Proteas out to burst England's 'Bazball' bubble

South Africa captain Dean Elgar attempted to end the "mud-slinging" over England's recent thrilling approach to Test cricket before he backtracked when pondering how 'Bazball' would look when it goes wrong.

The three-match series gets under way at Lord's today (8pm Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports) with further Tests to come at Old Trafford and The Oval.

England will aim to continue their momentum over the next month having won all four home Tests against New Zealand and India earlier this season thanks to remarkable chases with 378 reeled in at Edgbaston last month.

A bold brand of cricket with a positive approach at the forefront of everything has been quickly implemented by new red-ball captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, which saw the term 'Bazball' coined, but Elgar has repeatedly poked fun at the philosophy in recent weeks.

He initially looked to cool tensions on the eve of the first Test before the 35-year-old promised the tourists were "not here to play soft-natured cricket".

"With all due respect I am really not going to entertain that (Bazball) anymore. We have chatted about it long and hard. I just want to crack on with the cricket," Elgar said.

"I think the game deserves that respect and mud-slinging is now a thing of the past for me. We are not going to go back and forth any more around that.

"What they (England) did, the conditions were pretty nice to bat in during those specific Tests.

"They did really unique things around that time, those months ago, chasing the scores they did and it was something where I was also blown away with. It was pretty impressive.

"But I would like to think the bowlers we have, even if the wickets are pretty flat, I think we have covered our bases with regards to our bowling unit and we can bowl them out even if they are chasing.

"I am pretty confident because we have done it in the past. It might be hard work for us but this is what we are here to do. We are not here to play soft-natured cricket, we want it hard and really tough and hopefully the results go our way."

England skipper Ben Stokes said he was happy to hear South Africa players talking about 'Bazball', even as he has distanced himself from the hype.

"The opposition seem to be doing a lot of talking about it at the moment -- we don't really speak about it that much," said the all-rounder.

"We just concentrate on what we do.

"We don't dive into it too much, but I'm happy for Dean and the South Africa team to say they're not interested and then keep talking about it.

"We've got a style of play, they've got a style of play. At the end of the day it's bat against ball and whoever plays best over a Test match is more than likely to win."

England have made one change to the team that beat India with fit-again wicketkeeper Ben Foakes returning to the side for stand-in gloveman Sam Billings.

South Africa will check on Kagiso Rabada before naming their XI with the fast bowler recently absent with an ankle injury.

Rabada sat out last week's warm-up match against the England Lions where the tourists suffered a chastening defeat by an innings and 56 runs in Canterbury after conceding 672 in the first innings, but Elgar played down its significance.

He added: "I read absolutely nothing into that warm-up game purely out of what we wanted to achieve as a side.

"Yeah, it was a good exercise and if they come out playing like that in an official Test match and it goes pear shaped, that will not look very good for England.

"I would have liked to have seen what it was like if it was an official four-day game. I think you play a little bit different if you are playing for stats."

Elgar has won seven Tests out of nine since his appointment as skipper in 2021 and tipped Rabada to be fit to feature at Lord's while he reflected on what the Proteas had learned from England's exploits since the new era started.

"I think Kagi (Rabada) is very close to being fully fit for this Test. He has had a really good few days so it is looking pretty good for us," the 35-year-old insisted.

"I think there has been a lot of learnings since watching those series unfold and the way they did, I do think we are a smarter side and adaptability is extremely big for me.

"I would like to think from a bowling point of view, our bowlers are big, tall, fast and strong and I think we come in with a lot more resources as well."

South Africa will play three Tests against Australia this summer, starting at the Gabba on December 17 before the marquee events on Boxing Day at the MCG and the New Year's Test in Sydney.

Men's Vodafone Test Series v South Africa

Dec 17-21: First Test, the Gabba, 10:20am

Dec 26-30: Second Test, MCG, 10:30am

Jan 4-8: Third Test, SCG, 10:30am

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