South Africa up against it

South Africa may be relieved with Richie Benaud's ruling which has kept Shoaib Akhtar out of the second Test at Faisalabad, but Graeme Smith and his not-so-merry men will still be hard-pressed to level the series after the first-Test debacle. Akhtar was instrumental in starting the slide in the second innings at Lahore, but more worrying for Eric Simons, the South African coach, was his batsmen's inability to come to terms with Pakistan's spinners.

Between them, Danish Kaneria, Shoaib Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed took 12 wickets in the Lahore Test. Mushtaq was the least of the threats, though, which persuaded the selectors to call up Mansoor Amjad, a 17-year-old wrist-spinner who has yet to play a first-class match, although he has appeared for Pakistan's age-group teams. He is unlikely to make his debut at Faisalabad, but South Africa can expect another severe examination by spin at the Iqbal Stadium.

The lack of experience in playing quality spin bowling showed quite clearly at Lahore, as none of the batsmen attempted to use their feet and smother the spin. There were also far too many batsmen who got starts, and then failed to cash in: Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis and Boeta Dippenaar all made scores of between 24 and 33 in the first innings at Lahore.

To make matters worse, the South Africans have no-one to exploit the conditions, which are again likely to favour the slow bowlers. Paul Adams picked up seven wickets in Pakistan's first innings in the first Test, but also served up plenty of hit-me balls - and he was taken apart in the second innings, when he disappeared for 57 in 11 overs. The only other spinner in the squad, Robin Peterson, is hardly a wicket-taking option.

Pakistan might be one strike bowler short, but their batting will be bolstered by the return of Inzamam-ul-Haq, their captain, who missed the first Test with a hamstring injury. He will step in for Yousuf Youhana, who has a hamstring strain of his own. Pakistan's line-up in Lahore lacked experience, but Asim Kamal, the 27-year-old left-hander who filled in for Inzamam there, made an encouraging 99 on his debut. It was an excellent example of how to construct a Test-match innings. It lacked the flourish of extravagant shotmaking, but in a batting order already bursting with exciting strokeplayers, Kamal's solidity is a huge asset.

Smith's short stint as South Africa's captain has been notable for his hard-nosed approach, and his earnest attempt to ensure that his side shrugs off the choker's tag that it has been stuck with. The South Africans demonstrated this newfound steel as recently as the one-day series in Pakistan, turning a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 series win. It is time to display that resolve again.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Taufeeq Umar, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Yasir Hameed, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Asim Kamal, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Moin Khan (wk), 8 Shoaib Malik, 9 Mushtaq Ahmed, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Danish Kaneria.

South Africa (probable): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Gary Kirsten, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Boeta Dippenaar, 6 Neil McKenzie, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Paul Adams, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Andre Nel.