Hussain keen to exploit friction in opposition camp

Nasser Hussain appeared relaxed and confident here as his side went through their final preparations for today's First npower Test against South Africa. Despite spending the last seven weeks sitting in the wings watching Michael Vaughan stake a strong claim for his job, the England captain did not have the air of a man who is under pressure.

Hussain is not the only cricket-lover who has had to wait until the last third of the season for the summer's main event to begin but the next five Test matches will have a huge effect on the future of England's captain. A series victory over South Africa is likely to give the 35-year-old a chance to end his career under his own terms. A winter in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the West Indies should give him the opportunity to reach the personal goals he set himself at the start of the season, namely playing 100 Test matches and captaining England to more victories than any of his predecessors.

Defeat, however, could see his Test career terminated on the same day as Alec Stewart's, the latter having taken control of his destiny by announcing on Tuesday that he would retire from international cricket at the end of this summer. Should this be the case, the Test careers of the pair, who made their debuts in the same match in 1990, would have spanned, to the day, the same period.

In the build-up to this match Hussain has been attempting to deflect such pressure and attention on to the broad but unproven shoulders of South Africa's 22-year-old captain, Graeme Smith. It is rumoured in the media and the England side that team spirit could be better among the tourists.

Even though Smith laughed off these suggestions as "absolute rubbish" and "just a bit of First Test propaganda", they are something Hussain intends to exploit should they exist.

Defending his reference to this matter in his Sunday newspaper column, he said: "There is always talk of unrest in the South African camp and if that is the case, it is time for us to pounce."

Because of the vulnerable appearance of the visitors, the first day of this Test is vital for England. How they perform could go a long way to settling the series. With Jacques Kallis in South Africa mourning the death of his father, Henry, who died of lung cancer yesterday in Cape Town, Hussain will know that this is the time to attack. England will show respect for Kallis by wearing black armbands, but Hussain will want to be ruthless and hit his opponents hard from ball one.

Smith is hoping this sad news may have a positive effect on his squad. "We are all saddened by what has happened to Jacques," Smith said. "We have all spoken to him, and in many ways it will give us an extra reason to go out and do it on the field. Hopefully this will bring a little smile to Jacques' face. He has been given as long as he wants but whenever he feels happy to join us again we will welcome him back."

To give Kallis a lift, South Africa will have to be successful on a ground where they are yet to win a Test match. Indeed, this has not been a happy venue for them. On their last visit in 1999, Allan Donald and Lance Klusener broke South African hearts by contriving to lose the World Cup semi-final against Australia.

Following their comprehensive victory in the NatWest Series final - under Vaughan's captaincy - England go into the match as favourites. However, both sides can draw confidence from their recent Test form. Should the game end in a draw, this match would end a winning run for both sides. Each having begun their string of successes with a victory against Australia in a dead match at the end of a series, South Africa have won nine Tests in a row while England are searching for their fifth successive victory.

The challenge for both sides will be to bowl out their opponents twice on what is reportedly a dry pitch. That it has been kept under cover for the past two days suggests that the groundsman has concerns about the surface, and these could be exposed by both the fast and the slow men if the weather remains fine.

In Darren Gough, who makes his first Test appearance for almost two years, and Shaun Pollock both captains have an experienced bowler to lead their attack. But it will be the performance of those at the other end who may well settle the result.

Selection should be simple for England. Despite being struck on the hand in the nets, Anthony McGrath is expected to play while James Kirtley carries the drinks.

Kallis's absence has left South Africa with a trickier decision. Without his all-round talents their line-up could lack balance but they are expected to go in with five bowlers and the wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher, batting at six.

England: N Hussain (capt), M E Trescothick, M P Vaughan, M A Butcher, A McGrath, A J Stewart, A Flintoff, A F Giles, D Gough, S J Harmison, J M Anderson.

South Africa: G C Smith (capt), H H Gibbs, G Kirsten, J A Rudolph, N D McKenzie, M V Boucher, S M Pollock, R J Peterson, C M Willoughby, M Ntini, D Pretorius.