Strauss Undone But Storms Set to Have Final Say

South Africa turned the screw on England yesterday. As the lightning flashed away in the distance as it has at stages throughout the game, and the thunder rumbled its response, Andrew Strauss and Graham Thorpe, the two best technicians in the side, were fighting tenaciously to keep the innings intact after three wickets had fallen for two runs against the new ball.

But with the last apocalyptic storm approaching and their fourth-wicket stand worth 85, Strauss, with three hours of intense, interrupted batting behind him, drove loosely at Andre Nel and edged to Mark Boucher. Andrew Flintoff had scarcely arrived at the crease when the players left the field for the last time.

Strauss had made 44, including five fours and a pulled six to greet the first over of the match from Andrew Hall. He has rarely been made to work harder as the South African bowlers, sensing an ally in a cantankerous pitch that has spent far too much time lurking under covers, came at England in stirring fashion, none with more passion than Makhaya Ntini.

The batsman may castigate himself for getting out in such a fashion while knowing the end was nigh. But that in itself can be a distraction - yet again the opener has been exemplary in his approach, a mature Test match player in such a short space of time.

If South Africa were to be allowed a clear run at it then England, at 114 for four, could yet lose the match, providing they are dismissed by lunchtime today and the home side are able to crack on at a pace sufficient to give themselves time to take a further 10 wickets.

In this regard much depends on the old troubleshooter Thorpe, who has 32. But realistically the weather, England's official 12th man in this final Test by the looks of it, will have the final word and hand the series to Michael Vaughan.

With a washed-out first day, a foreshortened second on Saturday, just 47 overs possible yesterday in four spells and the prospect of more of the same today, time, surely, is running out for the South Africans.

England got themselves into a mess in pursuit of South Africa's first-innings 247 - the sort of score for which England might have settled when they won the toss on Saturday and put the opposition in, but equally a total South Africa probably envisaged as satisfactory on a juicy surface offering help to any bowler with the nous to take it.

The collapse began, as they often do, with a run-out just as things seemed to be going well. Marcus Trescothick had taken a brace of boundaries from Shaun Pollock's opening over and looked in good order, while Strauss was spending time booking himself another long stay at the crease. His opening boundary came when he rocked back and pulled a ball from Ntini through midwicket that was barely short and outside off-stump.

But chaos ensued immediately after. Strauss played the same bowler defensively down the ground, set off, hesitated after drawing Trescothick from his crease, then darted back, leaving his partner to dive for safety. He was beaten by the left arm of Nicky Boje, who scampered round from mid-off and threw the stumps down while off-balance.

Trescothick was blameless and the calling of Strauss was instructive: "Wait! Wait!" as he set off running; "Yes!" as he stopped; and finally "No!" as he turned and headed for home. Sold such a dummy as this, Trescothick had no price.

Three overs later and Pollock delivered two devastating blows, removing first Rob Key with what amounted to a genuine leg glance that went fine to Boucher, and then, four balls later, suckering Vaughan into surrendering his wicket.

The England captain is bombastic about his choice of the hook and pull as percentage shots and they have brought him many runs. But a top player must surely be wary about using them before he has assimilated the character of a pitch that has shown itself to be two-paced.

Pollock's bouncer was on him before he was half-way through his stroke: the resulting catch from somewhere near the splice to midwicket was a formality. At 29 for three, England were now in real trouble.

On Saturday South Africa, comfortable at one stage at 187 for three, had collapsed to 247 for nine by the close, the last wicket falling to the morning's second ball yesterday with no further addition.

Given that the first session had seen the England bowling once more degenerate, it represented a strong comeback, led by the redoubtable Flintoff, who shrugged off the ankle injury that may yet see his return home for an operation (the situation has not changed on that front: no decision has been made) and pounded in.

The batting of AB de Villiers was notable, given that he was thrust in at the top of the order so that his captain, for tactical reason or medical, could bat in the middle. De Villiers' 92 was full of confidence and aggression, blighted only at the end by the sheer enormity of an approaching maiden Test century. The old sweats in the England side were not shy in reminding him, he panicked and, a disappointed but wiser young man, departed lbw to Ashley Giles.