The first Test obviously ended in frustration for England, but in truth they were thwarted by a combination of South African resilience and the conditions.

Yes, it was disappointing that Michael Vaughan's men got themselves into such a good position but didn't press on, but South Africa played very, very well.

To bat for two days is never easy, no matter how helpful the conditions are.

Amla and Mackenzie: Thwarted England

And Lord's was definitely slanted heavily towards the batsmen, maybe too much so. I don't think anyone expected it to be so slow but, in fairness to the groundsman, he'd had a fairly horrendous build-up to the game.

As worthy as this England attack is, they do need a bit of help from the conditions, be it in the air or off the pitch.

This was a flat track, Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson haven't quite got the armoury to blast through good sides, which the tourists clearly are.

That of course leads us on to Andrew Flintoff. The reason he will play at Headingley is precisely because of what happened on the last two days here. England need that variation, that extra pace.

Under pressure

And I do think he will come in, for the unfortunate Paul Collingwood.

Before the game the talk was about he and Ian Bell being under pressure and needing runs. Bell stepped up to the mark with his 199 of course, but Collingwood was less fortunate. He won't be the first, or last batsman, to get a bad decision but as cruel as it is, that will cost him his place.

It is good for England to have Flintoff back but let's not get carried away. The last time he played at headquarters, against Sri Lanka in 2006, they followed on and scored 500-plus in their second innings and he only took two wickets in 51 overs. And rather ironically, conditions at Headingley are likely to suit the three England seamers who played at Lord's.

One major disappointment for England was Monty Panesar's second-innings performance. Panesar had been touted as the one discernable difference between the two sides and although it wasn't a great pitch to bowl spin on, it was good enough. A fifth-day pitch with plenty of runs on the board, should also have been enough.

Panesar is a spinner of the ball rather than a flight bowler which means he doesn't have a great deal of variation when there's no purchase off the pitch.

Lease of life

To be fair, although they had their moments, Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie played him quite well, and once they blunted him, he just didn't have enough to answers those kind of questions.

As a batting unit South Africa have actually out-performed England in terms of Test match runs over the last year.

Hashim Amla, although there was talk of his inexperience, showed that he has improved since last time he came up against England - when the feeling was that he wasn't up to it. Neil McKenzie also showed that he is enjoying a second lease of life in Test cricket.

And after a bad start, the first Test will have been a triumph for Smith. He might have got some flak for the toss, but normally if the pitch isn't going to break up, you feel you might have a better chance of bowling a side out first up.

He was though, let down badly by his bowlers - and in that sense there was not much he could do. Admittedly they didn't get the opportunity to even have a bowl out in the middle before the game, but these days most touring sides lack practise when they begin Test series.

Iconic bowler

Smith's decision ultimately backfired because of his bowlers, but I also thought on the Thursday and Friday, he didn't strike me as a man who had a feel for the game he was in.

For those two days, the South African attack was poor. I was impressed with Morne Morkel and I do think there is a lot more to come from him, but Makhaya Ntini was a disappointment. Whether he has slightly lost his nip, I don't know, but even so, he is a 300-Test-wicket bowler, an iconic bowler and I can't think they will change him.

South Africa though, will be chuffed to bits with the draw, especially with the way the first three days went.

England in contrast will be on a downer. They had a lot of bowling to do as well, which might well have an affect on what happens at Headingley on Friday.

The disappointment was that they only took three wickets in the second innings and will be hoping for better come the second Test - and a little more help from the conditions.

back to top