England v South Africa: preview
Date released: 7 July 2008
England take on South Africa in the first Test at Lord's, starting on Thursday 10 July.
Strauss's view | Rankings | Tickets | Early escape
Ntini: took ten wickets on his last visit to Lord's England have won four of their last six Test matches, beating New Zealand both at home and on Kiwi soil.
The South Africa team boast one of the world's best batsmen in captain, Graeme Smith.
On his last visit to Lord's Smith scored 259 - the highest score by a non-Englishman at Lord's.
The Proteas also boast one of the best pace attacks in cricket with Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini.
Kallis: Set about the Somerset attack Ntini is another South African with his name already on the Lord's Honours Boards having taken match figures of 10/220 in 2003.
Add in world-class all-rounder, Jacques Kallis, who has already started the tour with intent, scoring a quick-fire 160 against Somerset at Taunton and the tourists are an imposing side.
It's sure to be a thrilling match and there are still a few tickets available - grab yours now before they're all gone.
Rankings & Honours
England are currently rated as the fourth best Test team in the world, in the (International Cricket Council) ICC rankings. South Africa are ranked second.
The tourists nipped ahead of India in the latest rankings update on Tuesday. A good series for England could allow India to sneak back into second place, behind leaders Australia.
Kallis is rated as the world's best all-rounder, he also comes fifth on the batsmen rankings. The tourists also have four more batsmen in the top 30: Smith (12th); Ashwell Prince (23rd); Abraham Benjamin (AB) de Villiers (25th); and Hashim Amla (26th).
Steyn and Ntini are second and fifth in the bowlers' rankings.
Steyn has already cast envious glances at Smith and Ntini's names on the Lord's Honours Boards and hopes to get his added to the list. A definite warning to England's batsmen.
Kallis (25th) and Nel (27th) also make the top 30.
Pietersen: England's highest ranked batsman England have their own well ranked players: unsurprisingly it's South Africa born Kevin Pietersen who's the top ranked England batsman at 10th.
Andrew Strauss at 16th; Alastair Cook (21st); Ian Bell (22nd); Paul Collingwood (24th) and skipper, Michael Vaughan, (30th) also make the top 30 batsmen.
Ryan Sidebottom is 6th in the bowlers rankings, spinner Monty Panesar is 11th. England's bowling options are exemplified by the other highly ranked bowlers: Matthew Hoggard at 12th, Andrew Flintoff (19th) and Steve Harmison (29th) are not even in the squad.
Definitely in the squad is James Anderson, who always seems to enjoy playing at Lord's, ranked at 26th.
Players from both sides will be keen to make their mark on the match. Make sure you're here to see it.
Skip the exit rush
Looking to avoid the crowds after stumps are drawn on the opening day? Why not relax and unwind at another local event?
The English Chamber Choir (ECC), conducted by Guy Protheroe, are performing 'Songs for Lovers' at St John's Wood Church on Thursday 10 July.
The church is a mere matter of yards from Lord's and the event is timed to begin at 7:15pm, shortly after play closes on Thursday.
Tickets are just £12 (£10 for concessions) and can be pre-booked. Subject to availability tickets can also be bought on the day. If you arrive early, the price also includes a complimentary glass of wine!
