Another failure: Pietersen
As England's players are so fond of saying, they are now right behind the eight-ball. A combination of superb bowling from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, bad England batting and, in the case of Alastair Cook's dismissal, poor umpiring saw England skittled for 180.
Now I think the key man for England in this Test match will be Mr PRE Cipitation. Nearly two hours was lost at the Wanderers today through rain and from an England perspective there is good news. The next four days is expected to see more of the same, wit local forecasts predicting Saturday will be a total washout.
While I hope to see as much cricket as possible, that poor forecast may help England to the first draw in Johannesburg since 2000. Or possibly not.
The beauty of Test cricket is the fact you never know quite what is going to happen. All it takes is a spell such as Stuart Broad's during the Ashes at the Oval to bring Strauss and company back into this game. However, the likelihood is there will be a result at the Wanderers and England need something dramatic to be on the right end of it.
Aside from the action on what looked a fairly decent batting track, watching cricket in this part of the world was quite an eye opener. For starters, ticket prices are ridiculously cheap - with £7 the most expensive. Some members of the Barmy Army I chatted to have spent £70 to watch a whole series. Compare that to £85 which it will cost to watch England play Pakistan at Lord's next summer and you wonder while the South Africans can't sell the ground out. One reason is that the South African school holidays have been cut short as they are finishing their autumn term early to accommodate a month-long holiday for the kids during the forthcoming football World Cup.
There were probably 10,000 at the Wanderers today tops, however it is expected to be packed at the weekend, when that result will probably come.
Aside from the tickets, prices of everything in the ground here are very cheap. Beer? 90 per can. A burger? £2.50. Sure, it's a symptom of the fact South Africa is the most unequal society in the world but it still makes prices at English grounds look absurd - which they are.
The atmosphere, despite the paltry crowd was still great. The South Africans were extremely friendly and the surprising thing was how highly they rate this England team. Better than the Australians who won here last year many were saying, even if it was grudging.
There is also bafflement at the form of Kevin Pietersen from both English and South Africans. His form is so poor here even the locals are reluctant to kick a man when he is down. I would suggest a big score is needed in the second innings from KP or he may find his position in the side under severe threat.
That will be one of the issues I'll be putting to Matthew Hoggard tonight when I go to a Q&A with the former Yorkshire tyro in Johannesburg tonight. It should be a good night after a poor day for the tourists but, as I said, such is the unpredictability of Test cricket who knows what will happen over the next few days. Just look at Australia, who won their last Test against Pakistan after being bowled for 127 in their first innings. You never know.