LEEDS, England Aug 2 (Reuters) – England won the toss and
opted to bowl in warm and sunny conditions in the second test
against South Africa on Thursday with the hosts drafting Steven
Finn into the team in place of experienced spinner Graeme Swann
for the match at Headingley.
It is the first time off-spinner Swann has been dropped by
England in more than three years. He has been troubled by an
elbow injury recently and was wicket-less in the first test for
151 runs.
England have not left out their front-line spin bowler in a
test since they were beaten by South Africa by 191 runs on this
ground in 2003.
Captain Andrew Strauss reasoned that the decision had been
made because of the traditional way in which the ground has
favoured the quick bowlers more than the spinners down the
years.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said he would have batted.
James Taylor was the second change in England’s team and
will make his test debut after Ravi Bopara withdrew from the
squad because of personal problems.
South Africa, as expected, named an unchanged team after
their crushing innings and 12 run victory in the first test at
The Oval that put them 1-0 up in the three-match series.
England are seeking to protect their position at the top of
the world rankings as the Proteas will leapfrog them if they win
this match for a series victory.
Teams:
England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan
Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, James Taylor, Matt Prior
(wicketkeeper), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson,
Steven Finn.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Alviro Petersen,
Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers (wicketkeeper),
Jacques Rudolph, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Vernon
Philander, Imran Tahir.
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
