England vs South Africa 2017: 5 players to watch out for in the Test series

Amidst the raging pay dispute down under in Australia, amidst the Kohli-Kumble crisis in India, South Africa and England will lock horns in perhaps one of the marquee series of the year with the hope that the cricketing world will forget all the controversies and cast their attention back to the action on the field. 

South Africa and England are both smarting from their rather disappointing Champions Trophy outing for different reasons and would want to quickly stamp their authority on the longest form of the game. 

The visitors have a stellar record against England but they are not a settled unit this time. AB de Villiers is still contemplating his future and regular captain Faf du Plessis will miss the first match owing to the birth of his first child. Dean Elgar will stand in as the skipper and perhaps this could be the chance for England under new captain Joe Root to draw first blood. 

Here in this article, we take a look at 5 key players from both sides who could be key components for their respective teams.

#1 Joe Root (England)

New captain, new era!

England usher in a new era under Joe Root and the new captain would want to make a huge statement in his debut series as the skipper.

Root has been England’s best batsman over the last 15 months and coach Trevor Bayliss has already said that he should set the standard himself. 

The best way to win the respect of the teammates is to put in individual performances and Root is well aware of the fact that he can only dictate terms if his willow is churning out runs at the top of the order.

“He is a pro-active guy and will captain with the same approach which is the way it should be,” Bayliss said about Root’s captaincy debut and England would hope his team rallies around the new guy at the helm.