South Africa captain Graeme Smith will look at this England side and be worried

Andrew Strauss is the same. Both are good blokes, speak well and like to lead with the bat. In fact this series could come down to which captain scores the most runs.

England will know Smith is strong on the cut and pull. They have to bring him forward and hit the pads early on. Getting him guessing if it will go across or come back into him is how to mess with his mind.

He used to play a brave attacking game up front and go hard at the ball and in some ways I think against this England attack it is not a bad idea to be brave and bold. Those that simply try and survive will find they don?t last long. As a captain Smith can be quite brave with his calls in the field while Strauss has a system that works for him and will not change anything.

Both captains will know these will be long matches and mentally draining. I don?t see three, three-day Tests in this series. It is going to be tough cricket and South Africa are now the one team in the world capable of beating England in their backyard mainly because their batsmen will be hard to dismiss twice in a match. Australia are nowhere near that standard now.

We all know South Africa?s bowling is strong but again I just wonder if Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander will have bowled enough overs before the first Test.

The De Villiers factor behind the stumps could also be another boost for England. It is a job AB would not have wanted to take on. It will be physically demanding on top of facing a good England attack. Boucher was also the engine of the team.

Matt Prior has done that for England for the past three or four years and we see him as a vital part of the side. Well Boucher had been doing it for 15 years. It is hard to replace that kind of player overnight, particularly at the start of a tour. Smith will miss his tactical nous and approach to the game.

I will go as far as saying his loss has swung the series in England?s favour. His departure is more of a boost to England?s chances than his presence would have been for South Africa?s.

As a captain and coach you want your spine sorted: two openers, new ball bowlers, a spinner and a keeper. South Africa have lost one of their main cogs and that is bound to unbalance the side a little bit.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568303/s/2159278d/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Csport0Ccricket0Cinternational0Cengland0C940A0A4330CSouth0EAfrica0Ecaptain0EGraeme0ESmith0Ewill0Elook0Eat0Ethis0EEngland0Eside0Eand0Ebe0Eworried0Bhtml/story01.htm

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