England battle to save unbeaten summer after ‘no thought’ batting leaves third Test in the balance

England’s hopes of an unbeaten summer are hanging in the balance after a dismal batting display saw them bowled out for just 165 on the opening day of the third Test against South Africa

Openers Zak Crawley and Alex Lees fell cheaply before Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Ben Stokes all departed for single figures, leaving England in deep trouble at 65-5.

Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes staged a brief recovery with a stand of 37, but once Foakes was dismissed for 24, England's innings quickly folded. Only Bairstow, with 49, and Sam Curran, with 18, offered any resistance as England were bowled out in just 53.2 overs.

South Africa will resume on day two with a lead of 124 runs, with Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee both not out on 47.

England's batting performance was all the more disappointing given the excellent conditions for batting at Lord's. The pitch was flat and the ball came on to the bat nicely, but England's batsmen were unable to make the most of it.

Former England captain Michael Atherton was scathing in his assessment of England's batting, saying that they "showed no thought" in their shot selection.

"They were just playing shots without any thought of what the situation was," Atherton said. "They were just trying to hit boundaries and they were getting out in the process."

England will need to bat much better in their second innings if they are to save the match. South Africa are a strong bowling side and they will be looking to make the most of the conditions at Lord's.

If England can't turn things around, it will be their first defeat of the summer. They have won all four of their Tests so far, against New Zealand and India.