England tour of South Africa 2019/20

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South Africa 208 for 6 (de Kock 63*, Philander 27*) trail England 499 for 9 dec by 291 runs

Dom Bess became the latest of England's young bloods to leave his mark on South Africa but the old foe of bad weather, coupled with some much-needed defiance from the home batsmen (plus a few dropped catches), prevented the tourists from maximising their advantage on day three in Port Elizabeth.

With Bess producing his most impressive display in an England shirt to secure a maiden Test five-for, the threat of the follow-on loomed large for South Africa. But they were able to recover from a position of 109 for 5 thanks to Quinton de Kock's third half-century of the series, as well as 136 balls of dogged resistance from the nightwatchman, Anrich Nortje.

De Kock was unbeaten on 63 at the close, having put on partnerships of 45 with Nortje and a further 54 alongside Vernon Philander. He might have been dismissed three times by spin but on each occasion Ben Stokes was unable to hold on to sharp chances at slip - and with another 26 overs lost due to rain, England's prospects of capturing a series lead before the teams move on to Johannesburg looked to have taken a hit.

South Africa's captain, Faf du Plessis, pronounced before the third Test that his team had made "huge steps in the right direction" against England, following a run of five consecutive defeats. While du Plessis could not extricate himself from his own run of bad form, falling to Bess for the second time in as many innings, the bloody-minded efforts of de Kock and, in particular, Nortje, gave his side something to rally around.

Although there was no doubting England were on top, they seemed likely to find themselves in a battle against time, the elements and an unforgiving pitch - with de Kock's rearguard blocking their path to enforcing the follow-on, and 92 runs still needed for South Africa to take the decision out of Joe Root's hands.

The morning session could scarcely have gone better for England, with Bess striking three more times to claim each of the five South African wickets to have fallen, before a delay of more than three hours began to impinge on hopes of a positive result in this match. When play was able to resume in mid-afternoon, de Kock succeeded in seeing off the fiery Mark Wood as he and Nortje combined to frustrate England further.

South Africa's wicketkeeper produced a number of fine strokes during a counterattacking innings, although at times he lived on the edge. Root might have removed him twice, on 30 and 56, with Stokes the culprit on both occasions. Another chance came late in the day, when de Kock was cramped by Joe Denly's legspin and top-edged a cut low to Stokes' right - but again England's most-reliable catcher could not cling on.

Stokes did have a more familiar impact with the ball, although the fact England waited until the 61st over to turn to his bowling - so galvanic in the victory at Newlands - raised questions about what might been after the allrounder proceeded to dismiss Nortje with his 10th delivery.

Nortje had already benefited from lapses in the field, Root putting down a simple chance at slip that would have given Bess his five-for. Having demonstrated his ability with the bat in South Africa's victory in Centurion, Nortje dug in manfully in the face of Wood's 150kph/93mph hostility - a half-chance to Ollie Pope at short leg the closest Wood came to getting his man. By the time Stokes drew an edge to slip, Nortje had played by far his longest first-class innings and kept England at bay for more than three hours.

Such fighting spirit seemed to be lacking as South Africa set about their attempts to build a convincing first-innings reply. Resuming on 60 for 2, after Bess had struck twice on the second evening, they lost Dean Elgar in the fourth over of the day, smartly taken by the diving Pope at silly point as the ball ricocheted off bat and pad.

Du Plessis seemed intent on taking the attack to England's rookie offspinner, a 22-year-old playing in just his fourth Test, twice leaving his ground to stroke fours through mid-off. But Bess changed his line of attack to over the wicket, found some drift and grip and another inside edge plopped safely into the hands of Pope, at short leg this time.

South Africa had been left in a mess against Bess, whose fourth wicket ensured career-best figures. He was not to be denied a fifth - becoming the youngest England spinner to take a Test five-for since Pat Pocock in 1968 - as Rassie van der Dussen dragged the ball into his stumps to give the unexpected tourist an unexpected starring role. But the rain and de Kock meant the day was not simply about Bess.

