By Oliver Brett BBC Sport at Lord's

South Africa have found a stubborn opening pair in McKenzie and Smith

Neil McKenzie may have received minimal attention in the build-up to this series, but it was he who did the most to save the first Test for South Africa with his epic innings of 138.

If you had happened to chance on an article about him before he began his marathon nine-and-a-quarter-hour innings on Saturday, it would have probably centred on the fact his wife, Kerry McGregor, happened to be a Wonderbra model.

You might also have picked up some information about his former superstitions - no stepping on white lines, toilet seats in the dressing-room just so, his bat taped to the ceiling.

Well forget all that now, because McKenzie's three-pound blade of willow did all the talking over the last two days at Lord's.

Afterwards, the 32-year-old was unfailingly modest about his achievement in so effectively blunting the same attack that had bowled out his whole team for just 247 on Saturday.

He said: "It's tough up front but you just relax into it. Don't give batters starts because once I had been there a couple of hours I was at peace with myself in that I was just going to bat time.

"It was a role I haven't played too often but it was something that was required.

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"A hundred is a hundred and it's at Lord's which is great. I took my time but haven't really rated it in terms of where it is. I'm just really thrilled to have got through the Test match."

From 2000 to 2004, McKenzie was, if not quite an automatic choice in South Africa's Test and one-day side, certainly a regular member.

Then he was axed, having not quite allowed the talent he had showed at provincial level to reach its fullest potential on the international stage.

But when he and Kerry had their first child, the superstitions went out of the window.

And when Herschelle Gibbs's decline as a Test opener showed no signs of abatement, South Africa's selectors came calling again at the start of the year.

The vacancy was at the top of the order, where McKenzie had made his Test debut before gradually moving down the team sheet.

Almost immediately he showed he had the patience for the role, with an eight-and-a-half-hour 226 in Bangladesh in February, followed by scores of 94 and 155 not out against India in Chennai.

McKenzie was in full control of his shots, both defensive and attacking

But restored to the bosom of the South African side, he proved an immense force at Lord's.

"When I started in the South Africa side, I opened because that's what was available. It was the first time I had ever opened and now my career has done a 360," he said.

"I'm happy where I am at the moment and I'll definitely take the runs."

It should not be forgotten that McKenzie had already batted for more than two hours in the first innings when he began his long second-innings vigil.

Perhaps aware of his mode of dismissal in the Durham matches, he certainly looked tentative outside his off-stump on Sunday morning.

He had an odd way of dealing with the delivery seaming or swinging away, pulling the bat right across his body after a forward defensive prod, trying not to follow the ball.

But the clumsy tactic worked, and soon he was middling just about everything, 99% of the time in a defensive mode, but oblivious to any pressure England may have felt they were building.

Patience is a virtue in Test cricket, but McKenzie turned it into an exact science, only driving when he knew he had a genuine half-volley to put away.

In his entire innings, the closest he came to giving his wicket away was when he edged Paul Collingwood on one occasion just past his stumps.

McKenzie has the natural skill to see the ball very early, and play it late. That, allied to the no-risk batting he adopted and the featherbed nature of the pitch, meant it was virtually impossible for England to prise him out.

When they did, it was probably only because he had grown exhausted and had begun to feel a slight groin strain which necessitated the appearance of Graeme Smith as a runner.

England will definitely require more helpful surfaces if they are to deny McKenzie further success in this series. And the man himself added: "There's still a lot of work to do. I'm under no illusions that things are going to get tougher."