England v South Africa, First Test, Sunday 27 July 2003 Edgbaston, Birmingham

Victor Marks, having spent Saturday as a news hound in readiness for writing his numerous Observer columns, turned super sleuth on Sunday.

Vic was out on the square early in the day, but there was no key in the wicket a la Geoff Boycott circa 1985.

Instead he had his finger in the Edgbaston drainage dykes, a la the mythical Dutch Boy circa 1865.

It's bit damp out there and they're a little like a water jump Jonathan Agnew's verdict

The pitch is scarred by drainage ducts at the City End which proved particularly problematical for Makhaya Ntini on Saturday afternoon.

"They're two or three inches wide and have sunk a bit, being filled in with some loose soil," Vic explained.

"The problem comes for sensitive fast bowling types if they land right on the drainage duct.

"The loose soil may be a slight inconvenience but I expect the South Africans will cope with it and won't insist on the game being suspended."

However, it appears Ntini could not cope, having been replaced on Sunday morning by Charl Willoughby.

Ntini, aka The Waffle, a name his team-mates have adopted following his visit to the hairdresser, was clearly happy to bide his time and wait for the chance to come in from the Pavilion End where Shaun Pollock has had to contend with only one "water jump".

Graeme Fowler is a man made for radio.

There may be inclement weather in Birmingham and threatening clouds in the air, but sunglasses are the order of the day in the TMS box.

TMS webcam: Spot the shirt

Foxy turned up sporting his Sunday best and certainly brightened up the box.

Henry Blofeld described it as "a dazzling psychedelic apparition" and Aggers as a "loud one".

And it seems as is if his fashion sense has stretched to others in the box, notably Christopher Martin-Jenkins.

"CMJ's startlingly bright today and his shirt resembles kitchen curtains or a table cloth," Aggers commented.

Foxy's clearly a man made for radio. Sky television insisted on him smartening up his act and getting rid of his dyed locks for when he was summarising in front of the camera.

Bill Frindall has recorded a number of notable records during the course of the Test, and he was forced to leaf through some tomes on Sunday as well.

Although not exactly records, the Bearded Wonder was faced by some notable feats, with scoring slowing to a crawl and both batsmen rooted at opposite ends for the better part of the morning session.

Michael Vaughan became the 42nd recorded batsman to have a mid-innings hiatus of an hour or more without scoring.

Shortly afterwards he finally got a single, but it clearly upset the equilibrium of his opening partnership with Marcus Trescothick.

Within 10 minutes the Somerset opener was out, the first ball of the day he faced from the City End proving to be his last.