England omitted Graeme Swann, wicketless in the first Test at The Oval, and opted for four quick bowlers to try to claw their way back into the series against South Africa.
Andrew Strauss had the good fortune he needed after England had adopted such a high-risk strategy, winning the toss and having first bowling use of a green-tinged surface, which England needed to help the seamers on the opening day.
"There is a bit of grass on the wicket and we have gone for four seamers," Strauss said. "It is always a tricky decision to make but we looked at the conditions, the history of the ground and the forecast for the second half of the game. I am sure four seamers will make good use of this wicket."
Swann has been an influential factor in England's rise to No. 1 in the world rankings, but he has been troubled by an elbow niggle. England were desperate to bring in Steven Finn after their defeat by an innings and 12 runs at The Oval but swerved away from dropping Tim Bresnan on his home ground or the golden child, Stuart Broad. It is the first time England have played without a frontline spinner since 2003.
James Taylor makes a Test debut and will bat at No. 6. He was presented with his cap before start of play by the former England captain Michael Atherton.
South Africa were unchanged on a bright and breezy morning. "We probably would have batted," Graeme Smith, South Africa's captain, said. "There is good sunshine here today. Hopefully we can get stuck in."
England 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 James Taylor, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn
South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir
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