'But we must play to our potential - and I need to step it up for table tennis clash showdown with Broad!'
Tuesday 5 January 2016 11:03, UK
In his first exclusive column for Sky Sports, James Taylor discusses the immense challenge of taking on South Africa - and beating Stuart Broad at table tennis...
I'm not a Grinch but it couldn't feel any less like Christmas at the minute!
All of our focus and energy is going into the first Test and the mood in the camp is super-positive after the manner of our two warm-up wins (in less than wintry conditions).
We'll train first thing on Christmas Day and then the players and families will fill their boots at lunch here in Durban which, according to Stuart Broad, is going to be an absolute feast.
Joe Root and Alastair Cook each got the chance to plant a tree at the City Oval for scoring hundreds against South Africa A.
It was a nice touch although it was funny that Moeen Ali didn't get the same opportunity after taking six wickets, especially as Chaminda Vaas got digging after taking a hat-trick against Bangladesh here in the 2003 World Cup.
Cooky brought up his hundred with a six - not something you see every day from the skipper! It was a decent hit, to be fair, but he's not known for his big-hitting and every time he didn't quite clear the rope the lads took the mickey by making a timid 'miaow' sound.
There's little love lost either when it comes to the cut-throat tour table tennis competition, which is temporarily on hold while we try to find another table.
I played a lot against Alex Hales and Joe Root last year in Sri Lanka and we all beat each other so they were my favourites to get to the final but they both got knocked out in the second round.
I've got Broady in the knockout stages and am backing myself to win although I'd feel a lot more confident if we played first to 21 rather than 11 over the best of three sets. I can't afford too many mistakes.
During our first warm-up game in Potchefstroom I managed to take a pretty decent photo of lightning on the horizon.
It was good fun trying to capture the moment and I'm pleased I've finally put my A Level in photography to good use!
My other favourite snap from the tour so far is one of myself, Samit Patel and Nick Compton 'travelling in style' in Pietermaritzburg.
We went to the same restaurant every single night as there wasn't much around - and because there were no taxis either we ended up getting a lift back to the hotel in the back of a local's Ute.
The beauty of our two warm-up wins is that all of the top six have spent plenty of time at the crease, which is invaluable, going into a massive series like this.
All of the bowlers have chipped in with wickets too. I've had a pretty good view of things from under the lid at short leg and the way Steven Finn is bowling since coming back from injury is seriously impressive. He's bowling almost as well as I've ever seen him bowl.
Broady has led the attack really well in the warm-up games as well, delivering exactly what we need him to do. He's obviously got a lot of confidence at the minute and that's coming out in his bowling, which is great as Jimmy is struggling with a bit of a calf niggle at the moment.
The way the boys have come on in the last 12 months and the style of cricket we're playing is really exciting. I've been particularly impressed with how the likes of Ben Stokes and Joe Root have set out to dominate attacks.
Everything is set up nicely for this to be a really tough, hard-fought series.
Test match cricket is the pinnacle of the game as far as I'm concerned and you want to be involved in big series and challenging to win games all the time.
England against South Africa is always massive so it's really nice to be playing them as World No 1 in their own backyard.
I feel in a really good place with my game, particularly after scoring a hundred in the first warm-up. Hopefully it will stand me in really good stead for the Tests to come.
The team knows just how big a challenge we've got ahead of us and personally I'm really excited about it. The odds are against us causing an upset but deep down we know if we play to our potential we have a real chance of winning this series.
Merry Christmas!
Coverage of the first Test between South Africa and England in Durban gets underway at 7.30am on Boxing Day morning on Sky Sports 2, or watch without a contract on NOW TV.
