South Africa captain Faf du Plessis ruled out of first Test against England

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will miss this week's first Investec Test against England at Lord's ,starting on July 6, live on Sky Sports.

Du Plessis returned home for the birth of his first child and will not be back in time to lead his country on Thursday, with fellow batsman Dean Elgar taking over the captaincy.

A statement from Cricket South Africa cited family reasons after a difficult birth which has delayed Du Plessis' journey back to England.

South Africa team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said: "Faf's wife gave birth to their first child last week, but the difficult nature of the delivery has delayed his return to the UK."

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Du Plessis will therefore miss the start of the four-match series, although indications are that he is expected to be available by the time it moves on to Trent Bridge for the second Test, which is scheduled to begin on July 14.

Moosajee added: "The mother and baby have settled at home, but (Faf) will be unable to make it back in time to take part in the first Test match.

"He will link up with the squad in the UK later this week."

Elgar, who led South Africa in their drawn warm-up fixture against England Lions which finished in Worcester on Saturday, will be taking charge in a Test match for the first time.