England vs South Africa 2017, 1st Test: 5 talking points

Moeen Ali wrecked havoc on a crumbling fourth day Lord's track against South Africa revoking memories of the visitor's horrendous tour to India in 2016. Chasing the second highest score at Lord's in the fourth innings, South Africa collapsed to Ali and were bowled out for a meagre 119 to give England the early lead in the Test series.

That the target seemed within reach was after Morne Morkel and Keshav Maharaj triggered a collapse in England's second innings. The hosts lost their way from 138/1 to 182/8 but were aided by the huge first innings lead they had. Even as South Africa came back strongly into the game, the cushion provided by that lead was enough for England to not panic.

South Africa needed their top order to fight to stay alive but none of their batsmen showed the temperament or willingness to negotiate a sharp looking England bowling attack. Eventually they folded for 119 as Faf du Plessis, the man who would lead them from the second Test, watched from the stands.

Brief Scores: England 458 (Root 190, Morkel 4/115) & 233 (Cook 69, Maharaj 4/85) beat South Africa 361 (Bavuma 59, Ali 4/59) & 119 (Bavuma 21, Ali 6/53)

Here are the major talking points from the Lord's Test.

#5 Joe Root shines on captaincy debut

Root showed no sign of captaincy bogging him down

Dubbed as "Craptain" after he allowed Middlesex to chase 470 odd runs in the fourth innings of a Championship match while skippering Yorkshire, Root had little experience at the helm when handed over the job of captaining the England Test team. But he showed little sign of fear as he compiled the highest score by an England Test skipper on his captaincy debut.

Root managed his bowlers well on the field, with his handling of Moeen Ali and Liam Dawson standing out on a sluggish Lord's wicket. He looked tensed when his team collapsed in the second innings but came onto the field charging and his energy dissipated rubbed off onto his teammates who put in a sensational display to close out the game a day earlier.

#4 Moeen Ali turning out to be indispensable for England

Moeen Ali capped off a fine all-round performance

Often the sacrificed lamb when England need one, Moeen Ali seemed like he was always playing for a place in the side. But that has disappeared into the wind in the past few months with him becoming an indispensable force for England in Test cricket. And it came to the fore again with him producing a Man of the Match performance in Lord's.

Ali finished the game with a 10-wicket haul and considering his valuable contribution with the bat as well, this is easily one of Ali's best performances in the whites for England. The manner in which he tied down Hashim Amla in the first innings and ran through the line-up in the second are signs that indicate that Ali is finally gaining a reputation as a premier off-spinner.

#3 South Africa's pace bowling woes

Kagiso Rabada enjoyed Ben Stokes wicket in the second innings after a send-off in the first earned him a suspension

South Africa arrived in England with Dale Steyn nursing an injury and Kyle Abbott gone to the Kolpaks. That meant they had Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. Rabada looked off-colour from the word go and a controversial Stokes send-off saw him bag a suspension for the second Test, compounding South Africa's troubles.

Philander then picked up an injury while batting and although he did return to bowl, it did not inspire much confidence. With Rabada out of the second Test and Philander in doubt, South Africa need to gather up their pace bowling stocks. Duanne Olivier, Andile Phehlukwayo and Chris Morris wait in the wings.

#2 The Bavuma factor

Giving Bavuma more responsibility could be the way to go for the Proteas

With Faf du Plessis missing out, South Africa needed their middle-order men to put their hands up and make good contributions. Although, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock and Theunis de Bruyn put in confidence-inspiring performances none of them could don the anchor role.

Hashim Amla has looked out of sorts so far in the series and the visitors need one of their lower order men to step up and do the job of the fulcrum. Given his high temperament and composure, Bavuma is the right man for South Africa. A promotion to number five in the absence of Faf du Plessis should give him some much-needed confidence and South Africa should trust him to continue that job right through the series.

#1 The Duminy conundrum

It is time for South Africa to move past Duminy

JP Duminy has been a concern for South Africa every time they have lost in the past few months and rightly so. The experienced southpaw has been around for over a decade without quite cementing his spot in the side and the time has come for the Proteas to move past him.

That said, with Rabada out of the second Test, quota considerations could play a part in South Africa's conundrum to drop Duminy. But with de Bruyn showing pieces of evidence of his talent and Bavuma top scoring in either innings, South Africa have little choice. The time has come for them to make a final call.