The First Test between England and South Africa at Edgbaston in Birmingham will set the tone for the rest of the series as the young tourists pit their wits against a more experienced home side.

Edgbaston has been a Test venue for 101 years and has proven a happy hunting ground for England, who have lost their just seven times over that period. Five of those defeats have been since the beginning of 1990.

The thing which really stands out about the results over that period have been just how emphatic they are. Of the victories by runs, all four have been by an innings (just one - the last vs Sri Lanka in 2002 - to England). The victories by wickets have been by a margin of 7, 8, 8, 9 and 7.

Looking at the average runs per innings, there is a distinct drop in the third and fourth innings, suggesting the pitch does not hold out well past, perhaps, three days. It is a definite advantage to win the toss and bat first - even if there is moisture around as the weathermen predict.

The last Test here involving South Africa was in 1998 and ended in a draw.

England batted first and amassed 462 thanks to 103 from Mike Atherton, before South Africa replied with 343 (Jonty Rhodes top-scoring with 95). England limped to 170/8 in their second innings, again illustrating the quick decay of the pitch in Birmingham.

There will be just three survivors of that South African side playing in this Test, Gary Kirsten, Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock, though it is fair to say that Jacques Kallis would have been selected were it not for the death of his father on Wednesday.

It is a similar story for England, with Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussein, Alec Stewart and Darren Gough the only ones to be playing in the two matches five years apart.