ENG vs SA 2022: Top 10 funny memes after England top-order collapses in the first Testย
England's top-order fell like dominoes on Day One of the first Test against South Africa at Lord's on August 17 (Wednesday), leaving the team reeling at 100/5 at the end of the first session. The aggressive batting approach that has helped them win their last four games against New Zealand and India misfired on this occasion.
After South Africa captain Dean Elgar won the toss and opted to field, Kagiso Rabada gave his side a great start by sending both English openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley back to the pavilion in his opening spell with just 25 on the board.
Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje backed that effort by dismissing the middle-order batters cheaply to derail England's innings.
In-form batter Jonny Bairstow endured a rare failure as Nortje cleaned him up for a five-ball duck to stun the opposition camp. The right-arm seamer then dismissed England skipper Ben Stokes (20) at the stroke of lunch to round off a fruitful session for the visitors.
Fans enjoyed intense cricketing action in the first session of the Lord's Test and expressed their views in the form of intriguing memes. Here are some of the best ones:
"Three letter word.
Useless as an opener.
Starts with Z...ends with K."
#ENGvSA | #ENGvsSA https://t.co/jRzD8Nf1o0
My parents after seeing B+ on my blood test report #ENGvSA https://t.co/s73FmJ573G
Ducks off the menu
#ENGvSA https://t.co/vFuW9aNKHb
My parents after seeing B+ on my blood test report #ENGvSA https://t.co/s73FmJ573G
How normal people. How English
see Zack Crawley selectors see
Zack Crawley
#ENGvSA https://t.co/mmJFVMb1fQ
England fans seeing it's supposed to rain at Lords for the next couple of days #ENGvSA https://t.co/IkC1Fy2OwW
#BazBall when there's help for the bowlers in the pitch and it's overcast. #ENGvSA https://t.co/tcieOt9H5E
The England openers every time they get out cheaply #ENGvSA https://t.co/aCkCZreqRm
Joe Root after 8 overs in every test match... #ENGvSA https://t.co/yiUUGPWpRY
"It's about making sure that five-week period doesn't mean we've lost our venom"- England captain Ben Stokes ahead of the Lord's Test
Speaking ahead of the first Test against the Proteas, Ben Stokes reflected on England's recent success in the Test format and expressed optimism about performing with the same intensity against Elgar's side.
The English skipper seemed to have full faith in his team's new approach, opining that they are more likely to end up on the winning side if they maintain the same intensity as in their last four matches.
As quoted by Sky Sports, Stokes said:
"It's about making sure that five-week period doesn't mean we've lost our venom. It would be easy to have so long away to almost forget the place we managed to find ourselves in. The results will look after themselves. If we play to the standard that we have done over the last four Test matches, we know we're going to give ourselves a great opportunity of winning the game."
By the time rain interrupted play, England had a score of 116/6 on the board with Ollie Pope (61*) and Stuart Broad (0*) at the crease.