Graeme Smith
Ex-South Africa captain on BBC Test Match Special

Apparently Vernon Philander is not well, he's got a stomach bug and has been vomiting so we'll see how he goes.

BBC Weather's Tomasz Schafernaker: "I suppose the question is how many of these showers we might get and I suppose it might be two or three. Any rain may be sharp but should move through quickly on this strong breeze. Tomorrow there is a chance of more continuous widespread rain in the afternoon."

App users may have to click "View more" to see the above content.

England: Cook, Jennings, Westley, Root (capt), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow (wk), Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson.

South Africa: Kuhn, Elgar, Amla, de Kock (wk), Du Plessis (capt), Bavuma, Philander, Morris, Rabada, Maharaj, Morkel.

So looking at the scorecard, it's Malan at five, Bairstow at seven, Moeen at eight and Roland-Jones (who showed his ability with the bat on his ODI debut earlier this summer) at nine, with Stuart Broad down to 10.

South Africa make one, expected, change - with paceman Kagiso Rabada, now free of suspension, coming in for Duanne Olivier.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

It looks like Bairstow will bat at seven, I'm surprised by that but Malan is a fine strokeplayer, he looked a real quality player in that T20. It looks a more solid batting line-up.

Graeme Smith
Ex-South Africa captain on BBC Test Match Special

I would bat first, the only thing that would play on your mind is the overhead conditions but you want to get in and get ahead of the game. England have made the right decision, they may have stumbled on it because there is some grass on the wicket. I was hoping they'd play Dawson!

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis: "I was very unsure about what to do on this wicket. There are overcast conditions, but the English team wanted to bat first. It's an opportunity to get at them in the first hour with the ball."

England captain Joe Root: "It does look a little bit green. We have three debutants, so it's very exciting and a chance for them to show what they can do. We've gone with the extra batting option and hopefully it's a strong week for us."

Faf du Plessis calls incorrectly, and England can strap the pads on.

If you've not seen this story, Vaughan is standing by his criticism of England's tactics at Trent Bridge, even though his protege Joe Root said the criticism from his fellow Yorkshireman "felt a bit personal".

"They don't seem to be able to read the situation - they have this gung-ho approach," Vaughan said on BBC Radio 5 live this week.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

I think you've got to bat, England play better when they get runs on the board. The clouds are supposed to stay around for a few days so I don't think conditions will change too much. I have a sneaky suspicion that South Africa may bowl.

We're closing in on the toss. The three debutants have all been presented with their new caps - Tom Westley received his from Essex batting legend Graham Gooch, while TMS's Phil Tufnell was on double duty to present them to his fellow Middlesex men, Dawid Malan and Toby Roland-Jones

Stand by your wireless, it's TMS o'clock - and here's an early notification for where all you overseas listeners can tune in.

(App users may have to click "View more" to see the content below)

John West
BBC weather forecaster

It will be a mixture of sunshine and showers at The Oval today. Bright spells with a mixture of cloud and some sunshine will be punctuated through much of the day with isolated showers, some of which could be quite sharp. A moderate south-westerly breeze will make any showers rather short-lived, but with temperatures reaching highs of 21 Celsius it will feel a little on the cool side, especially if caught in a shower.

Friday’s play looks a little cooler and breezier and it will turn cloudier with light rain spreading from the west from mid-afternoon. Rain could be rather persistent with some heavier bursts by late afternoon as an active weather front moves east across the southern counties. Highs of 20 Celsius, but feeling cooler especially in the rain later.

100 up for The Ovalpublished at 10:22 British Summer Time 27 July 2017

10:22 BST 27 July 2017

For now, it's all eyes on The Oval which today becomes the fourth ground to host a century of Test matches- following Lord's (currently 134 not out), Melbourne (109) and Sydney (105).

We'll be happy to hear all about your favourite memories of The Oval throughout the Test - and so will Test Match Special, who'll be on air shortly from 10:25 BST.

The triple-debutant strategy was last employed in successive Tests in 2014, when England turned to Gary Ballance, Scott Borthwick and Boyd Rankin (remember him?) in a Titanic deckchairs-shufflng exercise at the end of the 2013-14 Ashes whitewash - before handing new caps to Sam Robson, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan for the first Test of the English summer.

There's a debate to be had about whether some of those six players will ever play another Test. But that's a debate for another time...

England have responded to the Trent Bridge debacle by giving no fewer than three players their debut today. Step forward batsmen Tom Westley and Dawid Malan, and seamer Toby Roland-Jones.

Westley is a straight swap at number three for Gary Ballance (whose finger injury obviates the need for a debate over whether he should have been dropped anyway), Roland-Jones replaces fellow quick Mark Wood who is not 100% fit, and we presume from Malan's elevation that Liam Dawson has been dropped, with an extra batsman preferred to an all-rounder.

Morning, everyone. A week is a long time in cricket, making three weeks a veritable eternity.

Three weeks ago today, the cricketing world were settling down at a sunny Lord's for the first Test of this England-South Africa series. A lot's happened since then - leaving the series locked at 1-1, and the hosts no closer to finding their best XI as the clock ticks closer towards the Ashes. (If the Aussies can sort out their contract dispute, naturally).