Something decidedly odd will happen this week. Or, more accurately, something decidedly commonplace won’t happen.

It’s an event so regular and predictable, you’ve probably ceased to notice it. It’s like the consumption of food, the brushing of your teeth or the death of part of your soul while you’re at the office. It’s relentless, it’s been happening for as long as anyone can remember, but this week it won’t happen.

That’s right. This week England aren’t playing New Zealand.

After nineteen consecutive international fixtures between the two sides, it’s finally over. England are a better Test side. New Zealand are a better one-day side. No fortune teller could ever have foreseen that outcome.

But now England have to set themselves for a change of pace. Literally. Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel are here to make life uncomfortable for England’s batsmen. For ‘uncomfortable’ read ‘physically excruciating’ as all three propel the ball at a pace that can only be described as… what exactly?

After five months of describing bowlers using adjectives such as ‘disciplined’, ‘wholehearted’ and ‘determined’, it’s not just England’s cricketers who’ll need to adapt.

See King Cricket’s regular blog at www.kingcricket.co.uk. King Cricket is a cult figure in the world of cricket blogs and was TWC’s first Best-of-blogs winner in April 2008.