England can cope without Anderson – Amla

The second day in Durban tests are traditionally the preserve of the batsmen but 10 wickets fell on a sunny and breezy day after Saturday’s play was dogged by rain delays.

The absence of leading bowler James Anderson because of a calf strain is a major blow to England at a ground where swing bowlers often prosper, while the return to action after injury of Dale Steyn is a boost for South Africa.

Domingo said he was not unduly concerned about the batting of Amla, who has failed to score a century in his last seven Tests. The reason for that being injuries, players from both sides have suffered from some sort of injuries are coming back into the team.

With only 65.1 overs possible on day one, both teams will be fairly happy with the work that was done on the opening day of the four-match series.

However, with an eye on conditions later in the match Dane Piedt, the offspinner, has been included in the final XI at the expense of Kagiso Rabada so South Africa have just the three frontline quicks to share the early workload.

Steyn, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, said conditions on a rain-disrupted day had been hard for the attack on a slow track at Kingsmead.

Chris Woakes was later told that he was the one to be picked as a replacement for the injured James Anderson for the first Test. He did exactly what we needed him to do and, hopefully, he can kick on.

“Chris is going to play, anyone who’s seen practice over the 24 hours would have seen that we’ve concentrated mainly on our XI so it’s no surprise”, said Cook, fulfilling his usual press duties not only on Christmas morning but also his 31st birthday.

“Nick left extremely well, which is important over here, and I just tried to stick to my game plan, which is obviously very different to his, but I thought we complemented each other nicely”.

“We only name the side the night before the game but I think everyone who has had a run out on this trip has really impressed”. GOOD BOUNCE “These kind of wickets are the sort that you simply need to see Steven Finn bowl on, good bounce, a little bit of seam and he confirmed that towards South Africa A”.

Compton, playing a Test for the first time since May 2013, dug in for long periods but also dispatched the rare bad ball as he finished the day unbeaten on 63, with the tourists having reached 179 for four.

South Africa’s recent 3-0 series defeat in India has depleted confidence in the national side, and Pietersen believes England can exploit it.

Anderson, 33, has been struggling with tightness in his right calf muscle.