The two squads fly to Cape Town on Thursday for the second Test, with England resembling the confident home team and South Africa the tourists in disarray.
It is a feeling that will grow when they arrive in South Africa’s “Mother City” where thousands of England fans are expected to dominate the attendance at Newlands and make it feel like a home match for Alastair Cook’s side.
Anderson is England's premier strike bowler
Dale Steyn is almost certainly out of the match with a shoulder injury and Quinton de Kock has been called up to keep wicket, freeing up AB de Villiers to concentrate on carrying just the batting and not everything else as well.
Fast bowler Chris Morris, who took nought for 93 for South Africa A against England two weeks ago, has also been recalled as cover for Steyn, although it appears more likely 20 year-old Kagiso Rabada will take his place.
• South Africa v England, day five: as it happened
For England the bigger challenge is keeping their feet on the floor after a storming victory away from home against the world’s No 1-ranked side. For a team that had won just once in 15 previous Tests away from home, victory here by 241 runs was a remarkable achievement.
Chris Woakes has done well in Anderson's absence Photo: REX FEATURES
“There’s always that opportunity (to take momentum) when you win so well but the danger is the word complacency,” said Cook. “That won’t happen in our squad – that’s not where we’re at as a side. But there is a big opportunity that presents itself when you play like that. It can turn very quickly, though, so let’s not get too carried away, but it would be great if we can continue to put pressure on South Africa.
“I think we’re hopeful (of Anderson playing). It’s a big ask, five days of a Test match, so we’ll have to make that decision in the next 48 hours. Obviously he’s been working extremely hard with the medics and doing his overs so it is looking good. But we’ll have to make that decision. He knows his body better than me so we’ll wait and see.”
Cook can empathise with the struggles of his opposite number, Hashim Amla, whose runs have dried up as the burden of captaincy has taken its toll and was forced to fend off questions about his future just one Test into the series.
Hashim Amla looks weighed down by the captaincy Photo: Getty
He said he is “enjoying every minute of captaincy” but knows his team miss his runs. “I have been disappointed not to get the runs,” he said. “I started off really well last year and not being able to maintain it has been disappointing because as captain you want to lead from the front. It is a confidence thing. We do not know how long the corner is we need to turn but hope it is close by.”
There have been rumours of discord behind the scenes with former captain Graeme Smith suggesting as much during this Test. It is the job of head coach Russell Domingo to try and lift these players before Newlands where they at least can take comfort of having not lost there to England since readmission.
“It has not been a good Christmas that is for sure,” said Domingo. “We did not play half as well as we should have. There are some disappointed players in the changing room and some disappointed coaches around so we have got a lot of work to do.
There has been talk of infighting in the South African camp
“There is a lot that went wrong in this game. There are a lot of questions about the batting line up, AB’s retirement and Dale’s injury so there is a lot going on at the moment. I think the important thing for our team is to stay a tight unit and keep the noise out if we possibly can. There will be a lot of comments on Twitter and Facebook but we have to keep that noise out, and believing in what the team is capable of will be the most important thing.
“Smithy is entitled to his opinion. From what I am aware of it seems a happy camp at the moment. Not happy with performances yes but everyone is backing the captain and each other 100 per cent. The issues or gripes he is perceiving I am not too sure where they are coming from.”
During the match De Villiers was linked with retirement at the end of the series although it appears now a thinly-veiled plea to have his workload cut. “You want a full team but you have to manage your best players so they play for a long period of time,” said Domingo. “We are always grappling with it. There is no definitive answer. There is no right or wrong. It is about feeling what his levels of hunger are at any given time.”
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