Battle for supremacy: South Africa will do their best to topple England as No. 1 Test team

The battle for supremacy begins as England will defend their ranking as the top Test team in the world when they come up against a strong South African side in the first of three Test matches at the Oval on Thursday, says a report in The Times Of India.

The pre-match build-up has concentrated on two outstanding fast bowling attacks -- but, as England fast bowler James Anderson and South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis pointed out on Tuesday, the bowlers will have to get past some outstanding batsmen. "It's the two best teams in the world," said Anderson. "Both bowling attacks have been successful over the past 12 to 18 months but if you look at both batting line-ups they're potentially as strong as well. It's going to be a clash of two really good teams."

Meawhile Kallis added: "It's going to be an interesting battle to see who comes out on top. Both sides have got good batters as well. It's going to be a fantastic series."

According to a report in The Hindu, a potentially fascinating showdown between two of the world’s best Test teams begins at The Oval on Thursday, when England defends the No. 1 ranking against a South Africa side, who will seize the top spot if they win the three-match series. “We’re going to have to be completely on top form to stand any chance of winning,” England pace bowler James Anderson said.

“South Africa soak up pressure better than anyone else in the world so we might have to be more patient than we have been in recent series and that’s going to be our biggest test. We know they’re going strong in all conditions with both bat and ball.”

The hosts haven’t lost a Test in England since Pakistan beat them at The Oval in 2010, and the last team to beat them in a home series was South Africa in 2008. “It’s always a tough tour to come and win here,” South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis said. “You’ve got to play some good cricket here, they’re a good side at home, but we’ve got some fond memories of the last tour here when they were also a good team.”

Meanwhile a report in the DNA says that when England and South Africa go head-to-head for the world Test championship at the Oval on Thursday, no man will be so significant as Dale Steyn. If he performs like the world number one bowler that he is, South Africa will not remain number two.

Steyn is a match-winner at home and abroad. He swings the ball conventionally and he swings it unconventionally. He has taken ten wickets in a Test in South Africa, Australia and India, as no England bowler has done, ever. By the ICC he is ranked well ahead of Saeed Ajmal in second place and James Anderson in third. Steyn, in effect, has the best strike-rate of any bowler in Test history.