SA vs Eng 3rd Test - Africa Eyes to Level Series at Newlands

Cape Town: England captain Andrew Strauss believes his side will take nothing for granted when it looks to wrap up the series against South Africa in the third Test which starts on Sunday.

Although it has a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series, Strauss said England would not repeat the mistake it made against Australia earlier this year of talking up its chances of a series victory just because it was in the lead.

England beat Australia at Lord's but then lost by an innings at Headingley to allow the opposition to draw level, before Strauss's side eventually won the Ashes series 2-1.

England has a good chance of going into the match at Newlands with a team unchanged from the one which beat the host nation by an innings in Durban.

Paul Collingwood, who dislocated his left index finger in Durban, batted without apparent discomfort in the nets on Saturday, and barring last-minute complications should bat as usual at No 5.

Looking ahead, Strauss said: "It's one of the great occasions, playing a Newlands Test. It's a wicket that offers the bowlers something, whether it's the seamers on day one or the spinners at the back end of the match. It's a result wicket, we will have to bat well."

For South Africa, the most likely change will be in the bowling ranks, where veteran Makhaya Ntini could be dropped for Friedel de Wet, who took five wickets on his debut in the first Test in Pretoria.

Dropping the iconic Ntini would be a controversial move, as he has been a key member of the team for a decade and is vital to the transformation of the game in racial terms in South Africa. In terms of on-field performance, though, Ntini had a below-average 2009, taking only 13 wickets in six Tests at an average of 57.00.

As for his own performance, Smith reckoned it would not be affected by the high stakes at Newlands.

Team news

South Africa: Likely change will be in the bowling ranks, where veteran Makhaya Ntini could be dropped for Friedel de Wet, who took five wickets on his debut in the first Test in Centurion. 

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

England: Collingwood should play, but if not Carberry would be a straight swap leaving the four-man attack to pick up where it left off last week. While the extra-bowler is always an option, a series lead and memories of Headingley, where a batsman-light England were trounced, should mean England stick with the balance they have.

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

Pitch and conditions
The last Test played here saw Steyn run through Australia's middle order before three centuries helped take South Africa to a mammoth first-innings 651. Bar two balmy spells in each Test the bat has dominated this series and should do again here.

Stats and trivia

• Cape Town is very much South Africa's favourite hunting ground, with 14 wins from 20 Tests since readmission in 1992. England have nothing to take from their experiences, with heavy defeats from each of their past three games there.
• Jacques Kallis has a good record almost anywhere he plays, but he is particularly fond of Cape Town, amassing 1448 runs from 25 innings there, including a first-innings 149 to set up victory the last time the sides met at Newlands.

Match facts
January 3-7, 2010
Start time 10:30 local time (08:30 GMT)