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South Africa 209 (de Kock 63, Bess 5-51) and 102 for 6 (Root 4-20) trail England 499 for 9 dec by 188 runs

England went to South Africa barely sure of their first-choice spinner, but it was spin that took them to the brink of victory inside four days in Port Elizabeth. A morning blitz from the quicks saw South Africa made to follow on, and although Dom Bess was successfully repelled after his first-innings five-for, Joe Root took up the baton with a twirl to claim his best Test figures as England closed in.

The majority of the resistance met by England came in the form of the weather. With more than 50 overs lost to rain over the course of the match so far, and the possibility of more on Monday, South Africa's task in attempting to save the game ought to have been that much simpler. But only Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje, in the first innings, and Faf du Plessis second time around managed to occupy the crease for any significant length of time as England's varied attack repeatedly found ways to succeed.

There have been clouds of the metaphorical variety hanging over du Plessis' captaincy, and although 36 from 123 balls represented his highest score in nine innings, as well as featuring some trademark stonewalling, it could not inspire a more concerted response. His dismissal to Root, deflecting an inside edge to short leg, was symbolic of the turnaround in fortunes since South Africa won their first Test in six attempts at Centurion.

The rain on the Eastern Cape continued to do its bit, but South Africa did themselves no favours during 66.4 overs of insipid batting. They started the day by losing their last four first-innings wickets for the addition of one run from 28 balls, and ended it hanging on six down - despite another lengthy rain break cutting a chunk out of the morning and afternoon sessions.

The delay backed up England's decision to enforce the follow-on, the first time they had done so in an away Test since Wellington in 2013. With a patchy forecast for the final day, and the pitch still holding together reasonably well, it threatened to be nip and tuck - but a lead of 290 runs proved a convincing enough cushion for Root.

When the teams did get back on the field, at shortly after 2pm local time, Mark Wood put the wind back in England's sails. A full, fast delivery defeated Dean Elgar's attempt to work across the line and uprooted off stump via a faint leading edge; Wood had his second a couple of overs later when Zubayr Hamza, who has looked ill-equipped to deal with high pace, feathered a catch down the leg side hanging back against the short ball.


Mark Wood roars in celebration after dismissing Zubayr Hamza Stu Forster/Getty Images
Du Plessis and Pieter Malan negotiated 15.2 overs - the longest partnership of the innings - and had all but taken South Africa to tea two down when Root bagged his first with a delivery that straightened on the stumps to win approval from Rod Tucker. Although Malan reviewed, the suggestion of inside edge was deemed to be inconclusive by the third umpire and South Africa were on the slide again.

With Rassie van der Dussen shaping up skittishly against Root's low-slung offbreaks, England began to get itchy - twice triggering the DRS in the period after tea only to lose both of their reviews in the process. When Root did gain an lbw decision from Tucker against van der Dussen, again the review system went in the batsman's favour. But there was no doubt about his eventual dismissal, caught by a soaring Ollie Pope at short leg off a ballooning inside edge, even if van der Dussen dragged himself reluctantly from the crease.

De Kock played his second poor shot of the day - having been bowled in the second over to end his doughty first-innings knock at 63 - to be caught by the leaping Wood at backward point, and when du Plessis departed well into the evening, Root had a four-wicket haul. There was time for Vernon Philander to be put down twice off Wood, valiant efforts both from Don Sibley and Ben Stokes, but England walked off confident of being able to beat both the weather and their hosts.

That they were in such an ascendant position was in large part down to South Africa's profligate approach during the opening exchanges. Resuming will 92 runs still required to avoid the follow on, the lower order was blown away by Stuart Broad, who claimed 3 for 0, and Sam Curran with the second new ball.

Three times in as many overs saw loose shots punished with stump-rattling effect. Philander left a gap big enough to let a real-life kookaburra through, Broad's fuller length rewarded as the ball seamed back to remove off stump; de Kock attempted to drive without getting forward only for Curran to hit middle; and Keshav Maharaj dragged an ill-advised pull down on to leg. When Kagiso Rabada chipped limply to mid-off, the Port Elizabeth breeze was blowing only in one direction.

