Tim Miller: Lying on a sofa in a hotel in Tignes, France, waiting for a flight, explaining to the French how a match lasts five days.

Chris, where are you? And what is that? Is it the amount of dust produced from a raging turner in Mumbai?

Taylor isn't sure what to do with these Morkel climbers. There;s a couple of men out on the leg side, with Taylor getting nowhere near an attempted hook shot. Morkel, gallops in, pace and bounce, into the guts of Taylor. Tough, tough Test cricket.

There's a good battle going on between Dane Piedt and the England batsmen. Root looks restless, while Taylor likes to get on with it against the slow men. Taylor has a dance to loft over mid-on for four, causing the man to be pushed back. There are still plenty of catchers on the leg side, though, all in the game as the ball turns more and more.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

"That Morne Morkel delivery is the kind of ball Curtly Ambrose used to bowl in the Caribbean, with Michael Atherton ducking for cover. 

"James Taylor looks ready and he looks right, but he needs get a few more runs behind his name. He's playing with a lot of punch today."

Image source, Getty Images

Ooofff, that's nearly taken James Taylor's head off. In fact, if Taylor wasn't a little vertically challenged, he'd have been in trouble. From just back of a length, Morkel has got one to climb, flying over Taylor, who has to jump and duck at the same time. I'll hammer home the point - batting is difficult and will become even more so.

Also, back to Jim Carrey. I forgot to mention Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Liar Liar. They were good too.

Looking again at the Cook wicket, the skipper was turned around by the angle of the delivery. Speared in from round the wicket, he had to play, but the nip away was what took the edge. At the other end, Root goes temporarily insane with a slog sweep at Piedt that is almost caught at mid-wicket. Root just looking a little tetchy, but calmed by another sweep for four.

Andrew Samson
BBC Test Match Special statistician

"The third-wicket partnership was worth 99. Alastair Cook and Joe Root have now batted together 25 times in Tests, scoring 1,064 runs at an average of 42.20, with three century stands."

The players took drinks after the wicket, meaning Taylor had an extended wait. Not that it mattered, he opened his account first ball with a drive down the ground for four. You feel he could do with a score here, Taylor. There's no chat about his place yet, but his numbers aren't stellar. 

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

"Morne Morkel bowled an absolute peach to get rid of the England captain and it was a very sharp catch by Quinton de Kock. 

"It's not going to be easy for somebody starting on this wicket..."

Image source, Getty Images

That's a really big moment not only because Cook is out but because this track will be very difficult for new batsmen arriving. When the pitch misbehaves, wickets can fall in clusters. James Taylor is the man looking to prevent that from happening.

Mark Boucher
Former South Africa wicketkeeper on BBC Test Match Special

"That bowling reminds me of Freddie Flintoff back in the day, angled in, Morne Morkel squares Alastair Cook up nicely and it's a great catch by Quinton de Kock.

"Cook out, just before the new ball coming in, South Africa will be very happy with that. Cook had played a good captain's knock."  

Mark Boucher
Former South Africa wicketkeeper on BBC Test Match Special

"South Africa's seamers haven't really come to the party yet. They are releasing the pressure on these England batsmen, who have gone about their business very nicely. If England can carry on like this beyond the new ball they will be in the game."

I seem to be getting some stick for bad mouthing The Cable Guy. Some are even saying it's Jim Carrey's best. Behave yourself. Ace Ventura (both of them), the Mask, Dumb and Dumber and Bruce Almighty are all miles better. And that's not even mentioning the The Truman Show, which is an all-time classic.

Morne Morkel, the giraffe, is causing trouble. Joe Root gets a couple of inside edges, then Cook is hit on the pad, again via an edge. It's doing enough to keep the bowlers interested, off the pitch rather than in the air. Could South Africa attack a little more? There are not many catchers.

Spin for the first time today, Dane Piedt on to bowl his offies. "Temb-ba" is the cry when Root turns out past short leg Temba Bavuma, but Bavuma would need to be one of the X Men to catch that. Then some bounce that does for Cook. Make no mistake, it's doing plenty out there, even if England are making decent progress.