16 December,2009 03:12 PM IST | | AFP
England won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat in the first Test of a four-match series at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.
South Africa were without strike bowler Dale Steyn, who had not fully recovered from a hamstring injury. He was replaced by new cap Friedel de Wet (29).
Both teams decided to field six specialist batsmen and four specialist bowlers.
Jacques Kallis was playing as a batsman only for South Africa as he recovers from a rib injury, while England decided to award a 50th Test cap to batsman Ian Bell ahead of allrounder Luke Wright.
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Much of the grass that was seen on the pitch on Tuesday had been shaved off but there was still a green tinge to the surface.
In contrast to the days leading up to the match, the sun was shining brightly.
Teams:
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher (wkt), Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Friedel de Wet
England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior (wkt), Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Graham Onions
