Cape Town - Former South Africa skipper Shaun Pollock has given Proteas pacers a slight edge over their English counterparts ahead of the first Test starting at The Oval on Thursday.
"I think South Africa will have the slight edge," he said, backing Dale Steyn, Morné Morkel, Vernon Philander, Jacques Kallis and Imran Tahir ahead of England's James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan.
The Proteas slipped to third in the ICC Test rankings over the weekend but a series victory over England will propel them to the No 1 spot.
Should England either draw or win the series, though, they will stay on top - and if they were to whitewash the tourists, South Africa would drop to fourth in the rankings.
Pollock believes his countrymen will stand alone at No 1 after the three-Test series, Sport24 reports.
"It's a little unfair to analyse it because our guys, I know what they're capable of. Philander's been remarkable - his introduction to Test cricket shows he has the serious skills to perform at the top level so that really does complement Steyn, who's been a real success for so many years," he said.
"Morkel always takes a little bit longer to get into a series than some of the other bowlers but he brings a different dimension with his pace and bounce. Jacques - we all know what he can do - and it's great to have that depth in the bowling and we've got Tahir who is a wicket taking option and can add a bit of guile to wrap up the tail.
"So I think they've got all the bases covered and I feel they will have the upper hand. With 15 days of sunshine I would back South Africa to win the Test series 2-1," Pollock said.
| Other Articles: |
 |
Man U eager to reclaim Premier League trophy (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Upset Nicole Scherzinger plasters on a smile at ‘X Factor’ auditions (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Olympians find IOC's 'stringent rules' over social media use 'stifling and ludicrous' (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Jeremy Lin leaves New York Knicks for Houston Rockets (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
CSKA Moscow land Aeroflot sponsorship deal (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Russian Premier League chief runs for FA post (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Capello 'confident' of Russia's 2014 chances (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Mostovoi ready to assist Capello (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Athens and two modern Olympic Games (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
JKCA internal probe clears Abdullah of hand in scam (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Gazprom inks sponsorship deal with Chelsea (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Be true to human nature: Olympic Flame ceremonies High Priestess (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Chelsea set to announce deal for Brazil starlet Oscar (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Blade Runner plays down fans' expectations during London Olympics (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
'Gender row' athlete Semenya says Mandela's belief 'helped her through her hell' (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Steyn is faster, more aggressive than me: Anderson (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Kallis says Test series against England will come down to key moments (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
London 2012 chairman Coe fears rains could ruin Olympics (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Kris Humphries mocks Kanye after scoring $24m deal with Jay-Z's Nets (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
England bowlers face sternest Test against Proteas strong batting: Anderson (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
La Hoya says 'far from finished' Khan just two wins away from fighting Mayweather (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Blake warms up for London Olympics with thumping 9.85sec win in Lucerne (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Chile playmaker Valdivia commits to Palmeiras (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Yuvraj included in World T20 preliminary squad (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
World T20: Australia axe Pattinson from preliminary squad (18th Jul, 2012) |
|
Jobs |
Blog |
Yellow Pages |
Games |
Jokes |
Chat |
e-Cards |
Astrology |
Articles |
Recipes |
Send Gifts
Today : Wednesday - Jun 19, 2013, 10:08pm (GMT+5.5)
