Both sides, South Africa and Pakistan, go into the three-Test series with series wins under their belt, against India and West Indies respectively. Not surprisingly, South Africa have the edge both home and away, including an away-series win back in 1997. Pakistan have had limited success in South Africa, starting from their first tour in 1994-95, losing the one-off Test. South Africa's reputation at home took a pounding when they hosted Pakistan in 1997-98, losing a closely-fought second Test at Durban, noted for the individual performances of Azhar Mahmood and Mushtaq Ahmed. Unfortunately, the purple patch ended there for Pakistan with a 259-run defeat in the decider at Port Elizabeth, followed by a 0-2 whitewash in their third tour in 2002-03. Beating South Africa at home takes plenty of application and more importantly, consistency, and Pakistan will need to ensure they don't let things slip, as India just discovered after the highs of Wanderers 2006. As has been the case in previous tours, the form and patience of the Pakistan batsmen will be put to Test, with the line-up weakened by the absence of Mohammad Yousuf for the first Test. Inzamam-ul-Haq averages 33 in nine Tests against South Africa, but in five away Tests, the figure slips to 27.44. Younis Khan was inconsistent in the two-Test series of 2002-03 while Mohammad Yousuf has come a cropper in four Tests against them, averaging just 16.85. Among the current crop of bowlers, Makhaya Ntini has the best bowling record at Centurion, with 37 wickets in Tests at just 18.89 apiece. Pollock and Kallis have 23 wickets each, and their batting figures at this ground complement their bowling stats. Kallis averages 56.50 in ten Tests while Pollock has an average of over 42, including a century.
