The Surfer

With all due respect to the previous generations of batsmen and those that are to follow, I would not hesitate to say that if this batting line up had not achieved it, it would have been difficult to achieve it at all. Let’s take nothing away from the bowlers, who have been outstanding in all conditions. The seamers took wickets on a batting beauty in Kanpur, the spinners took wickets in by and large unfriendly conditions. My two main bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh have really responded to the challenge of leading the attacks with youngsters at other end.

I do not think it was malicious or calculated even if some people are adamant he has done it before in this series. And, after what happened with Broad and the umpires over a review at Centurion, you would have thought he would want to stay away from any possibility of trouble.

Even the greatest of players have form slumps, but those in their 36th year have to withstand greater scrutiny and field endless questions about eyesight and reaction time, especially against shorter and faster deliveries. They are not easy questions to ask of someone of Ponting's stature. Nor are they easy for him to answer.

Marcus North is a worse starter than pea soup and will be hard-pressed to retain his place in Hobart. Brad Haddin's counter-attacks have lacked conviction. At present, it's not so much an order as a disorder.

As well as South Africa fought, England may feel that they had too much of a hand in their own downfall with the bat. The pitch was a little two-paced and South Africa maintained an impressive discipline throughout, but too many batsmen got themselves in and then got themselves out, either through anxiety, overconfidence or a mixture of both.

This is proving to be tight and bewitching series. The one way in which England have shown more initiative than their opponents, is when playing the opposition's spinner. They have attacked Harris more purposefully and more successfully than the South Africans have Graeme Swann.

Top-class operators recognise the need to put overs and spells together. Malcolm Marshall had few off days. Doubtless rhythm did periodically desert him. On those occasions, he'd drop his pace, reduce his variations and focus on line and length. Little ground was lost in the hard times. Always he did his work and kept it tight.

The only thing I would say is that I am not sure Andrew Strauss got his field settings exactly right when Swann was bowling to Kallis. The England captain could have toyed with him a bit more rather than sticking to the in and out field which allowed Kallis to accumulate without any undue risk. There is little point trying to be more patient than Kallis because he is never going to lose it and play a reckless shot.

Little wonder so many members of the umpiring community are so uneasy about the system. Doctrove deserves an apology, not a crowd of 29,844 believing he made a serious error of judgment. This was not the type of decision for which the technology has been introduced. To suggest Doctrove's decision was a howler is an affront to the umpiring fraternity.

It is on tracks of this sort that famous innings are played. Grafters like Bill Lawry, Ken Barrington, Hanif Mohammad and others prided themselves on their ability to dig in until conditions improved. They displayed enough grit to tar a road.

4 Shane Warne busted: The leg-spin legend copped a year's ban when he tested positive for drugs in 2003. He claimed it was a diuretic taken for vanity reasons, but many saw it as a comeuppance for his perceived social sins. His charity work ensured - rightly - that this shame did not linger.

We had to stop every 400m and get out of the coach to do some more speaking to the public. It was an incredible welcome. There must have been about 6,000 people outside the hotel to catch a glimpse of the players climbing onto the team bus. I had to pinch myself when 100,000 people came to watch our game in Kolkata.

Overall, the England captaincy appears to be in good hands. From the outside the captain is like an iceberg, in that we don’t see the bulk of his work in the dressing room and at close quarters with his players. We do see him at press conferences and in television interviews, where he handles himself with aplomb. The trick from his end is to avoid any of the traps set by the inquisitors, but even they are less cunning than they once were.

Strauss, it can be seen in hindsight, should have been captain two years earlier. But had that happened he might have been drubbed in Australia (as was Andrew Flintoff) and fizzled out. Yet the selectors should not be patting themselves on the back. He was always an obvious choice. It is what selectors are paid for. Flower was more of a risk because he was an appointment from within.