FOR a team ranked No 2 in the world, England will go into their Test series with South Africa today in an unusually nervy mood.

Last weekend's seven-wicket defeat by South Africa A has burst some of the unbridled optimism that has coursed through English veins in the last 12 months and, after playing just two warm-up games, there is a very real fear that England's Test specialists are still to awake from their winter slumber.

But, in Michael Vaughan, the tourists possess a captain who knows all about battling against the odds on South African soil.

Five years ago, England's last tour of the country began at The Wanderers with a line-up that included Vaughan, Chris Adams and Durham's Gavin Hamilton, taking their first steps into the Test arena.

It was Hamilton's only Test, but it launched Vaughan on an illustrious career when less than an hour into the game he joined Adams at the crease with the score on a calamitous two for four. Welcome to English Test cricket.

Or at least, welcome to English cricket the way it used to be played. Since replacing Nasser Hussain as skipper last July, Vaughan has overseen a startling turnaround that has seen England throw off their tag of under-achievers to become the leading challengers to Australia's stranglehold on the world game.

The Aussies roll into town next summer but, before then, Vaughan's side must reaffirm their credentials against a South Africa side who have won just one of their last seven Tests.

Since drawing last summer's thrilling five-game series in England, they have lost series in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India and drawn with New Zealand.

They have also enjoyed a convincing home win over the West Indies, and, just as a wounded beast poses the most danger on the veldt, so England must be wary of a South African backlash over the next five weeks.

Jacques Kallis' ankle injury is a major concern - the home side's answer to Andrew Flintoff is unlikely to bowl at all over the next five days - and, after Nicky Boje's recent operation on his thyroid gland, South Africa may have to rely on an all-seam attack for the bulk of the series.

But in skipper Graeme Smith England's opponents possess a batsman who can boast back-to-back double centuries at Edgbaston and Lord's last year.

"We certainly don't see ourselves as underdogs," said Smith. "We get one chance a year to play in front of our own fans and this is a biggie. We are two evenly-matched sides - but we intend to win."

Vaughan has been similarly bullish despite his side's setback in Potchefstroom. But after battering the West Indies into submission last winter, the Yorkshire opener will adopt a more refined approach against the Proteas.

"Patience will be our keyword," said Vaughan. "Patience with the bat and patience with the ball."

Patience, though, will not mean the negativity that blighted last December's disappointing tour of Sri Lanka. Instead, Vaughan will urge his batsmen to bed in before chancing their arm and ask Steve Harmison and Simon Jones to ally a degree of restraint to their raw aggression.

Harmison's explosive start in the Caribbean meant he was quickly hurtling in to a nine-man slip cordon. The Ashington Express has been out of service for the last three months but, despite a lacklustre showing last weekend, the world's leading fast bowler will be crucial to England's hopes of a first series win in South Africa for 40 years.

If Harmison hits his stride, the depth of England's attack should ensure their batsmen are set manageable targets in all five Tests.

That's not to say they'll reach them, but the memory of some thrilling run-chases last summer should stand the tourists in good stead.

In many ways, England have more to lose in this series than they stand to gain. But, with the Ashes looming, hanging on to the Australians' coat-tails should prove motivation enough.