The real thing starts here

There was an eerie sense of calm surrounding Port Elizabeth on the eve of the first Test at St George's Park. All that can be said has been said, and at some length as well, with both sides jostling for the psychological high ground before, during and since England's little hiccup at Potchefstroom. But now, with just a day to go until the first ball is bowled, it comes down to two proud sides, with two even prouder records.

Since England embarked on their spectacular run of 10 victories out of 11 Tests in 2004, it has been a conveniently overlooked fact just how formidable their opponents are when placed on home soil. Regardless of their slide down the ICC world rankings, South Africa have suffered just eight home defeats in 59 Tests since their readmission to international cricket in 1992, and in their last ten Tests at St George's Park, they have won six and lost just the once - a low-scoring thriller against the Aussies in 1996-97. "This is our back garden," has been the oft-repeated message. Over their dead bodies will South Africa allow England to dictate terms here.

It is a message that has sunk in as well, if Michael Vaughan's pre-match remarks are anything to go by. Since he returned from an attritional and ultimately disappointing tour of Sri Lanka last winter, aggression has been the watchword of Vaughan's captaincy. In Jamaica last March, it gave us the surreal sight of Steve Harmison steaming in to a nine-man slip cordon; at Lord's and Trent Bridge in the summer, it provided us with a pair of exuberant run-chases en route to a clean sweep against New Zealand. But on Monday, we saw the flip side of such a heady approach, as England's top order flashed a succession of edges into the slips, and stumbled to a cocksure downfall against South Africa A.

It was an abrupt and faintly embarrassing end to their year of unmatched dominance, and called into question the wisdom of such a limited build-up to such an important series. But it was nonetheless a timely reminder of the challenge that lies ahead, and in this climate of mild uncertainty, Vaughan has called on his players to tap into their mental reserves, as they contemplate the renewal of hostilities with a side that is much changed from the one they beat so memorably at The Oval in 2003. "Patience will be our keyword," declared Vaughan. "Patience with the bat and patience with the ball."

The mental side of England's game is not all about introspection, however, and Vaughan let it be known that Clive Lloyd, the ICC's match referee, could be a busy man in the coming days. "We have our plans for certain players," Vaughan revealed. "It's all about how a man reacts in certain situations. A few verbals in the right direction can affect some players more than others. There'll be plenty of battles and confrontations out there, but we're certainly up for it. We've done our research."

South Africa have done theirs as well, although patience doesn't seem to rate quite so highly in their game plan. In the selection of the thrusting young batsman AB de Villiers, and the probable appearance of the raw quickie, Dale Steyn, South Africa have invested their faith in youthful exuberance. It is a gamble, albeit one that is backed up by veterans such as Shaun Pollock, who has been stealthily silent in this week's build-up. But South Africa's hand has also been forced by circumstance, in particular the injuries to Jacques Kallis, who will play but may not be able to bowl in the first innings, and Nicky Boje, who has been ruled out after an operation to remove his thyroid gland. Smith explained: "There are still too many ifs about his fitness at the moment. He is bowling in the nets, but he's just not doing enough physical work to make it through a Test match."

The pitch, though currently green, mottled and not a little unsettling at first glance, is unlikely to assist either pace battery greatly, and South Africa could well rue the absence of Boje, given the assistance that St George's Park has offered to the spinners in the past. "It's pretty soft," was Vaughan's assessment of the strip, although with a baking hot weekend and a dry westerly breeze in prospect, any early demons ought quickly to be flattened out.

Whether the demons in Steve Harmison's mind can be as easily erased is a different matter. A reluctant tourist at the best of times, Harmison was well below his destructive best on a pacy pitch at Potchefstroom, and as the world's current No. 1 bowler, he is sure to have been targetted by South Africa's batsmen, in particular de Villiers, who has been given licence to play his natural attacking game, and intends treating Harmison as "just another bowler".

Vaughan, however, has no doubts about the potency and variety of his four-pronged pace attack, which has carried all before it in the past 12 months. "It's all about bowling as a unit," he explained. "We've come out on top in all sorts of different situations, and on different surfaces this year. We have some fond memories to fall back on as we go into this series."

As for Harmison himself, Vaughan was adamant that his man would rise to the challenge of defending his No. 1 status. "I'm sure South Africa have a game plan to get on top of Harmo," he said. "It's only natural because he's a genuine threat. But I have no doubt that at some stage of the series, he is going to produce a spell that changes a game."

South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 AB de Villiers, 3 Jacques Rudolph, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Boeta Dippenaar, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Shaun Pollock, 8 Zander de Bruyn, 9 Thami Tsolekile (wk), 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Dale Steyn.

England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Steve Harmison.