Mark Nicholas

Sport finds itself on hold now. That provides us a timely opportunity to recalibrate and reassess

Under Jacques Faul, Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher, they just might have put the doom and gloom of 2019 behind them

At Newlands, de Kock and Bavuma briefly took watchers back to a golden age of South African cricket

Is he faster than Larwood, Tyson, Trueman and Malcolm? Probably

How good were Pope and Bess in Port Elizabeth?

Finally he has full ownership of his team, and in this Test he got what he wanted from his leading men and from the support cast too

South Africa's new coach emphasised the importance of clarity, and you saw that in the performance against England in Centurion

With Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher at the helm, South Africa no longer look as rocky as they did a month ago. England have been warned

A thrilling fast bowler, an incisive commentator, a generous colleague, and a wonderful travel companion - Mark Nicholas remembers a hero and a friend

He has had successful stints with India and South Africa and has a batting brain that Joe Root would love to pick

Their bowling has been relentless and tight, and their batting has been, well, Steve Smith

Like Beefy, and Andrew Flintoff before him, Ben Stokes has the spirit and stamina to drag his side out of trouble and into magnificent victory

The Ashes are alive thanks to the incredible game awareness and self-belief of one batsman who was yet again left to get it done by himself

We talk about poor techniques and slow over rates, but now more than ever, as Lord's showed, the play is the thing, and it has everybody hooked.

It is a happy coincidence that they currently have so many multi-skilled players

He has said that his year out of the game made him resolve to make up for lost time. He began that mission in earnest against England

Coming off a tense World Cup win, an escape in the Ireland Test, and battling top-order problems, are they in the right frame of mind to take on Australia over seven weeks?

Astonishing, unprecedented, lucky, smart, brilliant, unlucky, flattering, faltering, preposterous - the World Cup final was all that and more

Which one will end up holding the trophy come Sunday evening?

They have waited a long time for this, and made it through to the pointy end after a few wake-up calls. Never have they had a team better equipped to achieve glory