'England have the advantage'

Shane Warne, writing in the Telegraph, thinks South Africa struggle with an unconventional approach and that England have the upper hand going into the Test series that begins on Thursday at The Oval.

South Africa are very regimented and disciplined. What I always found playing against them was that the more imagination and flair you showed the more successful you would be. Unorthodox tactics unsettle their rhythm.

They are used to three slips, gully, backward point, bowling outside off stump and wearing each other down all day. That is the type of cricket they play but whenever you step out of that by having two catchers at midwicket and three gullys, for example, or start bowling slower ball bouncers and mixing it up a little bit, they start to struggle.

Mike Selvey, writing in Guardian, also backs England to do well, saying the depth of English pace attack is "matchless".

The depth of England talent, though, is surely matchless and something seen elsewhere only in the glory years of West Indies. At The Oval it is almost certain that Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad will be joined by the redoubtable Tim Bresnan. But misfortune to any of them and those who would step into the breach – Graham Onions, Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett – would form a high-quality international pace attack themselves that would be the envy of most teams. All will play – and do so deservingly on merit – over the course of the next 18 months.