Test Match Special

England began the decade as the weakest team in Test cricket, but they end it in rather better shape, with two home Ashes series wins and now this, a first Test win in Durban - achieved by an innings and 98 runs - since 1964.

Here are my ratings for the 11 players who took the field at Kingsmead Park on Boxing Day, and who walked off four days later with a 1-0 series lead.

Andrew Strauss - 7
His performance will be overlooked when this scorecard is dredged up years from now, but if one act wrested the initiative from South Africa then it was Strauss's 54 at the start of England's innings. On a wicket where all the other specialist batsmen struggled to score quickly, England's skipper made his runs at a fearsome lick and gave the rest of his batsmen confidence that South Africa's 343 could be overhauled.

Alastair Cook - 9
Found reserves of concentration that he has not always been associated with to bat for more than six hours in crafting a terrific 118. Overcame the untimely departures of Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen to forge the key stand with Paul Collingwood, and he did it as the critics began to circle following some slightly off-key performances of late.

Jonathan Trott - 5
Got a very good delivery from Morne Morkel when the South African paceman was at his best on the third morning and had to depart for 18, the lowest score of any dismissed English batsmen.

Kevin Pietersen - 4
Went into auto-pilot mode to sweep Paul Harris and was out lbw. Having already been dropped off Harris earlier on, this was bad bit of misjudgement and when he was out England were far from ideally placed at 155-3. Left-arm spin is something of an Achilles heel for Pietersen.

Paul Collingwood - 8
Having shown fine form in the one-day series, Collingwood seemed set to score his third Test century in 2009 until losing his momentum late in his innings and finally departing to the under-rated spin of JP Duminy. England were 155-3 when he arrived at the crease and 365-4 the ball before he departed - so he certainly did his bit.

Ian Bell - 9
Some of Bell's harshest judges will not change their views of the Warwickshire man despite his score of 140 in Durban. They will say that yet again he has had to wait for someone else in the team to reach three figures before he does the same, but the fact is that Bell is in the team on merit - and he coped particularly well with the dangerous Morkel at the start of his innings.

Matt Prior - 7
Was the main aggressor on the fourth morning, when he and Bell faced a tricky task. They had to be positive to stretch England's lead while ensuring wickets stayed in the bag. Had he played more selfishly he probably had time to get a century. First blemish in a long time with the gloves when he dropped Morkel off Graeme Swann.

Graeme Swann - 10
If there's one country on the Test cricket map where the spinner is supposed to merely "hold up an end" while the quicks get among the wickets then it is South Africa. Somebody forgot to tell the irrepressible tweaker from Notts, however, who took 5-110 in the first innings in Centurion, and added a further nine wickets here. The 10 marks are not doled out lightly, but who can say he doesn't deserve a maximum?

Stuart Broad - 9
An ever-present in 2009 for England, Broad nevertheless went through a bit of a lean patch before finding his feet in the last two Ashes Tests. When Swann left South Africa's door ajar before tea on day four, Broad blew it off its hinges with three massive wickets soon after the interval to leave victory a mere formality. Still bowls some innocuous stuff, but we can forgive him that when he produces magic spells.

James Anderson - 6
Bowled well on the first morning but had only the wicket of Ashwell Prince to show for his efforts as Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis defended Anderson well. Added two further wickets in the match and could be a big threat in the final Test in seamer-friendly Johannesburg.

Graham Onions - 5
A quiet match for the man from Gateshead, who was a trifle disappointing and had only the wicket of JP Duminy on day one to show for his efforts, though he was only given four overs in the second innings.

This Test match series always promised much - but following the dramatic conclusion to the opening game at Centurion Park the anticipation ahead of this week's match here in Durban could hardly be higher.

It was certainly a nerve-tingling Test match for the TMS team in Centurion with former England captain Michael Vaughan feeling the tension from his new viewpoint.

During his debut TMS Test Vaughan quickly learnt about the infamous commentator's curse. On the third day while Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen were building a useful partnership, Vaughan was in discussion with Gerald De Kock about how impressively the two were batting together.

He then said: "Things are looking good. I just hope I haven't put the kiss of death on them". What happens next ball - KP plays on and Vaughan is crestfallen. "That's it I resign!" exclaimed the Ashes winner whilst Gerald turned to him and said: "Well bowled Michael Vaughan, a wicket to you!"

