England captain Nasser Hussain said before this series began that ”South Africa were there for the taking”.
Hussain also talked of ”splits” in the South Africa camp and referred to the tourists’ skipper as ”wotsisname Smith”.
But when the fifth Test gets under way at The Oval on Thursday it won’t be England who have an unbeatable 2-1 lead.
And even those not much interested in cricket know all about South Africa captain Graeme Smith after his successive double hundreds in the first two Tests of this series.
As for Hussain, not only is he no longer captain, a broken toe means he isn’t even in the side.
Yet somehow the hosts find themselves with a chance of squaring the contest at 2-2 and denying South Africa a first series win in England since 1965.
Rain robbed South Africa of victory in the first Test at Edgbaston although that match also saw the end of Hussain’s time as captain.
England’s only victory came at Trent Bridge where new skipper Michael Vaughan won a toss that saw his team get the best of a bad pitch.
Otherwise the tourists have outplayed England in every respect while only now fielding their strongest side.
Injuries and absences have deprived them, at various times, of leading pace bowler Shaun Pollock, gritty left-handed batsman Gary Kirsten and all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
But the trio will all be in action at The Oval with Pollock, who missed the Proteas overwhelming 191 run fourth Test victory at Headingley to attend the birth of his daughter, needing one more wicket for 300 in Tests.
The prospect of a home pace bowler reaching the landmark again appears remote after another series where England suffered more breakdowns among their quicks than confront the average garage mechanic.
Add in a few defeats and cue the denunciation of county cricket by the England captain, which is now as much a feature of the season as the huge gasometers that flank The Oval.
No one suggests county cricket is perfect.
But by only talking about it when England lose players, management make themselves look like spoilt brats.
And it contrasts sharply with the 22-year-old Smith’s mantra of ”taking responsibility”, a creed which so many of his players have lived up to in this series.
There have been few more responsible England cricketers than wicket-keeper batsman Alec Stewart who retires from Test cricket at his Oval home ground with a national record 133 appearances to his name.
He has done everything asked of him by England, even when it has been to his personal detriment.
This match sees the return of Stewart’s Surrey team-mate Graham Thorpe after a year away from the international game because of domestic problems brought about by the collapse of his marriage.
Left-handed middle-order batsman Thorpe (34), has a world-class average of 41,87 but has only been recalled because of Hussain’s injury.
But while talent may be divided unfairly there is no reason why all cannot be equal in commitment.
Take South Africa all-rounder Andrew Hall, not the most gifted cricketer on either side, yet someone who by sheer force of personality has imposed himself on this series since being called up from Worcestershire for the second Test at Lord’s.
Clearly, county cricket hadn’t done him too much harm.
Now, unless England learn quickly from Hall and South Africa’s example, Stewart may not be alone in declaring ‘Oval and out’. — Sapa-AFP