Inside the pavilion

Headingley is logistically hopeless for the players with a single, tiny viewing balcony situated directly outside the press box.

With the door necessarily open on a stuffy, humid day, the players prefer the secluded privacy of their changing room ahead of any fresh air in the vicinity of journalists.

But it gets worse. The media toilets are situated right next door to the dressing rooms which makes the likelihood of a distracted hack bumping into an irate batsman on his way back to the pavilion pretty high.

When the next batsman in is waiting for the fall of a wicket he has no choice but to sit next to the press and the gaggle of photographers who all try to work from one of the few covered areas on the ground behind the viewing balcony. And when one of the dozen or so journalists who work in both press box and commentary boxes, one floor above, has to make the journey between his work stations, he literally has to step around the batsman with his pads on. "Err, sorry Nasser, excuse me..."

It is not ideal. The players feel spied upon and the hacks feel like they've accidentally walked into the church vestry and found the vicar undressing. But if there is one benefit it is the reminder of how much 'intensity' is required to play Test cricket. Being able to see the frown lines on players faces, to see them living (and sometimes dieing) with every ball is to remember that this is more than a job.

England's new boy Ed Smith was so wrapped up in his 'focus' while waiting to bat that he stood directly in front of the photographers rehearsing a series of shots and was completely oblivious to the fact that he was obscuring their view. And he was less than five feet away.

The press do, of course, also get to see some things they shouldn't. And some things that are just plain funny like Anti-Corruption Unit officer Bob Smalley admonishing on SA team manager Goolam Rajah for not wearing his accreditation. "I consider myself told off, and rightly so," Rajah smiled.

Graeme Smith likened the dressing rooms to those of a rugby stadium and generally speaking the players are not best served. As fascinating as the study of high level, sporting human bahaviour is, the sooner Headingley builds itself a 'proper' players area the happier we'll all be.