Andrew Strauss out first ball of day as England slump to 180 all out

From the moment captain Andrew Strauss was out to the first ball of the match, to an outstanding short-leg catch by Hashim Amla, the suspicion was it would not be the tourists' day. So it proved – despite a fifth-wicket stand of 76 between Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell – as Dale Steyn (five for 51) and Morne Morkel (three for 39) did the damage.

"We're a little bit disappointed with 180," Collingwood admitted, after South Africa had reached stumps on 29 without loss.

England need only a draw to take the series 1-0 but may still be pegged back to have to share the spoils with their hosts this winter. Collingwood defended Strauss' decision to bat first on a pitch which has all the predicted attributes of pace, bounce and seam movement – with swing thrown into the equation too.

"I don't quite know yet what a par score is on that wicket," he said. "But it certainly has a lot in it, good carry and the ball seems to be swinging all the time – and it's certainly seaming a bit."

England found themselves seven for two – stirring unwelcome memories of the 1999-2000 tour when they lurched to two for four in the first Test on the way to an innings defeat on this ground – and then 39 for four, and never properly recovered from their horrendous start.

"There were some good balls out there that got batsmen out, some good catches – but also some guys who will be disappointed with their shots," added Collingwood. "But that's the kind of thing wickets like this bring around. It can be tough to play on them.

"All of us have got to understand what our strengths are, what our scoring opportunities are on wickets like that – and be committed. Today, we weren't quite good enough."

The first of two talking points came before the start of play – when England chose to drop Graham Onions in favour of his fellow pace bowler Ryan Sidebottom.

It appeared a curious decision – and one which bemused, and pleased, opponents who claim Onions is a bowler they especially do not like facing.

Collingwood explained: "He (Onions] has done a fantastic job, but you can also understand the need for fresh legs – with the amount of overs the three seamers have bowled over the three Test matches. Ryan Sidebottom is a very accurate bowler, and we hope he'll be perfect for this pitch."

Alastair Cook, fourth out for England, was lbw after a DRS appeal – even though Morkel was perilously close to overstepping. Collingwood reported England had asked to look at the video evidence but have no lingering qualms. "Probably the reaction at the time was the guys looking a little disappointed, but I don't think we're going to make an issue of it," he said.

"The guys have looked at further footage, and it's not a major issue. At the time, there was a still picture on the television of the foot looking as if it was over. But it's arguable whether there was a little bit behind (the line), so we're not making any complaints. Get on with the game."

Steyn, whose five-wicket haul means he has the full set against all South Africa's Test-playing opponents, reflected on a day which could hardly have gone better for him and his team.

"We always knew it was going to nip around – and when we were put into bowl Graeme (Smith) came back and had a word with me and the rest of the bowlers and said, 'It's your day, your turn to lead the side and put pressure on England – you've got a great opportunity to put a stamp on the game'.

Steyn needed Amla's brilliance to see off Strauss with "a loosener". But the wicket of Bell, bowled by a perfect inswinger, was all his own work – with a little help from former England off-spinner Jeremy Snape, now part of South Africa's support staff. "Jeremy said at lunch I should take the ball away, away – then hold one across the seam and see if it goes straight. He said, 'you should never under-estimate the straight ball'.

"So I said, 'what about the inswinger?' – and he said, 'if you can get it to go, fantastic' – so when I got the wicket I celebrated towards the dressing room."

When Steyn bagged his third wicket, Matt Prior gloving an attempted hook behind, only the tail was left. But Graeme Swann helped to add a handy 44 for the final three wickets, including 25 for the tenth with James Anderson, before Steyn completed his five-wicket haul.

Steyn confirmed too that South Africa are delighted by the absence of Onions. "He would have been a handful on this wicket – he gets very tight into the stumps and could have been very dangerous," he said.

"I'm not taking anything away from Ryan Sidebottom – he's also a very good bowler. But obviously Onions has troubled a lot of our batsmen throughout the series, and it's surprising to see he wasn't playing. It was a bit if a relief in a way."

South Africa's reply was halted prematurely as rain and bad light wiped out all but 12 overs of the evening session. Nevertheless in the time available between breaks for the poor weather, the evidence in favourable bowling conditions suggested England were reading the right script as Smith and Ashwell Prince were each beaten several times – without reward – and neither was given easy scoring opportunities.