England assistant coach Paul Collingwood is confident their bowlers can get them back into the first Test against South Africa after the visiting seamers tore through their top order at Lord's on Wednesday.

Anrich Nortje picked up three wickets and Kagiso Rabada contributed two as England slumped to 116 for six before rain brought a premature close to play.

Former England white-ball captain Collingwood told reporters they would not worry too much about the disappointing first day.

"The exciting thing is seeing what our world-class bowlers themselves can do on that pitch," he said.

"I guess when you're playing shots and trying to put the opponents under pressure you will lose wickets ... but there's certainly a lot in that wicket and if it plays exactly the same tomorrow I'm looking forward to our bowlers making inroads."

England's attacking style of play, nicknamed 'Bazball' because of new coach Brendon McCullum, saw them record four wins in a row in June-July, each time successfully chasing over 275 to win against New Zealand and India.

But Ollie Pope was their only bright spark on Wednesday, the Surrey batsman scoring an unbeaten 61.

"I thought he was composed, he looked busy at the crease, and on a wicket that was obviously giving them quite a lot of assistance," said Collingwood.

"Hopefully he can get us into a position where we can see where we are, and I guess we won't know that until we've bowled on that same surface."

England play two more matches against South Africa after the Lord's Test.