Pace brigade will get even better, warn Proteas

Captain Dean Elgar believes South Africa's fearsome four-pronged pace attack will only get better while admitting he's unsure of what the wicket holds for the second Test against England at Old Trafford.

South Africa needed only 82.4 overs to take England's 20 wickets as they beat the hosts by an innings and 12 runs in the first Test at Lord's, with the main damage done by the pace quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen.

"I reckon they can get much better, they're still pretty fresh," Elgar told reporters on Wednesday.

"The wicket assisted them at Lord's, we must take that into account, but you have to put the ball in the right areas and they did that.

"Our bowlers are leading our pack at the moment and they're extremely hungry for success. 

"The competition among them is brilliant and the way they go about things is the most professional behaviour I've seen from fast bowlers."

Elgar suggested the tourists would likely retain the same XI for the second Test, with only spinner Simon Harmer a potential addition to the side, though there is not an obvious candidate for him to replace with Keshav Maharaj having also bowled well at Lord's.

"We have our 12, the same as the first Test and we decide on the day. Everyone is down to play and on the day you will be told if you are or not, which creates that sense of not taking the foot off the gas," Elgar said.

He also admitted South Africa expect a much-improved home team in the second Test with the three-match series on the line.

"I hope the second Test goes the same way but we know England are hurt and they will fight back with a vengeance."

Fast bowler Ollie Robinson returns to the England team in place of Matthew Potts for the second Test in the only change made by captain Ben Stokes.

Robinson was England's leading wicket-taker with 28 in his first summer of Test cricket last year but has since struggled with injuries, with his fitness publicly criticised by bowling coach Jon Lewis during the Ashes tour last summer.

He got through a four-day tour match against South Africa for England Lions and now replaces Potts, who failed to make an impression at Lord's against the Proteas' left-handers.

Stokes explained Robinson's height and ability to extract lift from the pitch was a decisive factor in his comeback and praised Potts for a mature response to being left out.

"When you look at what Ollie possesses as a bowler, one of his real key assets is how much extra bounce he gets compared to other bowlers in our squad," said Stokes.

"We think here at Old Trafford, with it being a slightly quicker wicket than other grounds we play at, it obviously offers a lot more bounce. We obviously pick the team we think is going to enable us to win the Test.

"It's very tough for Matty to miss out, but what he's done in the five games that he's played is he's taken himself from a county cricketer with a lot of promise and really announced himself on the big stage."

With no other opener in the squad, Zak Crawley was retained in the team but he will go into the match with the pressure firmly on him, with his average this summer having dropped to 16.40 across 10 Test innings.

The teams are due to play the third and final Test at The Oval from September 8.