Birmingham (England), July 23: Jacques Kallis' absence from the first test against England, which gets underway at Edgbaston here tomorrow, has left South Africa with a huge hole in their team. The 27-year-old all-rounder is in Cape Town visiting his cancer-stricken father. Kallis was South Africa's in-form batsman during the triangular One-Day series scoring 329 runs, including back-to-back hundreds, before returning home after the Proteas' one-sided, seven-wicket final defeat by England at Lord's on July 12. And without his lively pace bowling, South Africa's attack - new-ball duo Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini excepted - is vastly inexperienced. All of South Africa's other top order batsmen made fifties in the tourists' final warm-up match, against India a, which concluded at Arundel on Monday.

Herschelle Gibbs' innings was especially welcome after a run of low scores.

But batting on a placid pitch, against an attack of modest pace, was no preparation for facing England quicks James Anderson and Darren Gough.

Whether Gibbs, a gifted stroke player, can make the late adjustments that are often required against the swinging and seaming ball remains to be seen.

Much will depend on 35-year-left-hander Gary Kirsten, South Africa's most capped player with 89 tests, who missed the triangular series after retiring from one-day internationals following the world cup.