While South African cricket has been through some very public upheaval in recent weeks, their opponents aren't in great shape either. England arrived on the back of a series loss in New Zealand, and have seen several of their team members affected by a sickness bug during the build-up to the Tests. Once used to contesting the No. 1 ranking, both teams would settle for some much-needed WTC points over the next few weeks. Here, in no particular order, our correspondents present a list of shared woes.
Batting inexperience
Firdose Moonda: Half of South Africa's top six have only 21 Tests between them and while the other half have a combined eight times more experience (162 caps), the batting line-up as a whole is still finding its mojo. Aiden Markram is the most experienced of the newbies, with 19 caps to his name, but has only played one match since breaking his wrist after punching a wall in Pune in October. Zubayr Hamza, who will bat at No. 3, has played two Tests and scored a confident 62 in his most recent outing in Ranchi but has dropped Theunis de Bruyn chasing his spot. And Rassie van der Dussen will debut at SuperSport Park, knowing his main rival is on the road to recovery. Temba Bavuma, the Test vice-captain with 39 matches under his belt, has a hip injury but is expected to be fit at some point in the series. Bavuma is under pressure, after only scoring one century, four years ago, but adds some much-needed know-how to the line-up.
George Dobell: Twenty-one Tests? Luxury! There are 30 Tests between four of England's top six (Rory Burns: 14; Dom Sibley two; Joe Denly: 10; Ollie Pope: four) while Jos Buttler, at No. 7, has one century from his 37 Tests and Joe Root is averaging 36.85 this year. To make matters worse, Ben Stokes - who is averaging 48.25 with the bat in Tests this year and should come in at No. 5 - is a doubt for the match after his father was taken seriously ill. It leaves an England side which has made 400 in an innings only once this year - and only in the first innings since December 2017 - looking especially fragile.
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Bowling doubts
FM: Like their batting, South Africa's bowling is heavily reliant on a few big names and unsure about where the rest stand. That will change after this series when Vernon Philander bows out, leaving it up to Kagiso Rabada to lead the attack. This series is an opportunity for Anrich Nortje's pace, Beuran Hendricks' variation and Dane Paterson's accuracy to be on display and for at least two of them to stake a claim to join Rabada in a new-generation pace pack. But there is no-one in the set-up who can move the ball off the seam the same way Philander does, and his departure will dent a South African outfit seeking to rebuild.
GD: England's bowling attack in this Test may well feature several names that will be listed among their all-time greats. But James Anderson, who endured a tough tour to South Africa four years ago, is 37 and hasn't come through a first-class game for almost five months, while Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer have spent more time in their bathrooms than at the nets on this tour due to illness.
Chris Woakes is almost certainly absent through illness. England also look set to play Sam Curran, who averages 56.12 with the ball in Tests outside England; and while they have a point in stating that spinners have tended to struggle in Centurion, the fact that they may go into a second Test in succession without a frontline spin option does not scream confidence in Jack Leach. It seems unlikely Graeme Swann would have been left out in such circumstances. None of which is especially encouraging for a side which averages 130 overs in the field in the opposition's first innings of away Tests in recent years and has questions to answer about their ability to gain life from the Kookaburra ball.
(Not) catching
FM: The safe hands of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis are now reserved for patting the team on the back and South Africa will have a new-look cordon for this series. On the evidence of recent training, Dean Elgar, Hamza, and van der Dussen will do the work, with Faf du Plessis preferring to keep himself in the outfield. His quick groundwork also gives South Africa an advantage in the field but Justin Ontong has his hands full with a few of the rest.
GD: While England's bowlers finished the New Zealand tour with an unwanted record - they had the worst collective strike rate, 115.7 balls per wicket, of an England team in a series in Test history - it was as much due to fielding errors as a lack of penetration from the bowlers. BJ Watling, Tom Latham and Kane Williamson were all dropped on the way to their centuries (or double-centuries) with Root admitting it was "very frustrating". It was noticeable that England spent a long time working on their fielding on Christmas Eve.
Behind the scenes
FM: South Africa's administrative issues spilled over onto the field in the last months, but recent developments have painted a picture of positivity. The return of Smith and Kallis and the permanent appointment of Mark Boucher as coach until the 2023 World Cup has put the smile back on du Plessis' face but it would be premature to think all the problems have been resolved. The return of the old guard has left a section of society disgruntled and on the second day of the Test, a town hall meeting to address issues in black African cricket has been called at the Wanderers which suggests that matters may come to a head in the coming months.
GD: While the series has been prefaced by stories of South Africa's administrative problems, England have a few of their own. Their much-vaunted new competition, The Hundred, is forecast to make a loss for its first (some might say only) five years, the domestic structure is failing to give players the best opportunity to fulfil their potential - in particular, struggling to produce fast bowlers, spinners or batsmen equipped to occupy the crease for long periods - and ECB officials were recently dragged in front of a Parliamentary sub-committee who seemed underwhelmed by their plans for the future. It's not so long since the ECB lost a major sponsor, either. Investec opted out of their deal to support England's Test team after the board sold a shirt deal to a rival bank. England absolutely do not have the deep-rooted financial problems afflicting South Africa in general, but they are no template for success, either.