How the teams compare ahead of series

So seeing that the much anticipated test series between South Africa and England is almost upon us, I think its an ideal time to write about how I rate the two teams in comparison to each other. England have come off a massive Ashes series victory this year while SA were as close as last month ranked as the number 1 team in test cricket. It promises to be a close affair but who has the edge? Here’s how the two lineups compare.

Openers : Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince are fairly new when it comes to opening batsmen combinations. Despite the wealth of experience I think England have the edge here as Strauss and Cook are solid openers capable of giving England good starts. Strauss also did well the last time he was here on tour so expect England to be lead well by their skipper.

No. 3: Hashim Amla vs Ian Bell. This one I feel Amla will win. The elegant right hander has been consistent in recent seasons while Bell will have lots of pressure on him. I think Amla will also be looking to do well after making his debut against the English last time around when he was still the raw talent. He’ll be looking to show them the mature batsmen he is today.

No 4: Jacques Kallis vs Kevin Pietersen. The two premier batsmen will be looking to have a big series for their respective teams. With both having come back from injury though, this one may be hard to call. Pietersen to edge it for me though, as he tends to have that extra motivation against the Proteas.

No. 5: AB De Villiers vs Jonathan Trott. AB has been in good form this past year while Trott seems to have adjusted well to international level. De Villiers will be playing on his home ground in the first test and one gets the feeling a big score there might set him up for a good series. Trott may well be targeted by the Protea pacemen so I’ll give De Villers the edge.

No.6: JP Duminy vs Paul Collingwood. The young star against the experienced campaigner. This should be interesting. Many have doubted Duminy’s ability against the bouncer, but I say it won’t be as effective as it was in the ODI’s. He’ll flourish, as form is temporary and class is permanent. JP certainly oozes class, so despite Collingwood doing well against SA recently, I feel JP will win this battle.

No.7: Mark Boucher vs Matt Prior. I think the pressure on Boucher will prove to be too much. Critics have been calling for him to be axed from the squad, and I think Boucher will not contribute as much as his counter part would, particularly with the bat. Prior can be dangerous when in for a long time and I can picture some valuable contributions from the wicket keeper come this series.

No. 8: Morne Morkel vs Stuart Broad. Two young players looking to have a big impact on this series. Morkel might just edge the bowling but I fear Broad’s batting in the lower order might make him a valuable player for the tourists. Two players for the future no doubt but the performance of them in this series might be what swings the series in the countries favour.

No. 9: Paul Harris vs Graeme Swann. The two spinners will have great responsibility on their shoulders. Harris can tend to get in the face of his opponents while Swann is capable of wrapping up the opposition tail pretty quickly. The last time round though England seemed to underestimate Haris. Will they make the same mistake twice? I feel they might just, so Harris to win this duel for me.

No. 10: Dale Steyn vs James Anderson. The two men primed with being their team’s top bowler. Steyn is capable of blowing over any batting order but I feel its Anderson’s form which will give him the edge. They both will be even more dangerous if it swings but trust them to be the leading wicket takers in the series either way.

No. 11: Makhaya Ntini vs Ryan Sidebottom. Two players who have peaked in my opinion, will struggle to set the series on light. Ntini though still has some pace at his age, so with this being his last series possibly I’d give him the edge as he’d be eager to keep his place. Sidebottom on the other hand lacks pace and may be fighting for his place come the 2nd and 3rd tests.

That’s ended up 5 all. It shows that this series has the making to be a quality series showing the beauty that is test cricket when played amongst two competitive teams. Will England surprise SA as they did in the ODI’s? Or will SA bounce back and claim back the top spot in test cricket. I wish I knew the answers but I’ll sure be watching to see how things unfold.