 Paul Collingwood remains a major doubt for England as they prepare for the second Test against South Africa at Newlands, with a decision over his fitness to be made on Saturday.
Collingwood dislocated his finger during fielding practice prior to day four at Kingsmead and didn't take any part in proceedings as England wrapped up an innings-and-98-run victory on the final day.
Although scans cleared him of any major damage, the finger is still healing and he must now prove his readiness in the nets on Saturday.
That the gutsy batsman will do anything to get out onto the field come Sunday was shown when he had an unexpected session with the bat as England took to the Newlands nets on Friday morning.
"We hadn't factored in that he might bat in the nets today but he gave it a go and we were pleasantly surprised," said coach Andy Flower afterwards. "But he's still a doubt for the game so we'll give him a final test tomorrow morning."
Collingwood will be desperate to play, but it's for this reason that Flower and the England management team won't leave the decision up to the player himself. Nevertheless they will hope he pulls through given his excellent form over the past four months.
An excellent Champions Trophy was followed by 193 runs at 96.50 in the truncated one-day series, and the Durham man has continued that form with 167 runs at 83.50 in the first half of the four-Test series.
"He's been in very good form through the one-dayers and the Champions Trophy," reflected Flower. "He's in very good nick and he's using all the experience he's gained through the years he's played for England to good effect at the moment."
England have called up Michael Carberry as cover for Collingwood, and Flower was impressed by the look of the left-hander as he enjoyed his first net with the England squad.
Newlands has seen just two draws in its last 10 Test matches and none of the past three Tests have gone into a final day. That suggests the tourists should persist with six specialist batsmen and just four frontline bowlers - especially given the form of the bowlers in Durban - but Flower insisted Carberry was "not necessarily" a shoo-in should Collingwood miss out.
"Obviously we've got other options there on the allrounder front, or even a specialist bowler," the coach said of England's options.
He added of Carberry: "He's had good form. He had a good domestic season and he's been impressive with the performance squad - he got runs out here in South Africa not so long ago, and he looks like a man that knows his game now."
England have a poor record at Newlands where they've lost heavily in all three Tests at the ground since readmission, but go into Sunday's encounter with the chance to wrap up an unexpected series victory.
Parallels have been drawn between this series and the 2009 Ashes, with England clinging on to draw the first Test of both series before clinching the second. The Headingley Test last year saw Australia hit back with a crushing win and Stuart Broad has already spoken about avoiding a repeat of that.
Flower insists he hasn't thought of Headingley much at all, but does feel his side are better equipped to sidestep a backlash from the opposition.
"We'll definitely play to win this Test match but I don't feel there's any anxiety about trying to snatch victory," he said.
"When we had our noses in front against Australia, Stuart was right - the feel in the unit was anxious for a quick victory at Headingley and to get that pressure situation out of the way, whereas I don't get that feel at all now. Maybe it's the learning from that experience that makes it feel different now.
"I expect South Africa to come hard at us, but I also expect us to go hard at them, so it should be a good Test match."
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