English cricket has not endured many worse weeks than the last one, which began with South Africa’s effortless escape at Lord’s. It is not often you are presented with one golden opportunity. England got two, and blew them both.

First, the administrators shrank from the most logical, lucrative structure for an English Premier League of nine franchises. Instead, herd instinct decreed 20 teams and a suspect product. Then, the selectors flunked the most logical structure for the England XI to accommodate the return of iconic allrounder Andrew Flintoff for this second npower Test.

The England team is supposed to be stronger for having Flintoff in it. In fact, this team is significantly weaker. The situation was further complicated by Ryan Sidebottom’s back problems but the solution was a fudge – as many frontline bowlers as frontline batsmen. England have possessed some fine wicketkeeper-batsmen in their history but few have been good enough to command a place in the top six. It was a tall order asking Tim Ambrose to do so, so early in his career.

A five-man attack gave away England’s lack of nerve. At the start of the summer, Michael Vaughan was adamant Flintoff should play as one of four bowlers, though the captain did stress that all four had to be of high calibre. In the event, for pace they went with Flintoff (whose bowling here betrays a man still working back to peak performance), James Anderson (dubious back), Stuart Broad (young and fatigued from Lord’s) and the uncapped Darren Pattinson. It was a dinner a dog would not have eaten.

And then there was the changed dynamic created by the absence of Paul Colling-wood. It is one thing for the Test captain to not be in the one-day side, but when the one-day captain is also not a member of the Test team, the leadership structure is about as weak as it can be. The situation was not helped by Vaughan’s second failure at the hands of Dale Steyn.

Yesterday’s mood at Headingley mirrored that of the previous day, one of sober quietness, shock almost, at the predicament England had created for themselves – at least until the Western Terrace got bored in the afternoon and began to generate their own amusement.

As the day unfolded and South Africa built a commanding position on the back of another century from Ashwell Prince, again well supported by AB de Villiers, it became apparent that in the grisly list of Great Headingley Cockups, this was up there with 1989 (when a “specialist” seam attack was carted for more than 800 runs by the Australians) and 2003 (when five fast bowlers failed to tame the South Africans).

There has been almost nothing for Englishmen to cheer. After two days, the only spark of inspiration has come from Kevin Pietersen’s brilliant cameo, but even his performance betrayed England’s feverish mood – that they felt they had to score what runs they could while they could.

Whatever the outcome here – though it is hard to envisage any result but a South Africa win – England need a major rethink over their bowling. Their whole strategy in this series has been based on the power of swing (a ploy they are thinking of deploying in the Ashes next year) and it simply hasn’t worked.

The decline of Sidebottom, a bowler seen at the outset as the spearhead, has been part of the problem. Not only has he not swung the ball as much this summer because of his back injury, the memory of his dramatic return to the side at Headingley last year surely emboldened the selectors to take a punt here when they cast their eyes around for a replacement. Hence Pattinson, Test cricket’s first Grimbarian.

Since they were asked to follow on at Lord’s, South Africa have scored 715 for seven in 272 overs. By the time England were failing to make inroads with the second new ball yesterday, Vaughan was shuffling his deck faster than a croupier. South Africa have now won the past four days of this series, which looks like irreversible momentum.

England can beat South Africa at Edgbaston and The Oval but it is going to need a change of approach. They need to make big first-innings runs and put the opposition under pressure in the way they did when they won in Johannesburg in 2005, when South Africa folded in the last two sessions.

For that to happen, Colling-wood must return and Matt Prior replace Ambrose. And the bowling needs greater vim – and for that it may be time to recall Steve Harmison, who took four wickets at Guildford yesterday. If not Harmison, Sajid Mahmood. Pattinson and Broad, who has looked innocuous here, should be sent back to pasture.

Supporting the theory that sportsmen make their own luck, fortune has deserted England at every turn in Leeds. Graeme Smith again won the toss and bravely opted to bowl first again despite his error at Lord’s. The skies remained overcast when England batted and cleared when South Africa’s innings began. Yesterday, rather against predictions, once play started 15 minutes late, the rain stayed away and so did the darkest clouds until 5.15pm. Cruelly, the ball refused to swing all day.

South Africa capitalised in the manner one would expect of a team that is used to winning. They ground out runs with grim efficiency. It was bloodless, merciless stuff and gave England not a sniff of hope. The Australians could not have done it any better.

South African sides rarely bat with frills and there were none here. With nothing to cheer, the crowd took to booing and chanting “cheat” at De Villiers at every opportunity. They failed miserably in their attempt to break his resolve.

Vaughan opened up with his best bowlers, Flintoff and Anderson, and the pair gave the day a controlled start, but the p r e s s u r e c o u l d n o t b e maintained by Broad and Pattinson, who between them yielded five boundaries in seven overs. Then came England’s one slice of luck, Pattinson serving up a full toss that hit Hashim Amla on the left leg and which umpire Daryl Harper generously determined would have hit leg stump. More likely it would have missed.

Pattinson’s relief was palpable and he proceeded to bowl a couple of lively overs. He passed De Villiers’s outside edge and had a close lbw appeal against Prince turned down. But Flintoff at the other end was bowling too wide of the stumps and not forcing the batsmen to play frequently enough. De Villiers and Prince sat back and opted to ride him out. It was smart cricket.

Vaughan gave Pattinson a second spell after lunch but it lasted one over before he abandoned the hunt for swing and called on Panesar to conduct a holding operation until the second new ball was due. In the past Broad has combined well with Panesar but now he leaked boundaries to Prince, who could not have looked more comfortable, at least until Flintoff gave him a couple of scares with close lbw appeals as he approached his ninth Test century.

By the end England looked weary in mind and body, the last two days of Lord’s doubtless taking their toll. Pattinson might have been a better choice than Anderson to take the second new ball with Flintoff but Vaughan’s faith in his left-field pick was evaporating fast. When stumps was called after the batsmen went off for bad light, the stand between Prince and De Villiers was worth 179 and De Villiers was 30 away from becoming the fifth South African to score a century in eight days.

We must hope this coming week proves more fruitful for England. A meeting in Dubai today may decide to remove September’s Champions Trophy from Pakistan on safety grounds and relocate it to England.

David Collier, chief executive of the ECB, is meanwhile negotiating to extricate the top two counties from Saturday’s Twenty20 Cup final from a Champions League, which has become fraught with problems over ICL players and Indian demands for principal ownership. The counties may instead be rewarded with a series of matches in the Middle East.

Explore Cricket

• Counties

• Live Scores