The main debate since Sunday evening has centred on whether England may get the same sort of bounce they enjoyed following the last great escape in the opening game of the Ashes series in Cardiff. The England coach Andy Flower has been playing this down, but it will be fascinating to see how his team react come Boxing Day morning.

Having seen the sort of weather you have been coping with back home I am reluctant to talk about the conditions here in Durban. But after a hugely frustrating week spent here during the one-day international series when the rain never seemed to stop and not a single ball was bowled, unfortunately the forecast here is a little mixed again for the next few days. Hopefully like last week in Pretoria the rain will come during the evenings rather than disrupting play.

There is certainly no chance of a white Christmas here in Kwazulu Natal with temperatures ranging from 23 to 33 degrees and it is a little difficult to get into the festive spirit despite a sprinkling of decorations in the hotels and streets of Durban.

The England team will have a light training session at Kingsmead on Christmas morning before spending the afternoon with their families at the team hotel in Umhlanga about 20 minutes outside of Durban.

I remember watching England practice one Christmas Day in Melbourne and it was a rather strange sight seeing the likes of Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard bowling wearing santa hats.

Alastair Cook will also celebrate his 25th birthday on Christmas Day -bizarrely two other England cricketers in recent times have also had their birthdays on 25 December with Marcus Trescothick and Simon Jones both born on that day.

Alastair Cook will celebrate his birthday the day before the second Test starts

But come Boxing Day morning all thoughts of turkey and presents will have to be forgotten as a large crowd is expected for the crucial opening day of the second Test.

I am sure the TMS commentary team will show restraint on Christmas Day and will be on top form come Saturday morning. We have the same personnel on duty here as in Centurion with Jonathan Agnew joined by Simon Mann and Gerald De Kock with expert analysis from Michael Vaughan, Vic Marks and Geoff Boycott plus contributions from former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock.

As well as ball-by-ball commentary we will also speak during the Test to Dr Ali Bacher who has been at the heart of South Africa cricket for 40 years and to the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board David Collier. Plus as this is the last Test of the decade we will be looking back and looking forward.

We will be assessing some of the major developments and stories in the game over the past 10 years including match-fixing, the rise of Twenty20 cricket and the effect of terrorism and violence including a special interview with Paul Farbrace, who was one of those injured in the Lahore attacks. We will also be glancing into our crystal balls and opening "Old Aggers Almanac" to look ahead to what may take place in the cricketing world over the next 12 months.

As always we want you to take part in this. Among other things we want you to predict what will be England's line-up for the first Ashes Test in Brisbane come 25 November 2010.

Will it be Broad and Anderson opening the bowling or will Harmison surprise many and return to the side to try to exorcise the ghost of his first delivery at the Gabba four years ago? Will the likes of Alastair Cook and Ian Bell still be in the side or will perhaps Ravi Bopara and Rob Key be back in favour?

You can make your predictions either on this blog or email tms@bbc.co.uk.

Just a warning this Test gets under way half an hour earlier than last week - so try and keep your hangover to a minimum and set your alarm for 0745 GMT on Boxing Day morning for the opening day.

And if you miss anything look out for a full review of the day's play on Aggers and Boycott's TMS podcast - all the details here at bbc.co.uk. Plus Kevin Howells will provide updates every 15 minutes over on Five Live if you are looking to keep in touch with all the other sports action as well as the cricket.

So let's hope the second Test lives up to the excitement of the first and may I take this opportunity on behalf of the whole BBC cricket team to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

So after eight days of preparation in East London, England's cricketers head back to Johannesburg ready for Wednesday's eagerly anticipated opening Test at nearby Centurion Park.

Although the quality of practice in the warm-up games was debatable, playing a moderate South African Invitational side on a slow pitch, to be honest England were probably pleased just to get out on the field following a hugely frustrating period which saw them play only three days cricket in three weeks due to bad weather across the country.

When we arrived on the south coast, the prospects did not look great with a mixed weather forecast and a sodden Buffalo Park. When you looked down the East London Esplanade it looked more like a scene from John Carpenter's "The Fog" than a holiday destination with the sea mist enveloping the hotels by the edge of the beach.

