When England face South Africa on Boxing Day they will be faced with a formidable, fiery South African pace attack. An attack that is even more potent and dangerous when they are hosting, despite their recent showing against India. Given England’s recent Ashes series, I think it is likely to be that pace attack that will be posing yet more questions amongst English fans and pundits alike.

It is safe to say that South African Cricket is currently in turmoil, having not won a test in the calendar year and suffering from a catastrophic board breakdown that has thrown the whole team and system into disrepair. This is going to leave them unprepared approaching the series with England on home soil; they will likely field several debutants having named 6 in their squad. However, with England entering a new Silverwood era, and in low spirits following series defeat in New Zealand, I think the competition will be tighter than some might think. I believe that South Africa’s fast bowlers can keep them in the series, especially one at home.

Generally speaking, bowlers tend to perform better when they are playing at home. Conditions that you grow up playing help to build and develop a subconscious skill set that defines the way you bowl as a cricketer. In addition to this, temperature and climate are familiar, so they are able to focus on the job at hand without distraction from the environment; something that most definitely impacts players from the Caribbean when they come to rainy England during ‘summer’.