SA vs Eng 2nd Test - Both Team Eyes Take Lead in Series

Durban: England captain Andrew Strauss said on Thursday he was confident in the ability of his batsmen to deal with what is likely to be an improved South African bowling attack in the second Test starting at Kingsmead on Saturday.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn, who was ruled out of the drawn first Test at Centurion shortly before the start because of a hamstring injury, is set to return, while Jacques Kallis is likely to feature as a bowler as well as a batsman after a rib injury restricted him to just three overs on the final day at Centurion.

The weather could be a factor in Durban, where rain is predicted at some stage during all five days, but the pitch looked in good condition on Thursday. It is expected to be hard and provide more consistent bounce than was the case in the first Test.

Responding to South African captain Graeme Smith's assertion that the hosts played the better cricket in the first Test, when England's last wicket pair needed to bat out the last 20 balls to earn a draw, Strauss said the pressure could be on South Africa.

But Strauss admitted that England needed to play better than they did in the opening encounter.

Kingsmead has a reputation for helping the bowlers in the early part of a match before flattening out.

The three previous Test matches between South Africa and England at Kingsmead have been drawn.

Rain spoiled the clash in 1995/96 and the next two matches both featured high scores in the third innings, with Gary Kirsten scoring 275 after South Africa were forced to follow on in 1999/2000 and England scoring 570 for seven declared after trailing by 193 runs five years ago.

Strauss was one of three England century-makers on the latter occasion.

Teams have several times gone into Kingsmead Tests without picking a spin bowler but it is unlikely this time, with off-spinners Paul Harris and Graham Swann having been the most successful bowlers for South Africa and England in the first Test.

Team news

South Africa: Steyn is expected to replace Friedel de Wet in the South African team, England are likely to be unchanged, with Strauss saying he had confidence in the current mix of six specialist batsmen and only four bowlers. Although he said England needed to be flexible.

Squad (likely): Graeme Smith (capt), Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher (wkt), Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.

England: Bell and Cook are under the cosh, but England like to avoid panic measures wherever possible, and with doubts still existing about Luke Wright's readiness for Test cricket, the likelihood is of an unchanged starting XI.

Squad (likely): Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior (wkt), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Graham Onions.

Pitch and conditions
Five years ago, Smith won the toss and rightly fielded first, whereupon Shaun Pollock, Steyn and Ntini routed England for 139 in their first innings inside two sessions. Strauss will surely be wary of taking such a route given what happened in Centurion, but he'd be unwise to dismiss such a notion out of hand.

Stats and trivia

• Durban was famously the venue of the Timeless Test in 1938, but even since readmission, it has retained a certain reputation for staging stalemates.
• England have never yet lost in three attempts since 1995-96, while South Africa have drawn six of their 17 Tests there since 1992.
• Jacques Kallis is certainly a fan of Kingsmead. He has amassed a formidable 1046 runs in 20 Test innings, at a mighty average of 58.11. His four centuries include the 162 he made on England's last visit.

Match facts
December 26-30, 2009
Start time 10:30 local time (08:30 GMT)