``It has a few demons in it with some unreliable bounce,'' was his verdict. ``The one that hit Dominic Cork took off and a couple kept low.''

But Butcher was able to see the positive side of the situation. ``It's keeping us on our toes, knowing that South Africa will themselves now have to bat on it. The belief in the dressing-room is still that we can beat them.

``Wickets were falling in clusters and it's the kind of strip where you can have two batsmen both on nought - a fact we hope we can exploit.''

Butcher confessed that he was ``upset'' at finally being bowled, playing on to a wide half-volley from Shaun Pollock, at such a crucial time.''It was the kind of ball I had been putting away for most of my innings,'' he added.

Butcher will long remember the boundary that took him to his first Test hundred. ``It was a very special moment. I looked round and saw the ball evading the slips.

``On a personal note I am very happy and proud. Nothing can ever take this away from me now. But from a team point of view we are some runs short of what we had hoped.

``My progress has been a matter of confidence, more than anything. The more you play the more fluent you become. I had been making plenty of runs for Surrey early on in the season but I didn't really expect to get back for England so soon.''

Butcher revealed that Brian McMillan had been joshing him from slip while he was in the nineties. ``It was all very good-natured,'' he said.

It was probably quieter on the Western Terrace where pre-match publicity on police plans to deal with trouble-makers left many rows of seats empty.

A handful of spectators were ejected during the day for drunken behaviour but some fancy dress was in evidence - notably a group of ``elves'' fetchingly garbed in lincoln green complete with pixie hats.

Chief Inspector Roy Shepherd, in charge of the police operation, said: ``Our purpose is to restore Headingley's good name as a Test ground and today I think we have gone a little way towards that goal. But Friday and Saturday, when all seats are virtually sold out, will be the big test.''