Monday 11 January 2016 16:34, UK
Sky Sports News HQ reporter Tim Abraham blogs on how the Hashim Amla story unfolded, tackles Lion's Head and catches up with Bloemfontein Celtic...
As well as providing written blogs on my latest tour of South Africa, I am also compiling video diaries to add flavour to the tour and Test matches.
We started right back in Potchefstroom with a look at how the players were living right next door to their practice ground and facilities.
In Durban there was a look behind the scenes at Kingsmead, and in Cape Town I wanted to highlight the fans' experience at Newlands, one of the iconic grounds in world cricket, starting from the rather rickety and very windy, towering temporary stand that had been erected especially, right round the ground to the grassy banks.
It does not get much better beneath the oak trees in the shade, cricket in the foreground against the back drop of Table Mountain. It meant getting in right amongst the fans, South African and English, so hundreds were waiting for me to fluff my lines.
I kept my links to camera brief and to the point and every successful take was greeted with loud cheers. It was all good fun banter and added to the fun shoot. We bumped into Allan Lamb in the 'posh seats' so it was good to get his take on the ground where Ben Stokes' innings that was still so fresh in the memory.
Given South Africa's impressive fight back, inspired by Hashim Amla, the draw was always on the cards, though England did suffer a few wobbly moments.
Once the dark clouds rolled in over Table Mountain it was just a case of when the match would be declared a draw. But the press conferences afterwards were no run of the mill meetings. Alastair Cook and Amla made their way over to the media centre at the same time, the England captain just ahead.
But Amla had a whole entourage around him which included the coach, team manager, and even Haroon Lorgat, the head of Cricket South Africa; it was clear something was on the cards, and rumours swept the room Amla had stepped down from the captaincy.
Cook sat down first; he was asked for his reaction and, looking shocked, he reflected that going back to Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, it was usually the South Africans, and more specifically Graeme Smith, who saw off England captains and he had survived!
His briefing was rather cut short to allow Amla to step in with his entourage to officially announce he was indeed stepping down. With all the questions that followed you really sensed it was a huge weight off his shoulders.
Sky Sports' live coverage were across the story as this press conference was going on and got reaction straight away; I kicked in with more interviews after all was said and done.
There had been many medical updates throughout the Test match and it was not all over the fitness of Dale Steyn, as a bug hit so many of the travelling media, the players and their families.
David Lloyd did not make it to the final day of the Test as he was laid low, and it seems it was not just a 24-hour thing, many have taken days to recover.
Many of the travelling England fans left for home, straight after the Test, or moved on with their holidays; there were hundreds staying at our waterfront hotel, and as they moved out, another sporting team moved in, Bloemfontein Celtic, who were playing Ajax Cape Town at the Cape Town stadium.
I was not sure who they were upon arrival, so asked what was going on, and they watched Sky Sports News HQ, so they knew exactly who I was and what I was doing here.
This is me with coach Duncan Lechesa on the left, and team manager John Maduka. For the record, Bloemfontein led 2-1 in the PSL clash, until the home side salvaged a point with an 83rd-minute equaliser.
On Thursday I took the opportunity to run, then climb to the top of Lion's Head, the mountain right beside that bigger flat one that dominates the sky line. I have done it once before but it was a windy day; in fact I later found out just along the way at Table Mountain, that the cable car had been shut down due to the high winds.
I clambered my way to the top, to take in the magnificent views of the city, and bumped into a couple of England fans who very kindly handled the 'must-have' photo.
With a week between Test matches the players have been given time off in Cape Town. We went along to see Ian Botham for a wine tasting sponsorship shoot in magnificent Hout Bay, a spectacular setting for an interview to look back on Cape Town and look ahead to Johannesburg.
As soon as picture came up for our live chat, the producers back at Sky Studios gave me lots of stick for being somewhere so spectacular, when it was a cold morning back home. It was good to catch up with 'Beefy' at this juncture as we had no player access that day.
He sat down with the press too, and they seized on the line that he thought Ben Stokes is much better at the age of 24 than he was. This was a good chance for me to do a separate piece with him on the up and coming Chelsea v Scunthorpe FA Cup tie - he of course played for Scunthorpe back in the day, and said he would be watching, live in the bush.
On Saturday we spoilt viewers with another magnificent Table Mountain back drop with a live interview from the team hotel with Chris Woakes, who was conducting sponsorship commitments.
He did not play in the last Test as Jimmy Anderson was fit so I got 'the squad view' on England and reaction to AB De Villers taking over as Captain, and the possible return of Steyn who had been included in the squad after his shoulder injury.
He's a passionate Aston Villa fan, and told how he's been suffering so far away during their struggles.
Keep up-to-date with the latest news from England's tour of South Africa with Tim's updates on Sky Sports News HQ. Live coverage of the third Test begins at 8am on Sky Sports 2 on Thursday.
