Call it mind games, call it a war of words or call it thoughtful responses to sensible questions. Whatever, the bowling plans for the npower Test series were placed on the table yesterday and both England and South Africa are happy with their hands.

If the touring side echo Chairman Mao's philosophy that power comes from the barrel of a gun, then England are the equivalent of a peace protester shoving a flower in its tip. They could be blasted away when the first Test match begins at Lord's tomorrow, but then local knowledge could just as easily win the day.

When the England bowlers met to discuss their strategy two days ago, they realised the folly of trying to match the pace of the South Africa unit. Andrew Strauss is prepared to go farther. He believes that their extra speed will present more scoring opportunities for the England batsmen.

However, Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, thinks that the England bowling carries a “samey” look without the option of an out-and-out quick such as Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini, who just happen to lead his own attack like the freshly sharpened points of a trident.

“We wanted three bowlers who could all get over 140 kilometres an hour [about 87mph],” Arthur said on the day that South Africa overtook England in the ICC rankings, climbing to second as England slipped one place to fourth. “At the start of our season, I thought that in a couple of years Steyn and Morkel would be the number one and two bowlers in the world. There is still no doubt in my mind about that. It is going to be a treat to watch them this summer.

“I looked at England against New Zealand as part of our planning and I thought they were steady. [James] Anderson bowled superbly when it swung, but he and [Stuart] Broad were pretty similar. Although [Ryan] Sidebottom did a fantastic job, they lacked a guy like [Andrew] Flintoff or [Stephen] Harmison.”

Backroom staff - including Jeremy Snape, who has been drafted in to assist on the mental side - are working to ensure that Steyn and Morkel are not overawed by the Lord's atmosphere. Ntini took ten wickets at the ground five years ago and England positioned the bowling machine at practice yesterday to replicate his wide angle of delivery.

Strauss, who will be making his 50th Test appearance, has pledged to stay on the field if his wife, Ruth, who is expecting their second child, goes into labour. He has had the advantage of facing Steyn, Morkel and Ntini in the warm-up match at Uxbridge last week.

“I did not have a speed gun under my arm, but they were slippery,” Strauss said. “More pace on the ball provides opportunities if they are slightly off line as you need to get less of a bat on it to go to the boundary. It is easy to get focused on pace, but I think it is crucial to see how good they actually are as bowlers. It will come down to how well they bowl and how solid is our game plan.”

Although Broad reached 90mph in the one-day series against New Zealand, he will not be straining for speed. “It would send our techniques and radar awry,” Broad said. “We all bowl over 85mph and we look to do things with the ball. We do not have to match their pace and bounce. We will stick to what we do well.”

Clouds hovered over the ground yesterday, but Arthur thinks that the shadow of the absent Flintoff is lingering over the England side - not only that, but that Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood know it. “England will be under some pressure at numbers five and six,” Arthur said. “If you have a fantastic cricketer like Flintoff, you would be silly not to use him. We are sure he will play soon and somebody will have to drop out. Within the pressure cooker of Test cricket, there will be one or two contests within the England side, which will create its own dynamic.”

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