The first game of a three-match Test series between England and South Africa will get underway at Lords on Wednesday.

England will be looking to clinch their fifth consecutive Test match victory, while South Africa are unbeaten in their previous four red-ball series.

Match preview

While Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler may have been winless in their opening four series as white-ball head coach and captain respectively, red-ball coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes enjoyed a winning start to their new roles.

McCullum's tenure began with a 3-0 whitewash against his native New Zealand, with the new brand of attacking cricket - which has been dubbed 'Bazball' - helping the hosts chase down at least 275 runs in the final innings in all three matches.

After losing their four red-ball series prior to the three games against New Zealand, the series victory over the Blackcaps was a statement of intent from McCullum and Stokes.

Another win followed in the final match of the series against India, which was carried over from last year after a postponement, and it proved to be another victorious outing.

Once again, England were comfortable chasing down a huge fourth innings total, finishing 378-3 to win the Test match and subsequently draw the series 2-2 with India.

Since the win over India, England have gone on to lose both white-ball series to India, while they were beaten 2-1 by South Africa in the T20 series before drawing 1-1 in the 50-over format.

England will hope that a return to red-ball cricket will help them claim their first series victory over South Africa this summer.

South Africa, meanwhile, will be aiming to return home from their trip to England unbeaten across all three formats.

They will certainly be confident that they can compete with England's rejuvenated Test side after avoiding defeat in their last four red-ball series.

Three of those four series resulted in victory, including a 2-0 win over Bangladesh in April, which saw South Africa claim comfortable 332-run and 220-run victories.

While their series win over Bangladesh took place in South Africa, the Proteas have also performed reasonably well away from home of late

Their most recent away Test series resulted in a 1-1 draw with New Zealand, while they won 2-0 in the West Indies last year.

However, they will be looking to improve on their recent results against England in red-ball cricket, having failed to beat their hosts in a Test series since 2012.

Although they may have failed to claim a Test series victory over England in 10 years, they can at least draw inspiration from the fact they lost just two of their six white-ball matches against their hosts this summer.

Team News

Stokes will look to continue his winning start as Test captain when he leads England out at Lord's on Wednesday.

Joe Root averaged 99 with the bat against New Zealand and the former England skipper will try to continue his superb form against South Africa.

The hosts will also hope that Jonny Bairstow can also score big runs again after averaging 78.8 against the Blackcaps and scoring a century in each innings in the final India Test match.

Meanwhile, Jack Leach will be England's frontline spinner, while Ollie Robinson could make his first Test match appearance of the summer.

As for South Africa, Duanne Olivier is ruled out of the series through injury, while fast bowler Kagiso Rabada is also a doubt for the opening game at Lord's.

Dean Elgar will captain the side, and he is expected to open the batting alongside Aiden Markram, while Keegan Petersen is set to bat at number three.

Rassie van der Dussen could be crucial in South Africa's middle order after finishing the ODI series against England as the top scorer.

With Rabada a doubt, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi are set to lead the bowling attack for the visitors, with one of Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer expected to be chosen as a spin option.

England squad: Ben Stokes (Captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes (wk), Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (Captain), Sarel Erwee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Khaya Zondo

We say: England win

England may have performed below par in the two white-ball series against South Africa, but they have been impressive in Test matches this summer, and we think that under the stewardship of McCullum and Stokes that they will win at Lord's this week.
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