batted really gritty, ugly runs, which was kind of needed on a wicket that was not really batter friendly.”