When England lost their first Test of the recently-concluded series against India in India, they went back to their basics, regrouped and bounced back to beat the hosts and win the Test series to assert their superiority, strength and their ability to strike back. But that was England which can boast of a reasonably strong and consistent pace attack and a spinner of quality in Graeme Swan.

Pakistan in South Africa is faced with a different kind of opposition which not only has a potent and a penetrating pace attack comprising Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis but also has the support of an equally strong batting line-up which on their day can pulverise the best of rivals. Pace or spin for them does not mean a thing when runs are flowing.

We know their reputation and their quality and how time and again they have destroyed quality bowling, even that of the Australians, not only in their own backyard but also here in South Africa.

The Kiwis were handed a similar thrashing here days before Pakistan arrived for this tour. At Newlands in Cape Town both the Kiwis and the Australians before them were bowled out under fifty and hundred runs.

Pakistan, trailing in the series by 1-0 after having lost the first Test inside three and half days, I am sure know what went around recently on South African pitches where lift and bounce and the movement of the ball is a real tough job to handle for the batsmen who lack in that skill.

Pakistan’s batting failed the test miserably at the Wanderers Stadium during the first Test defeat after being bowled out for their lowest in Tests of 49 in reply to South Africa’s 253 in the first innings. Not encouraging, of course, when batsmen fail to compliment their bowlers’ brave effort with the ball.

In the second innings, however, after the heavy roller was used the pitch at Johannesburg appeared to give a bit more support to the batsmen as Graeme Smith, A.B. de. Villiers and Hashim Amla showed in the second innings as well as Nasir Jamshed, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq for Pakistan.

Pakistan had taken a huge risk by playing young Rahat Ali in the first Test instead of experienced Tanvir Ahmed or Mohammad Irfan. I am certain that they realised fully well how wrong they were in taking that risk.

Obviously, they may not admit, but they surely do understand that their attack would have had a bit more steam with a tried and tested fast bowler at Johannesburg.

At Cape Town, during the practice session on Saturday, I did manage to speak to some of the players and also their hard-working and experienced coach Dav Whatmore who still maintains that it was South Africa’s pacemen who outdid them in the first innings for the rest of the match.

“I have never seen two hours of relentless and incredible pace bowling as I witnessed at Wanderers,” he told me on Saturday. “That could have damaged any batting side as Steyn and Philander moved the ball and managed to get lift and bounce,” he said.

Whatmore as a coach do only so much. On Saturday during the nets session he constantly kept the batsmen busy throwing the ball himself from different angles and also asking his bowlers make the batsmen play short deliveries to practice swaying away and ducking the short ones.

“Any team can lose an opening Test and it happens regularly. To start the tour on a winning note is what every team aims for. But if you lose, it certainly is not the end,” he said. “The boys have recovered quite a bit and now trying hard to gear up for the challenge ahead. Defeat certainly dampens morale but winning and losing is part of the game and I am sure they will lift themselves to do better in the second Test,” said Whatmore confidently.

Young Azhar Ali is one who I feel needs to practise and handle the short and fast deliveries to survive for a longer period at the wicket. He does have skills and concentration to stay in the middle but unless he learns to leave the moving ball or learns to duck underneath the bouncing deliveries, life could be difficult for him.Azhar told me that he has been asking the bowlers to ball short to him in the nets so that he could gain in confidence when facing a lifting delivery.

Nasir Jamshed, who recently had a successful run with the bat in India and proved here in the second innings of the first Test that he has the potential to be as good in Tests when he scored a steady 46 before his soft dismissal, said in the nets: “I think we can handle the South African bowling. We are not worried or scared. It is just the matter of handling them in the right way.’

Pakistan now has a two-day practice match prior to the second Test which should be a good opportunity for all the players to try and regain their confidence and some of the lost pride.