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Innings and 53 run win last wicket partnership of 99 with England bowling like a village team was immensely funny

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Fourth Test
24.1.2020 to 28/1/2020

The Wanderers Stadium (Known as the Imperial Wanderers Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Test, One Day and First class cricket matches are played here. It is also the home ground for the Highveld Lions, formerly known as Gauteng (Transvaal).
The stadium has a seating capacity of 34,000, and was built in 1956 to replace the Old Wanderers Stadium. It was completely overhauled following South Africa's readmission to international cricket in 1991. In 1996, five new 65-metre-high (213 ft) floodlight masts replaced the existing four 30-metre-high (98 ft) masts, enabling day-night limited-overs cricket. It is nicknamed 'The Bullring' due to its design and intimidating atmosphere.

On 1 October 2004, the Wanderers Clubhouse was virtually destroyed by fire. At that stage it was known as Liberty Life Wanderers, but as from the 2008/09 season, Bidvest Group took up the sponsoring of the ground, thus it became its present-day name of BIDVest Wanderers Stadium until the end of September 2019.

On 4 October 2019, the Wanderers Stadium announced a new naming rights deal with global logistics company , Imperial Logistics. The stadium is now referred to as Imperial Wanderers Stadium

The ground is among the most historically significant cricket grounds of the twenty-first century. It has staged some of the most important matches in ODI and T20I history, and has witnessed a number of outstanding world records.

The 2003 Cricket World Cup final was held at the Wanderers Stadium. This stadium also hosted one of the greatest One-day international matches, played between South Africa and Australia in which a world record score of 434 was chased down by South Africa. It hosted matches of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 including the first match and the final which was won by India, who defeated Pakistan.

On 18 January 2015, the Wanderers stadium saw South Africa's AB de Villiers break the 19-year-old record for fastest ODI half-century, previously held by Sri Lankan maestro Sanath Jayasuriya, by making 50 off 16 balls against the West Indies. In the same match, he also broke Corey Anderson's fastest ODI century record (held for one year and seven days) by making 100 off 31 deliveries. He finished on 149, caught on the boundary in the final over, scored off 44 balls with a strike rate of 338.63.[3]

On 21 February 2016, AB de Villiers scored the fastest 50 (21 balls) for South Africa in a T20I against England.[4]

In July 2018, the stadium hosted former US President, Barack Obama at the Nelson Mandela Lecture. [5]

cglcricket.org.za/bullring/

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England 192 for 4 (Crawley 66, Sibley 44) v South Africa

England's inexperienced openers brought an air of calm after a chaotic start to the fourth and final Test, but a batting collapse after tea ensured the day continued on a dramatic path.

It was an eventful opening day before, during and potentially after play.

As if there wasn't already enough riding on this match, with England closing in on a series triumph and South Africa desperate to salvage something from a tumultuous week that started with an innings defeat at Port Elizabeth, included a confused changing of the guard in the one-day side and ended - if Faf du Plessis had his way - with the captain pleading tunnel vision when it came to answering any more questions about his uncertain Test future.

Rain wiped out the first session and, when word finally came through that a 1.20pm start time was in sight, the players began warming up in the outfield. That's when England's turmoil began.

Jofra Archer, expected to make his return from the elbow injury that ruled him out of the previous two matches after sending down thunderbolts in the nets this week, bowled a few balls and then made a bee-line for the team doctor clutching his arm. He was promptly ruled out of contention, Joe Root claiming upon winning the toss and electing to bat first that the team couldn't be confident their star quick could make it through the match.

Chris Woakes was called into the side and Mark Wood was called upon to play back-to-back Tests for the first time since 2017 as England, understandably, opted for an all-out seam attack at the Wanderers, leaving Dom Bess out despite his five-wicket haul in Port Elizabeth. Horses for courses.

