South Africa coach Gary Kirsten applauded South Africa's "class" after his team produced a crushing victory against the world's No 1 side England at the Oval.
South Africa, who will go top of the rankings if they win the three-match series, took a 1-0 lead with an innings and 12-run win, taking the final six wickets needed on the final day.
"It's very special," he said in the post-match press conference. "Those kind of things don't happen very often, but we've got some real class in our batting line-up, guys with a lot of experience and guys who enjoy batting a lot.
"They don't give their wickets away; they take pride in spending a lot of time at the crease. It was particularly satisfying as a coach to watch that batting performance.
"We know we're capable of that. It's not going to happen all the time that you only lose two wickets but we've got a strong batting line-up that can get big scores."
Hashim Amla was deservedly named man of the match for his unbeaten triple ton, but Jacques Kallis, who himself made an unbeaten century, also gave credit to his bowlers, who bowled brilliantly to take 20 wickets on a flat pitch. "It was an incredible performance today," the classy batsman said. "Even taking those four wickets yesterday we knew it was going to be hard.
"It is a lot easier to bowl when the batting side is under pressure but the way the guys went about it, creating chances, asking questions -- there were no easy runs available.
Kallis said he was privileged to "have the best seat in the house" during Amla's record breaking triple century. "For most of his innings I had probably the best seat in the house," the 36-year-old said. "It was a very special moment.
"To see him go about his business was a treat. He brings a lot of calmness to the side and it's a pleasure to bat with a guy like that."
Kallis also paid tribute to Mark Boucher, who was forced to retire from the game after suffering an eye injury during a practice match. Kallis pointed to his eye after completing his 43rd century. "It's sad what happened to Mark. To have his career end like that is unfair.
"It was just my way of letting him know that he's still very much in our thoughts. It's sad to see a mate go out like that."
England captain was confident that his team could bounce back after a disappointing defeat, when the two teams play the second Test from August 2 at Headingley in Leeds. "I have a great amount of belief in our players and I am sure we will bounce back next week," Strauss insisted.
"I am sure there are lessons for us to learn coming out of this Test match. There have to be and it is important in a three-Test series not to repeat those mistakes in the next game.
"We were outplayed in the last four days of the game, but I still think we will come back into the series. We have often played our best when we have come off a defeat and this is a good challenge for us.
Strauss criticized his side's batting performance in the second innings. "Most of my regrets are that we did not come out with a draw," he said. "We should have done that and losing four wickets last night was a body blow for us.
"I suppose South Africa had a bit of a psychological advantage last night with us having been in the field for a long period of time. We did not react well enough to that and that leaves a slightly sour taste in the mouth.
"But you have got to give credit where it is due. South Africa took their chance in this game, they fought hard to stay in the game on day two; they got ahead of us and they didn't let us back.
"I thought they played really well -- Hashim Amla, in particular, was outstanding and he was well supported by Kallis and Smith."
The England captain refused to blame his bowlers, who picked up only two wickets in the whole match. "I have great belief in our bowling attack. They have shown it time and again over the last couple of years and one game doesn't change that.
"The wicket was at its most placid (when England bowled) -- there's no doubt about it. We couldn't get the ball swinging either way, so it was always going to be hard work for us, but South Africa never gave us an end to bowl at.
"When we did take a wicket Kallis came in and got a hundred of his own."
