sport news England didn't lose at Lord's because of 'Bazball', they were simply outplayed ... trends now

After the phoniest of phoney wars, it wasn’t even Bazball wot lost it. Whisper it, but the reason England lost to South Africa by an innings was because they were outplayed by a better side with a more potent attack.

The pre-match prattle had become so convoluted that no one knew any more who was accusing who of what. South Africa appeared put out that England were talking about Bazball, while England – who weren’t talking about it at all – were peeved that the phrase had been dreamed up in the first place.

In the end, it didn’t matter. If anything, at least according to Ben Stokes, they had departed from the gameplan that helped them to successful chases of 277, 299 and 296 against New Zealand and a national-record 378 against India.

There was some truth in that. And yet, as England lost 20 wickets in 82.4 overs – less than a day’s play – it was clear that South Africa had simply not allowed them to bat with freedom.

Kagiso Rabada was sleek and world-class, Anrich Nortje a fast-bowling ball of fury, Marco Jansen tall, left-arm and awkward. Even Lungi Ngidi – the Ringo Starr of the four quicks – removed Joe Root cheaply in the second innings.

There was no let-up. ‘Relentless,’ said Stokes, before half-retracting the adjective in search of a balance between giving opponents their due and not talking them up ahead of Old Trafford and The Oval. And he was spot on.

Where the New Zealand and India attacks each had a weak link – off-spinner Michael Bracewell and medium-pacer Shardul Thakur – South Africa trampled on England from the moment Alex Lees drove loosely at Rabada in the game’s second over.