Swann and Broad make a fine couple
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
PA Photos
Simon Wilde, writing in the Times, says England have found an excellent bowling combination in the architects of their win in Durban, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad, for a fast bowler and a spinner bowling in tandem pose a classic test of a batsman’s technique and mental staying power.
It can be a wearing examination and Morne Morkel’s dismissal early on the final day in Durban showed that it had taken its toll on him. The night before Morkel had been getting well forward to Graeme Swann but when play resumed he appeared to quickly forgot his routines. In the second over of the day he was trapped leg-before going back to the off spinner moments after having faced Stuart Broad.
Mike Atherton, speaking to Carrie Dunn in the Times, analyses England's emphatic win in Durban and says that for South Africa to fight back, they need to come harder at Swann, who grabbed his second five-wicket haul of the series.
He's ebullient and confident, in private as well as on the field, and dealing with him will be something South Africa have to look at before the next Test. They'll be thinking, "He's got a five-fer, he took nine wickets in the match, so if we're going to get back in the series we're going to have to think of a way to cope with him." I think they'll have to play more aggressively against him.
In the Daily Telegraph, Simon Hughes chronicles the way England went about winning the first Test and adds that despite the significance of an innings victory, the team led by Andrew Strauss is not one that will rest on its laurels.
Writing in the Guardian, former England coach Duncan Fletcher says the key to England's comprehensive victory was some intelligent bowling from their four-pronged attack.
Nasser Hussain calls England's effort "as complete a performance by England as I have seen for a very long time" in his daily dossier in the Daily Mail.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo