Although the final day of the South Africans’ match with Middlesex was washed out yesterday, denying Graeme Smith the chance to bat again, Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, is satisfied with his side’s preparedness before Thursday’s first npower Test against England at Lord’s. If Arthur, and no doubt Smith, would have liked a second innings after the captain’s enforced five-week break, the coach was unconcerned about Smith’s scratchiness in his two hours in the middle on Friday.

Just as he took the opportunity to praise Michael Vaughan’s leadership and its value to England, so Arthur appreciates the importance of Smith’s captaincy to South Africa. The coach is simply glad to have him fit for the start of the series, at a ground where he scored a double hundred in the 2004 series and where South Africa have won all three Tests since their readmission to the ICC. Arthur said that Smith was too good a player to be worried about his lack of time in the middle since tearing a hamstring in late May in India.

What ought to be a concern to Arthur is that his pace bowlers did not find the right length on Saturday. They consistently bowled too short to the Middlesex batsmen, particularly with the new ball, allowing the home side to gallop to 311 for five in 79 overs. Paul Harris was unable to apply any pressure bowling into the wind with his left-arm spin. He went for 5½ an over and was taken apart by Eoin Morgan. The Irishman charged to his hundred from 103 balls, sufficiently riling the touring side for them to taunt him as a “downwind bully”.