Why England can end run of Cape Town failures against South Africa

Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey and Peter May. These were the mainstays of the batting line-up when England last savoured a Test-match triumph in Cape Town.

The date was January 1957 and the tourists, led by May, won by a resounding 312 runs. Even factoring in South Africa's years of sporting isolation during the apartheid era, that is a long time without another Test victory.

England are by no means the only visiting team to struggle on the Newlands track - South Africa boast a formidable record there and have not lost to any side bar Australia since 1962.

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So what are the reasons behind England's barren run - and why might they have reasonable grounds for optimism when they arrive in Cape Town, looking to bounce back from their 107-run defeat in the first Test at Centurion?

Turning pitch

Newlands has tended to take spin to a greater extent than the majority of South Africa's seam-friendly surfaces. Left-arm spinner Johnny Wardle claimed his best Test analysis of 12-89 during that England victory 63 years ago.

Since they resumed touring the country in 1995, England have often struggled against slow left-armers such as Paul Adams and Nicky Boje, particularly when the wicket began to show signs of wear and tear later in the game.

Rarely have the visitors possessed a spinner of sufficient quality to capitalise on those conditions. Australia, on the other hand, won three consecutive Tests at Cape Town between 1994 and 2006. On each occasion, their side included Shane Warne, who captured a total of 17 wickets during those three matches.

First-innings failures

It may seem obvious - particularly in the wake of England's first-innings collapse against the Proteas last week - but their struggles at Cape Town have frequently stemmed from an inability to put early runs on the board.

Having won the toss there in 1996, Mike Atherton's side mustered only 153 and were comfortably beaten by 10 wickets.

Four years later, the tourists failed to build on a century opening stand between Atherton and Mark Butcher and posted a modest 258 on a good wicket, with South Africa gaining a healthy lead as they went on to win by an innings and 37 runs.

England's only substantial total at Newlands came on their last visit in 2016, when Ben Stokes' double hundred enabled them to compile 629-6 before the home side amassed a similar score to all but ensure a draw.

Timing is everything

With international cricket schedules growing ever more crowded, a Test series is now frequently condensed into fewer matches or at least shorter periods of time.

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Cape Town Tests traditionally begin just after the New Year and, while that timing is maintained in the present series, the fixture now takes place at a far earlier stage of the tour than it once did.

It could be argued that, by the final Test of the series - which Newlands staged in 1996 and 2000 - touring batsmen had become more attuned to seaming wickets and were therefore increasingly likely to struggle against spin.

Home from home

Certain overseas venues have always attracted England supporters in greater numbers than others and logically, the extra backing should surely increase the touring side's chances of success.

Conversely, it could also crank up the pressure on England to perform. Cape Town, with the scenic backdrop of Table Mountain towering over the ground, is always a popular destination for tourists and cricket lovers alike - and may be an example of such pressure.

Think Melbourne and Barbados, other Test grounds that attract large numbers of English fans and, more often than not, fail to inspire the kind of display they were hoping to witness from their team.

Positive spin

The good news for England is that the Test matches played at Newlands since their last visit, the Stokes-inspired draw four years ago, indicate the wicket can no longer be seen as anything resembling a fearsome turner.

True, South Africa have enjoyed a 100 per cent record in those games - but the likes of Rangana Herath, Ravi Ashwin and even their own first-choice spinner, Keshav Maharaj, have all failed to extract much from the pitch.

In fact, the Proteas went into their most recent Cape Town Test against Pakistan without a front-line spin bowler, while visiting leg-spinner Yasir Shah went wicketless.

That suggests the quicker bowlers will hold the key to the match and the series, but much still rests on that old chestnut - whether England can find a way to post a sizeable score in their first innings.

Watch day one of the second Test between South Africa and England, in Cape Town, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30am on Friday.