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Coach Duncan Fletcher questioned the Durban pitch but admitted England were profligate in being dismissed for 139 on day one of the second Test.

"The pace seemed to vary a lot and the bounce was inconsistent. It dampened their positiveness and it just wasn't an easy wicket to bat on," he said.

"Our batters did contribute to their downfall. If we could have had one good partnership we could have got 250."

South Africa fell to 70-3 at stumps, with Steve Harmison taking 2-20.

"With their wickets falling we're still in the game, and will be interesting to see how the wicket plays from here," Fletcher added.

He refused to blame Andrew Flintoff or Geraint Jones, who were both out to injudicious attempts at the hook shot.

"It's up to each individual, and sometimes there are periods when you get away with it," Fletcher insisted.

"They've got to realise that at this level the opposition will look at that, they are not going to let you play in another fashion, you've got to have a plan to counteract them."

Giles was given a fearful battering during his 69-minute innings

The England coach revealed that Ashley Giles was in some difficulty after receiving a peppering of hostile bouncers from Dale Steyn.

Giles suffered a series of blows to the body and failed to appear when England took to the field.

"Ashley doesn't look too good," Fletcher said.

"He has a back spasm but he's had that before where he wakes up in the morning and it's quite clear, so that's what we're hoping for."

Fletcher is confident England have the capability to force their way back into the match.

"If that wicket plays the same we will hope to get two or three wickets in the morning and then it could be a very even contest going into the third day," he said.

"Then it is up to us to make sure we don't make the same mistakes."

I tried to get them to play a bit more Shaun Pollock

Evergreen South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock revealed he had made some alterations to his bowling after the first Test, which proved effective as he claimed 4-32.

"I reassessed and wanted to be more on the button," he said.

"I tried to get them to play a bit more and be more positive and aggressive in lines."

Pollock believes the pitch will improve towards the middle of the match.

"The wicket does tend to play a lot better on days two and three," he said.

"It'll start to go up and down at the end with a few footmarks where the spinners will get some turn, and they will get a bit of extra bounce."