South Africa in the ascendancy but must now expose England's weaknesses

A brave call to bat from returning captain Faf du Plessis allowed the tourists to take the upper hand and the second day will now be crucial, says Graeme Smith

Faf Du Plessis' brave decision allowed the tourists to take the upper hand (Getty)

Despite a faint feeling of frustration that South Africa’s position might have been a stronger one, day one undoubtedly belongs to the Proteas after a brave decision to make first use of this Trent Bridge wicket from the returning captain Faf Du Plessis.

After Heino Kuhn’s battling knock, I was thrilled to see Hashim Amla and Quinten De Kock bat with the intent and calmness that makes them both such special players. Following the Lord's debacle, I cited the need for senior players to stand up – which they did today. My only gripe is that neither went on to really make England pay.

There were signs that England were wilting slightly, but perhaps that clinical edge is still yet to manifest itself on this tour. That said, I can tell you now that Faf Du Plessis would have grabbed this overnight position with both hands at the start of the day. Anything over 350 will make England work, on a pitch that has shown a tendency to get quicker and quicker as games progress.

Faf will have made that call based on what he felt have his side the best chance of winning the game, and the thought of this five-man attack coming hard at England with runs on the board will have been firmly in his mind before the toss. South Africa showed an ability to exploit some sizeable chinks in England’s armour at Lord's, but lacked the assertiveness and clinical ability to capitalise when on top.

Runs on the board at Trent Bridge always puts a side in a strong position, but South Africa will have to pay real attention to their lengths with the ball in hand. There’s enough in this surface, and both Stuart Broad and James Anderson bowled beautifully at times, showing that bowling the fuller lengths gives you the greatest chance of making regular breakthroughs. Still, De Kock and Amla made it looks easy whilst at the crease with both men timing the ball superbly, and moving well.

Had Amla and De Kock managed to bat for another 20-30 minutes after the break, South Africa could have really raced away from England. As much as I’ll admit to being surprised to see De Kock at four, his ability to score freely transfers pressure on to bowlers, without Quinten really having to change his game at all.

De Kock impressed batting at four (Getty)

Essentially, he can play the same game from four or six, and that move paid dividends for his side today. Quinten’s style of play allowed Amla to go about his work without undue amounts of pressure, but Hashim’s wicket was key given his proven hunger to be the player in this line up who goes on and bats big throughout his career.

Saturday could be a huge day in terms of the Proteas getting back in to the series, and the importance of the first two sessions now becomes enormous. Anything over 350 should boost the South African’s morale, and with Morris and Philander both showing that they are more than capable against a quality England attack today, that looks more and more likely.

It then becomes a question of whether South Africa can be better in the field, and find that aggressive intent that seems to have been lacking on this whole tour with the ball. Philander and Morkel have to be the two to lead the charge in that respect, with the likes of Morris, Maharaj and the debutant Duane Olivier there to back them up.

This is a huge stage on which to make your debut in for Duane, but he has the advantage of being a relative unknown to the England batsmen, always a plus point in this era of diligent video analysis in terms of every player’s preparation for a Test match.

England showed some frailties at Lord's, and with this track seemingly tailor-made for a bowler like Philander, Saturday presents a real chance for South Africa to strike their first counter punch in this series.