England won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat in the first Test of a four-match series at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.
South Africa were without strike bowler Dale Steyn, who had not fully recovered from a hamstring injury. He was replaced by new cap Friedel de Wet (29).
Both teams decided to field six specialist batsmen and four specialist bowlers.
Jacques Kallis was playing as a batsman only for South Africa as he recovers from a rib injury, while England decided to award a 50th Test cap to batsman Ian Bell ahead of allrounder Luke Wright.
Much of the grass that was seen on the pitch on Tuesday had been shaved off but there was still a green tinge to the surface.
In contrast to the days leading up to the match, the sun was shining brightly. — AFP
