South Africa are disappointed and, with what is regarded as arguably the best pace attack in the world, their performance does leave a lot to be desired. Allan Donald was below his best and has a small technical problem. Presently, his rhythm is flawed as it appears that he is running in too fast to the wicket and can not gather himself for delivery.

Batting is timing, bowling is rhythm. Without them, problems creep in. You have to hit the bowling crease with purpose but if it is too fast, there is no time to rock back with the body or get the front arm up, so essential to good control. If you do it right, the wrist cocks automatically behind the ball and travels down the wicket upright, producing swing and seam.

The Test wicket was conducive to this but too many balls ``wobbled'' down the wicket, unlikely to pitch on the roughest part of the ball, the seam, to cause discomfort for the batsmen. Continually during the first day, Donald and Shaun Pollock appeared to be straining, therefore bowling a yard too short only to see the ball swing or seam alarmingly after it had passed the bat, causing more problems for the wicketkeeper than the batsmen.

Mark Boucher will look back at the extras during this game, knowing most were unavoidable. Seventy-eight extras is a damning statistic and could easily have meant the difference between victory and defeat. It should not happen again. Pollock was also guilty, although his second innings' effort was far better. He is usually a consistent bowler, but needs more match practice to get the right 'English' length, which is fuller than in his home country.

Irrespective of how much you have played, you need to make this adjustment and focus on the right spot on the wicket to ensure your consistency. Australia and South Africa are where Pollock has played over the last year and the automatic pilot seems to be honing in on that length, which is a yard too short. You can be sure he has learnt and will not be as benevolent again.

Paul Adams has matured since Australia and it was great to see Hansie Cronje handing him the challenge on the first day after an ordinary performance by the more illustrious names. He responded magnificently and Cronje is reaping the reward for having nurtured Adams in his initial matches.

South Africa are down, but that is when they are dangerous. You can be assured that with more competitive cricket between now and the next Test they will be ready for England.