England v South Africa: how to watch cricket Test series on UK TV, squads and when is Lord’s Test match?

The white-ball sides have taken the mantle recently and have played both T20 and ODI series against India and South Africa, but now is the time for the red-ball squad to return as the three match series begins against South Africa.

Ben Stokes and his squad will no doubt be itching to don the whites once more after such a strong start this summer, easily chasing down any score either New Zealand or India have set for them.

Joe Root’s batting has continued to thrive since relinquishing his captaincy role and he currently sits at the top of the batters chart this 2021-23 World Championship series with 1,744 runs in total, while fellow Yorkshireman Jonny Bairstow sits just beneath him with 1218 runs.

Since the much lauded Stokes and Brendon McCullum takeover earlier this summer, England have won all four of their Test matches and will hope to continue that momentum.

However South Africa, who are currently sitting on the top of the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship with five wins and two losses from their seven matches, will provide some stiff competition.

With the clash now looming on the horizon, here is all you need to know ahead of England v South Africa...

When does England v South Africa begin?

The first of the three Test matches begins on Wednesday 17 August and will conclude on Sunday 21 August 2022.

The second Test match takes place from Thursday 25 August until Monday 29 August and the third match will be played from Thursday 8 September until Monday 12 August.

The day’s play will begin at 11am (BST) each day and will likely be played until 6.30pm or 7pm depending on light.

How to watch England v South Africa?

Sky Sports will once again have the coverage for all of the England v South Africa Test matches. Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket will be showing the action with coverage set to begin at 10.30am every day.

Subscriptions for Sky Sports start at around £46/month while NowTV passes offer daily passes for £11.99/day.

Highlights of the Test will be available to watch on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer at 11.15pm each day.

Where are the matches being played?

The first of the three Test matches will take place at Lord’s Cricket Ground and will be the Red for Ruth fixture - a campaign aimed at raising money for the Ruth Strauss Foundation.

The second match takes place at Old Trafford, Manchester, while the third Test match takes place at The Oval, London.

How to buy tickets for England v South Africa

All tickets are available through the website of each ground.

Tickets are still available to purchase for the Lord’s Test match and cost in excess of £100. Old Trafford tickets are costing upwards of £40 and are available to buy through Lancashire Cricket’s website while Oval Tickets begin at £47.95 and are available through Surrey Cricket’s website.

Who’s in the squad for England v South Africa?

England’s Ollie Robinson has made his return to the squad but has not been picked for the first Test XI, while South Africa’s pace bowler Duanne Olivier as been ruled out due to a grad 2 right hip flexor muscle tear.

Fellow pace bowler Kagiso Rabada had been ruled out of the T20 series due to an ankle injury but is set to make his return this week.

England Playing XI: Zak Crawley; Alex Lees; Ollie Pope; Joe Root; Jonny Bairstow; Ben Stokes; Ben Foakes; Stuart Braod; Jack Leach; Matthew Potts; James Anderson.

South Africa: Dean Elgar; 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; Khaya Zondo.