Reality check for England

The success of England over Australia in winning back the Ashes this summer could not have provided better preparation for Strauss and his team to meet the trials of a winter tour in South Africa.

Whilst the Australians are not the great side they once were they are still the team to beat and against the odds England managed to win two Test matches and nick the series.

More importantly, they won the final Test which is one they had to in order to regain the Ashes. This was critical to morale and will encourage the captain to instil a steely edge that has been distinctly lacking in recent years. Winning under pressure is essential in building a top side who can take on all comers.

The tour started off with two Twenty20 matches and surprisingly England won the first match in Johannesburg mainly due to two reasons, an inspired batting display by Eoin Morgan and a well-timed rain interruption.

The England innings got off to a terrible start when they lost Joe Denly to the first ball of the game but Strauss has insisted that his team will be a lot more positive in the shorter versions of the game and so it proved.

Along with Collingwood who scored 57, Morgan hit 85 off only 45 balls and together they put on 98 in quickfire time. It eventually led to the highest Twenty20 total England have achieved and set the South Africans a very challenging 202 to win under the lights.

South Africa got off to a flier with Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman putting on 97 inside only nine overs. However, the rain came and at 123-3 England won on the Duckworth/Lewis method by a single run.

In that partnership of 97 the South Africans amassed eight sixes and whilst it was not enough to win this game it was a foresight into what these two cricketers are capable of.

To suggest the game at Centurion Park was just another defeat would be to underestimate what happened to the English bowlers on Sunday afternoon.

Smith won the toss and on this occasion decided to bat first and straightaway it appeared he had made the correct decision.

England was hit by a late injury to Swann to add to the absence of Strauss and Collingwood but there was a surprise comeback for Kevin Pietersen to boost morale and the chances of debutant captain Alastair Cook.

The first three overs yielded only 13 runs but any optimism was soon put firmly in its place by Smith and Bosman.

It was apparent that the South Africans had obviously targetted Sajid Mahmood and took 21 off his first over which included two no balls off wicket-taking deliveries. It was a shocking start for Mahmood who has found it very difficult to secure a place in the England side.

The floodgates were now open and South Africa raced to 100 off only eight overs but the misery did not end there for the England bowlers. Smith and Bosman eventually put on a record 170 for the first wicket with an eye-watering 15 sixes - in fact this exceeded the fours by four, which is unusual to say the least.

Once Denly trapped Smith LBW, England would have hoped the run spree would slow down and although it did to some extent it did not stop the hosts reaching 241, the second highest international Twenty20 total.

England then made the strange decision of not changing their batting order and left Johannesburg hero Morgan at number five. By the time he came to the wicket England needed 26 runs per over and the game was well beyond their reach. With all the back room staff 'Team England' employ it is difficult to imagine how they could not be flexible enough to at least put in place a strategy that, whilst unlikely, might actually give them a chance of winning.

It is not that England lost that is worrying, it was the manner, as an 84-run margin is a significant one and the way the bowlers were roughed up must be of concern to Strauss and his hopes in the Test series and one-day games.

However, this is a different England side and they have bounced back before and, on Friday, in Johannesburg we will again find out if any scars are left from this defeat. There will be five 50-over games before the Test series that starts next month and this could turn out to be a very long tour unless they get back on track soon.

If they do, then Strauss can rightly claim to be one of the most successful captains in recent times and given where he was only two years ago with his own form this is a remarkable achievement.