'It was a good day of toil,' says Hoggard

Matthew Hoggard extolled the virtues of attritional cricket at the close of the first day's play at Port Elizabeth, after his wholehearted efforts had lifted England into a promising position on a less-than-responsive pitch. Hoggard, who gave his entire team a shot in the arm with the second-ball wicket of Graeme Smith, grabbed 3 for 41 in 15 overs, after England were asked to bowl first.

Renowned as an anxious performer at times, Hoggard admitted that the early strike had settled his nerves nicely, but denied that the identity of his victim was of any great relevance. On South Africa's last visit to England in 2003, Smith ended Nasser Hussain's reign as captain with a magnificent 277 at Edgbaston, before setting up a famous win at Lord's with scores of 259 and 85.

"Obviously it was nice to get the South African captain early," said an understated Hoggard, "especially after what he did to us in England last time. But it's always nice to get anyone early, and it put us in the ascendancy."

Hoggard went on: "It was a good day of toil. Even when we were getting no wickets, South Africa were not allowed to get away. There was a workmanlike ethic from everybody out there." In particular, it took a sterling performance from Andrew Flintoff to keep England from melting away in the heat, and Hoggard was quick to praise his performance.

"It was a massive performance from Fred," said Hoggard, after Flintoff had broken through in the afternoon with the wickets of Jacques Rudolph and Zander de Bruyn. "He's come on in leaps and bounds this year, and his performance with the old ball brought us back into the game."

South Africa's hero was Rudolph, who was jolted out of his seat by Smith's dismissal in the first over, but remained steadfast for more than four hours to top-score with a hard-worked 93. "To be honest, I prefer coming in early," said Rudolph. "I don't enjoy sitting in the changing-room."

He may have been unfazed by his early arrival, but Rudolph's eventual exit, seven short of a deserved century, was a disappointment, as he later admitted he had been unsettled by a huge appeal for caught-behind from Flintoff's previous ball. "It affected me a little bit," said Rudolph, after he had flinched a rising delivery to the keeper. "I probably wasn't as switched on to the ball that got me out. I shouldn't have played that shot, but I'll have to learn from it."

As for the state of the game, Rudolph admitted that it had not been South Africa's day, and blamed that on the inexperience in their side. "It would have been nice to get 400," he admitted, but tomorrow we'll be aiming for 350, and then anything after that will be a bonus."