It will be a boost to England’s confidence that each of their scheduled top six batsmen go into the series with a score of 50 or more under their belts from the two warm-up matches over the last week.
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England have visited South Africa four times since the Proteas returned to the worldwide fold, with each tour proving memorable for a variety of reasons.
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Debutant Alex Hales represented willing prey, going hard at a ball he need not have played and offering AB De Villiers a simple catch.
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South Africa’s batting does look vulnerable without the retired Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis. How everyone around here dwells on those days. Chris Woakes will likely be named replacement for Anderson. The calf strain he has apparently been carrying since the start of the tour has failed to respond.
Stuart Broad will lead the attack in the absence of Anderson, with Steven Finn, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali lining up alongside Woakes.
His flurry of runs was short-lived, though, as Piedt trapped him lbw with his first ball, a review unable to save England’s top batsman as the visitors slumped to 49-3.
“Of course it’s a huge loss”.
“One of the biggest mistakes you can do as an worldwide player is to think you have to play a different way. He’s disappointed but with the strength in depth we’ve got in this group it’s not a hammer blow to us”.
England lost two-nil against Pakistan in the UAE while Amla’s side were humiliated three-nil in a four-match Test series in India. England at least competed.
South Africa’s status as the top-ranked Test-playing nation has been dented after their crushing defeat in India last month and is in danger of being eroded completely by England over the next month or two.
Some of the few optimists around these parts suggest that the match might have reinvigorated South Africa’s well known fighting spirit and that Amla, prolific for so long, will prosper again on pitches he knows well. The batsman also picked up a century against South Africa “A”, and his form in the middle order will be crucial if England are to have any success in this series.
Woakes, who has played four Tests, joined Broad and Steven Finn for a full bowling session in the nets on Christmas Eve, while fellow seam bowlers Chris Jordan and Mark Footitt worked on their outfielding in a separate group.
Both men have struggled at times to persuade the selectors of their value and will be looking to turn their promising starts into sizeable statements. “Beware the wounded animal and all that”.
One can expect the series to be a cliff-hanger but England have an advantage as South Africa in the recent times have not been dominant at home.
South Africa are the number one Test team in the world and are at home so England should have little chance but it feels as if Alastair Cook’s side could spring a surprise. For us it’s not about who is leading the attack for England, it doesn’t make a difference to us.
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Broad claims the opposition, despite such stellar names as AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla in their ranks, are not being dwelled upon too much as was the case during the Ashes last summer.
