England should attack South Africa early
Michael Vaughan believes South Africa tend to start their home Test series poorly and improve as they progress
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Michael Vaughan believes South Africa tend to start their home Test series poorly and improve as they progress. Writing in the Telegraph, the former England captain says that England must seize the early initiative against the hosts through attacking batting at Centurion, without worrying about their formidable record at the ground.
That means picking Luke Wright. He can attack and could be our Adam Gilchrist-type figure at seven – a batsman who plays big shots when the bowlers are tired. But it sounds as though England will not go that way because they are worried about South Africa's record at Centurion, where they have only lost once in 14 Tests.
They feel they need the insurance of an extra front line batsman in Ian Bell, but England should not worry about the ground. They just have to concern themselves with playing well and getting at them. If England manage that, then the result will look after itself.
Duncan Fletcher believes that momentum is an over-used word in the England-South Africa series where the ascendancy changed hands very often during the T20s and ODIs. Writing in the Guardian, the former England coach observes the similarity in the set-up of the two teams and advocates the inclusion of Luke Wright at number six to lend balance to the visitors’ side.
At times I could not quite believe what I was seeing in the one-day and Twenty20 series. One side would thrash the other only for there to be a total turnaround in the next game, before it would all flip back the other way again in the match after.
People talk a lot about who has "momentum" but when a series is so changeable you can only really judge something like that with hindsight. England will certainly have gained a little confidence. But a lot of teams need a kick in the pants every now and then and South Africa may come out stronger for their defeat. They have one clear advantage: they are playing at home. But that is counterbalanced by the fact that they have not played a Test since March. That leaves a question hanging over the match-readiness of the team.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo