Dav Whatmore:So good so far in South Africa

Three matches into the tour and preparations have gone well so far. The players have had a chance to adjust to the quicker pitches. Most of the top order have spent time in the middle and the fast bowlers, after an erratic start in the traditional tour opener, the Nicky Oppenheimer XI game, have bowled well in Port Elizabeth. We should won yesterday, but, nevertheless, we remain unbeaten.

We began the tour in Johannesburg and had a chance to have net practices at two international venues: the Wanderers and Centurion Park. The surfaces, though not the best, were at least quicker than those we have in Sri Lanka and allowed the batsmen to gauge better the differences here in terms of bounce and pace.

We then played the first game against a Nicky Oppenheimer XI. The rules were a little strange as the touring side traditionally bats first and it's a declaration game. I have not played that type of cricket since I played club cricket in the UK. Anyway, it gave the batsmen a chance to enjoy an excellent batting wicket and we did very well putting up a decent score.

When we came out the bowl for the first time on the tour we were a little bit rusty. In the end were only able to play about 15 overs before the rain came. The bowlers bowled erred both in their length and line; Andrew Hall made us pay with a rapid half century.

The lesson from the match was that the bowlers will have to adjust their length from the sub-continental norm. However, if you bowl too short of the length then the batsmen can also score runs freely. Basically, the conditions are very good for batting. If you get set and the bowlers err in line or length then you can really cash in.

For the second game we traveled south to Port Elizabeth. We have played a three-day game and a one-day practice game here and will play the first one-day international on Friday. We played against Eastern Province, who have done well this year in domestic cricket.

The pitch for the three-day game was a little too green and the side that won the toss was always likely to bowl first. Thankfully, we won the toss and bowled out Eastern Province cheaply in the first innings. The bowlers did really well and dropped into a decent line and length straight away.

Then we had a chance to bat and the top order all scored runs. The middle and lower order didn't do so well and there was a hat trick in the middle of the innings. However, for me, the most pleasing aspect of the match was the bowling in the second innings when the wicket had dried out a little.

It was a concerted and consistent performance, mainly by our fast bowlers, who kept the pressure on the Eastern Province batsmen by bowling straight. With Murali also performing at the other end, it was just what we need in the test matches and I was delighted.

Dilhara Fernando is showing a lot of promise, mainly because of his ability to get the ball past the bat at pace. He has a little way to go of course and he knows that, but he has shown real potential to emerge as another good fast bowler in our bowling attack.

We have been playing particular attention to the workload of Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa. The harder wickets here can induce injury problems with fast bowlers so we have been careful not to overdo their workload in the early stages of the tour.

We have played a similar batting line-up so far in the tour and I would expect that to stay the same in the first few international matches. We don't want anyone going out to the middle without a great deal of match practice. The top order have all started positively and are looking good.

Kumar Sangakkara has been batting well and technically is looking very sound at the moment. Dilshan was unbeaten when we declared in the first match and was batting well, but was unlucky enough to get a golden duck in the three-day game. However, he has had a chance to adapt to the conditions in the nets and has the technique to succeed on these pitches.

All in all we have made best use of the opportunities given to us in the early part of the tour. We now have to produce the goods in the first one-day international match on Friday.