DARYLL CULLINAN, a man daft enough to take on Shane Warne in a war of words, has a habit of putting his foot in it. Now a commentator rather than a Test batsman, Cullinan’s preview of the Lord’s Test must have been required reading in the England dressing-room.

The South African batsmen, Cullinan said, were capable of “dominating” the England attack and their bowlers were “capable of sustaining good pace all day long”. Cullinan added that Mark Boucher was the best wicket-keeper-batsman in the world and the tourists’ catching and outfielding were “as good as it gets”.

So what has happened over the past three days here at Lord’s? England’s batsmen, in the form of Kevin Pie-tersen and Ian Bell, have dominated a pace attack that bowled so erratically that coach Mickey Arthur admitted they were like “tourists around the ground” and England’s bowling and outcricket, which yesterday featured a flying catch to his left by James Ander-son at mid-on that was almost the equal of Andrew Strauss’s in the Ashes series, has been near impeccable.

One day, the South Africans will learn that humility is as decent a sporting quality as self-confidence. Somewhere between the arrivals lounge at Heathrow and the first npower Test, the side considered the most likely to usurp Australia as the top-ranked team in the world began to believe their own publicity.

In the midst of the rout stood Ash-well Prince, a man from the northern suburbs of Port Elizabeth who has emerged from the mess of the quota system to play a significant role in the development of a truly multi-racial South African side. For that alone, he deserves huge credit. In Sri Lanka, in 2006, he became the first black captain of his country and if Graeme Smith stands down in the next couple of years, he could be the permanent leader, considering his role as Smith’s deputy on this tour.

Prince, inset, a pugnacious and punchy left-hander whose only experience of English conditions was a couple of seasons in the northern leagues, was the only South Africa batsman yesterday to make his mark on a rampant and well-disciplined England attack.

He rode his luck, for sure, particularly against Monty Panesar, who turned the ball viciously out of the rough, and survived an hour in the 40s before completing his 50 just before tea.

In between, though, he showed his teammates the way not just in terms of mental application, but technically too. Equally importantly, he knows his capabilities. He has had to be patient in his Test career, having made his debut in 2002 in a hostile dressing-room under pressure from the new order, and he plays with patience, the odd loose stroke bringing a grimace of self-chastisement. He is a cricketer who brings a long history and a bristling intent to the crease.

If not his finest hour, his innings of 101 yesterday showed a measure of flint notably lacking from the rest of his side.

For a moment in mid-afternoon, he and AB de Villiers dug in against the combination of Broad and Panesar. For an hour, no boundary was scored. Michael Vaughan fiddled with the field, stationing three short covers for Prince as Collingwood probed the off stump, but a scrambled single saw the 31-year-old home to his fifty and as De Villiers’s wicket heralded a further South Africa slump, Prince punctuated the flow of wickets with a mighty, short-armed jab into the Mound Stand off Panesar. The shot was an eloquent metaphor for Prince’s career. He has had to earn respect.

But for Prince’s lengthy and gallant resistance, South Africa would be climbing even more of a mountain over the next two days. The weather might yet provide succour, but an important lesson has already been learnt in time for the second Test at Headingly, which starts on Friday.

A different South African side will surely be waiting for England in Leeds. If they are wise, they will not believe a word that Cullinan or anyone else says about their worth, good or bad. Warne never did.