Smith's work ethic guarantees England a test

Tough and talented, South Africa have taken their inspiration from their captain to become the world's best Test team. Duncan Fletcher, who has ties with both England and South Africa, writes in his Guardian column that Graeme Smith's work ethic guarantees England will be tested to the limit.

What impressed me most when I was with the team before the Champions Trophy was their work ethic. You had to see it to believe it. Coming out of a chill winter, Potchefstroom was a hot place to be training and they ran themselves off their feet. They set themselves some seriously high standards, and a lot of that comes from Smith and his excellent relationship with the coach, Mickey Arthur. They do not treat nets as just another bit of practice – everything they do is designed to take their game forward. It shows in the side's fielding, which is excellent. That's one area where I expect them to have an advantage over England.