Heavy rain at the start of the week left the players seeking out alternative forms of amusing themselves. East London was described to us by one local as a "nine to five kind of place, where nothing is more than 10 minutes away". One British journalist was rather more harsh, labelling the city as "grim"... which earned a rebuke in the local paper the Daily Dispatch.
England's preparations for the Test series have been affected by the weather

But the players seemed to find things to do as the rain fell. Several made their way to the cinema where the disaster movie "2012" was a favourite , the nearby indoor gym was in regular use and we would often catch up with a member of the squad topping up supplies in the local supermarket.

However I don't think many sought out East London's most famous attractions which are housed in the Natural History Museum. A stuffed fish and an old egg may not seem very exciting, but the fish concerned is the famous "coelacanth" caught off the waters here in 1938 which evolutionists believe provided the missing link between water and land animals, while the egg is the only surviving dodo egg believed to exist in the world.

I also believe the players managed to resist the temptation to see the East London pantomime which opened this week... "Snow White and the Seven Dofs" at the Guild Theatre. According to the shows publicity, "keeping you in stitches playing Dame Dolla the Palace Nanny is Byron Mountford". I assume Byron is no relation of mine but to be honest I never went along to the Guild Theatre to find out.

Fortunately the weather improved by the middle of the week and we could all concentrate on matters on the field. Obviously practice at altitude ahead of a Highveld Test would have been better than down on the coast... although coach Andy Flower and wicketkeeping coach Bruce French did manage to reach the heights on the final day in East London when they scaled one of the floodlight pylons at Buffalo Park, much to the amusement of the players as they walked off the field at lunch. The former Nottinghamshire keeper is a massive climbing enthusiast.

In terms of lessons learned from the week of practice, it has just fuelled the speculation about the make-up of England's team for the first Test, with as many questions as answers.

Has James Anderson proved his fitness ahead of the Test? Do the five wickets for Ryan Sidebottom put him in contention for a recall? Has Luke Wright got a genuine chance of making his Test debut in Pretoria? Will Ian Bell keep his place with all six specialist batsman included?

As you would expect the England captain and management are keeping the final XI for Centurion close to their chest - and it will be fascinating to find out the line-up on Wednesday.

As for our line-up for the first Test - Jonathan Agnew will be joined by Simon Mann and popular South African broadcaster Gerald De Kock, with expert analysis from Michael Vaughan, Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks.

Vaughan, England's most successful captain of all time, is making his TMS debut in the game. He of course made his Test debut here in South Africa 10 years ago, led England to a series win on their last tour here in 2004/05 and played his final Test against South Africa before his tearful resignation as captain last summer. We will also hear regularly from former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock throughout the series.

During the lunch interval on Wednesday at 1030 GMT, we will be trying to cut through the jargon to explain how the controversial new umpire referral system works, including hearing from one of the boffins who helped develop the Hawk-Eye system which is being used to help make decisions. As always if you have any questions or observations then you can contact us via the TMS blog, e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk or text us on 84040.

Also during the Test we'll be focusing on the latest situation over in Zimbabwe and discuss if cricket is recovering enough for them to return to playing Tests. Guests will include Zimbabwe's minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart and former Zimbabwe player Pommie Mbangwa.

With Makhaya Ntini expected to play his 100th Test in Pretoria we will be assessing his contribution to South Africa cricket. We'll hear from TMS summariser turned England batting coach Graham Gooch, from selector Ashley Giles who also played in England's victory here five years ago and from England cricket's managing director Hugh Morris.

We will also begin a series looking at "Cricket's Decade", focusing at how the game has changed over the last 10 years with themes including match-fixing, the rise of Twenty20 cricket and the strength of the English game a decade after they plummeted to the bottom of the ICC Test rankings table. And we'll be catching up with Oli Broom who is "Cycling to the Ashes" to help raise money for the Lord's Taverners. Oli has got as far as Istanbul on his incredible quest to ride to Brisbane in time for next year's series with Australia.

It all gets underway on Wednesday morning with BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra on air from 0815 GMT. For the first couple of days BBC Radio 4's Long Wave listeners will join the commentary just before 0900 following "Yesterday in Parliament", but you will also be able to listen online - details at bbc.co.uk/cricket.

Kevin Howells will provide updates every 15 minutes on BBC Radio 5 live, and Jonathan Agnew will round up all the day's play with Geoff Boycott in the TMS Podcast.