Proteas' pace attack is concern for skipper

3:05am Monday 7th July 2008

England captain Michael Vaughan has warned his faltering fellow batsman to prepare for a pace examination reminiscent of the lauded West Indies attack of the 1980s.

Vaughan leads England into a four-match Test campaign against South Africa, starting at Lord's on Thursday, on the back of a poor 12 months which has failed to deliver a first-innings score in excess of 400.

Only two of the entrenched top six, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss, have averaged over 40 in that period.

Yet the most hostile bowling trio currently operating in world cricket are about to be unleashed in the form of Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel.

Vaughan, who has been cranking up the bowling machine in the net practice at Loughborough these past few days, paid them a huge compliment when he compared them to Windies greats Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall.

''The lads will be working the angles as you always do against the opposition, putting the machine on a similar kind of pace,'' Vaughan said. ''But it is how you react to the ball out in the middle and that is mostly what Test match cricket is about.

''Your preparation has to be very good but once you get into the middle it is about reacting, being focused and basically playing on the instincts and talent you have.

''We are going to need big scores, and big hundreds, and to get them against that kind of attack will be very rewarding.

''Pace bowling, like mystery spin, is always fascinating to watch and I guess this is a bit of a throwback to the 80s when the West Indies were around.

''Over the next six weeks we are going to be tested physically, mentally and in all areas of our game. That is why I find it exciting - you want to play in these kind of series as a team.''

Each of the pacemen offer different attributes with Steyn, undoubtedly the quickest, and most prolific of late with 54 wickets in seven Tests against New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh, Ntini angling the ball in at right-handers' bodies and the 6ft 6ins Morkel extracting extra bounce at 90-mile-per-hour.

In contrast, England's genuine pace threats are in the wings, either on the comeback trail or out of favour.

''We don't have bowling of 90-95mph,'' Vaughan said. ''But it's not always about that. We have an attack that relies more on the control side.

''It has not got the pace it used to have but they've got a decent amount of skill.

''Jimmy Anderson showed against New Zealand at Trent Bridge that if the ball is swinging he has a hell of an amount of skill, Stuart Broad is developing into a fine cricketer, and Ryan Sidebottom has probably been the find of the last year in Test cricket.

''You add to that Monty Panesar, who can get five and six-wicket hauls, and the attack looks quietly nice.''

The last time the two countries met, England went into their 2-1 away victory in 2004-05, with an attack of genuine speed in Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Simon Jones, complemented by Matthew Hoggard's control. Months later it was instrumental in winning the Ashes.

Flintoff is the one closest to a return, and could be back for the second Test at Headingley.

Vaughan also offered hope for Welshman Jones, who appears to have finally overcome three years of injury hell, and Durham's Harmison, who he faced in County Championship action last week.

''I have not seen Simon bowl in a match, I have just seen his figures and when a guy is getting five-fors pretty consistently, in eight-over bursts - that is exciting,'' Vaughan said.