2:28 England captain Joe Root hailed his side’s attitude after illness blighted their build-up to the first Test as well the game itself
Cape Town Tests traditionally begin just after the New Year and, while that timing is maintained in the present series, the fixture now takes place at a far earlier stage of the tour than it once did.
It could be argued that, by the final Test of the series – which Newlands staged in 1996 and 2000 – touring batsmen had become more attuned to seaming wickets and were therefore increasingly likely to struggle against spin.
Home from home
Certain overseas venues have always attracted England supporters in greater numbers than others and logically, the extra backing should surely increase the touring side’s chances of success.
Conversely, it could also crank up the pressure on England to perform. Cape Town, with the scenic backdrop of Table Mountain towering over the ground, is always a popular destination for tourists and cricket lovers alike – and may be an example of such pressure.
Think Melbourne and Barbados, other Test grounds that attract large numbers of English fans and, more often than not, fail to inspire the kind of display they were hoping to witness from their team.
Positive spin
The good news for England is that the Test matches played at Newlands since their last visit, the Stokes-inspired draw four years ago, indicate the wicket can no longer be seen as anything resembling a fearsome turner.
True, South Africa have enjoyed a 100 per cent record in those games – but the likes of Rangana Herath, Ravi Ashwin and even their own first-choice spinner, Keshav Maharaj, have all failed to extract much from the pitch.
In fact, the Proteas went into their most recent Cape Town Test against Pakistan without a front-line spin bowler, while visiting leg-spinner Yasir Shah went wicketless.
That suggests the quicker bowlers will hold the key to the match and the series, but much still rests on that old chestnut – whether England can find a way to post a sizeable score in their first innings.
Watch day one of the second Test between South Africa and England, in Cape Town, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30am on Friday.
Sourse: skysports.com