So it was that new opening pair Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley set about compiling England's first century opening stand since December 2016.

Playing just his fourth Test, Crawley continued his steady progress since making his debut in New Zealand in November. After scores of 1, 4, 25 and 44, Crawley - who turns 22 early next month - settled in nicely. A flourish through the covers, a thump through midwicket and a commanding straight drive brought him 12 runs off a poor Dwaine Pretorius over and took him to 45 not out, before he brought up his maiden Test fifty with a thick outside edge through point from the first ball of Pretorius' next over.

His knock wasn't completely smooth, however. Crawley was struck flush on the helmet, right next to the badge, by a ripping 149kph / 93mph delivery from Anrich Nortje not long after bringing up his half-century. He was assessed for concussion and deemed fit to continue as he and Sibley took England to tea on 100 without loss.

Earlier, Sibley had survived being caught sharply by Temba Bavuma at gully for 12 when umpire Joel Wilson correctly called a no-ball on the retiring bowler Vernon Philander, who had overstepped. England were 41 without loss at the time.

South Africa had been lacklustre throughout the extended session to tea but when they returned after the break, they made things happen.

Debutant quick Beuran Hendricks, in the side for Kagiso Rabada who was suspended for an overly robust wicket celebration in Port Elizabeth, made the breakthrough when he had Sibley out, strangled down the leg side for 44.

Crawley followed a short time later when he, like Sibley, offered an non-committal shot and was caught by Rassie van der Dussen at slip, delivering Philander his first wicket of his farewell Test.

That had England at 116 for 2 but their wobble didn't stop there, the tourists ultimately losing 4 for 50 when Joe Denly edged a Dane Paterson outswinger to van der Dussen and Ben Stokes fell in similar fashion, lured into an attempted drive by Nortje and edging to van der Dussen, again at slip.

The theatre continued as Stokes became involved in an angry verbal exchange with a spectator as he walked off and he could yet be called to answer questions from the match referee. After bad light ended play early, Stokes could be seen chatting to members of the crowd and signing autographs on the boundary.

The fact that the day ended with honours pretty much even had appeared so unlikely on the basis of South Africa's performance earlier in the day. That they found some fight was encouraging for their fans after du Plessis suggested this could be his final Test on home soil amid speculation over his playing future.

The intrigue deepended for them when Quinton de Kock was named captain of the ODI side for the upcoming series with England and du Plessis was omitted altogether with uncertainty over whether it was a permanent change. Graeme Smith, South Africa's director of cricket, later confirmed it was the first step in their succession plan and du Plessis would not be reinstated as leader, should he return to the side.

So, with plenty going on off the field - for both sides - the stage is set for more twists and turns on it.

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South Africa 88 for 6 (de Kock 32*, Wood 3-21) trail England 400 (Crawley 66, Root 59, Pope 56) by 312 runs

With South Africa, it seems as though it's one step forward, several back. Not a good match-up against an England side which made those retreating steps look like several hundred on another eventful day at the Wanderers.

What should have been Anrich Nortje's day after he claimed his maiden Test five-for in just his sixth appearance ended very much as England's, who posted a first-innings total of 400 - thanks in no small part to a record 10th-wicket stand between Stuart Broad and Mark Wood - and finished the day with South Africa too many wickets down and too many runs in arrears.

In Wood's case it was a day to savour for a player clearly thrilled to be on the park after a battle with injury, caution over whether he should play back-to-back Tests for the first time since 2017 and concerns he may be feeling the effects of his first match back in six months. The short turnaround from Port Elizabeth invited caution, but with Jofra Archer already out injured, England had little choice but to choose Wood, who likely wouldn't have had it any other way, and he put all those worries to rest with a memorable performance.

ALSO READ: Stokes fined, handed demerit point after verbal altercation with spectator

Resuming on 192 for 4 after a mini-collapse on the opening day, Joe Root and Ollie Pope put on a 101-run partnership, both reaching their half-centuries with Pope's all the more impressive because it followed scores of 3, 61 not out and 135 not out in what has been a breakthrough series for a 22-year-old playing his seventh Test match. But both will have been disappointed not to have converted after falling for 59 and 56 respectively.

