South Africa captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat in the fourth and final Test against England at the Oval today.
South Africa fielded the same team that won the third Test at Edgbaston by five wickets to take a winning 2-0 lead in the series whereas England, under new captain Kevin Pietersen, made two changes and changed the balance of their side in opting for five bowlers.
Fast bowlers Steve Harmison and Stuart Broad replaced batsman Michael Vaughan, who resigned after the third Test, and left-arm bowler Ryan Sidebottom.
Vaughan stepped down as skipper after England's series loss was confirmed â South Africa landing their first series win in England since 1965 â and he subsequently asked to be left out of the fourth Test while still hoping to resume his England career as a batsman only at a later date.
Vaughan (33) was England's most successful Test captain, leading the team to 26 wins in 51 Tests, including the Ashes triumph against Australia in 2005.
But he scored only 40 runs in five innings in the first three Tests against South Africa and admitted he felt he had "run out of steam."
The Oval pitch was expected to be good for batting although overcast conditions meant the bowlers would probably get some assistance with the new ball.
Teams:
England: Kevin Pietersen (captain), Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini.
