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Smith's battling 107 laid the foundations for the fightback

Skipper Graeme Smith was delighted to be one of four centurions as South Africa salvaged a draw in the first Test against England at Lord's.

"We asked each other for some character and came through. There were some great individual performances," he enthused.

"When you ask a lot of your team-mates it's always important to play your part as a captain, so it does feel good to start the series in a positive way.

"With your backs up against the wall you can't ask more from your team."

Smith admitted that his team would be striving to lift their performance from the word go when the second Test begins at Headingley on Friday.

"We know we can improve a hell of a lot, we can do a lot of hard work between the Tests," said the captain.

"There was a lot of hype before this match and we didn't perform to the level we know we're capable of that we've produced over the last 12 months.

"That's going to be our challenge now, we've got out of this one very well so both teams have a lot to play for going into Headingley."

Smith's team followed on 346 behind England with more than two days to go in the match, but against the odds, the tourists fought back to earn a comfortable draw by the end.

"It's credit to the way the guys have batted, even through the wicket played really well it's the pressure you've got to be able to deal with," he said.

"We've shown a good strength there and hopefully that can bode well for Headingley.

"As a team we've really got to focus on ourselves and make sure we use the next couple of days to our benefit and really put in the work so we start Headingley at a level we know we're capable of."

606: DEBATE Well done to South Africa, a great batting display InvernessStokie

The Headingley Test is likely to mark the return of England talisman Andrew Flintoff, who has been named in a 12-man squad.

"We kind of expected it sooner or later," said Smith, whose last match involving Flintoff was in Australia in October 2005 when he captained the Lancastrian, who took seven wickets against the Australians for an ICC World XI.

"He's a world-class player, cricket in general needs a player like Fred, he's great for the game and it's going to be a great contest for us if he plays."