Their demise was due to an excellent eight-over spell from Nortje in the morning session, which delivered three wickets in 40 runs with relentless pace despite the length of his shift as he consistently hovered around the 90mph/145kph mark. Pope and Root took to him at times with their pull shots but Nortje was not discouraged.

Nortje struck with the first ball after drinks, in his fifth over of the day, when he had Pope flummoxed over whether to play or leave, the batsman opting too late for the latter and chopping on as he shouldered arms.

Nortje then saw Root put down by Faf du Plessis at slip but again he kept his chin up and was rewarded in his next over with two wickets in consecutive balls: first he had Root edging behind to Quinton de Kock after being drawn into an attempted drive and it was hard to tell who was more pleased - Nortje or du Plessis. Then Sam Curran fell for a golden duck slashing at a wide delivery and sending another edge to de Kock.

Pope's dismissal had brought Jos Buttler to the crease and if ever a man needed to silence his critics with a pile of runs, this was Buttler's moment. It wasn't to be, however, as Buttler sent a Vernon Philander delivery high towards cover where Dean Elgar claimed the catch. It was a notable moment, given Buttler's and Philander's run-in at Newlands and it did appear as though Philander, in his final Test, had the last word in this particular rivalry - and not just in the metaphorical sense.

When Nortje, who had dismissed Ben Stokes late on the first day, had Chris Woakes caught by du Plessis for a handy 32 to claim his fifth wicket, it should, on paper, have signalled the beginning of the end for the England innings. But Broad and Wood had other ideas.

The pair found the boundary and cleared it with glee in a union worth 82 runs, the highest 10th wicket partnership ever seen at the Wanderers. Broad smashed four sixes and two fours en route to 43 off 28 balls while Wood struck three sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 35 off 39.

When Broad's became the last England wicket to fall, he raced off only to race back on again and open the bowling. Wood, who played his first match in six months at Port Elizabeth last week, was given longer to rest, only coming into the attack in the 11th over, just before tea.

South Africa openers Pieter Malan and Elgar took their side to the break with all wickets intact and while their stubborn start did a job in taking the shine off the new ball, it wasn't eating into England's lead in any hurry.

Wood showed no sign of fatigue from his batting efforts when he returned after an extra 20 minutes with his feet up in the tea room. In his second over after the break, he peppered Malan with consecutive deliveries at 92, 91 and 92mph/147kph.

But the ball which eventually did for Malan a little while later was clocked at a staggering 94mph/151kph with pin-point line and length snaring an edge that went through to keeper Buttler.

So began a steady stream of wickets, two more to Wood to give him figures of 3 for 21 off 8.5 overs, with one each to Curran, Stokes - who looked embarrassed by the ease with which he suckered Elgar into a prod to Woakes - and then Woakes with an lbw decision against du Plessis upheld on review, as South Africa went to stumps in dire trouble.

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England 400 and 248 (Root 58, Hendricks 5-64) lead South Africa 183 (de Kock 76, Wood 5-46) by 465 runs

After his first match in six months at Port Elizabeth, Mark Wood had the aches and pains to show for it, but perhaps not the stats. On Sunday, he marked a memorable weekend - one that so nearly didn't happen - with ink on paper as well as, no doubt, the inevitable twinges of a fast bowler, only masked by that broad, affable grin of his.

Wood's perfectly serviceable figures of 0 for 31 and 3 for 32 in the third Test were made ever sweeter by his excellent cameo with the bat, which yielded 42 runs off just 23 balls in England's only innings as they romped to a massive victory, and the fact he had not played since suffering a serious side strain during the World Cup final in July.

By all accounts desperate to back that up in Johannesburg, despite the fact he hadn't done so since 2017 and that he pulled up considerably sore after his previous match, Wood ended up playing - he may well not have, had Jofra Archer not aggravated his elbow injury in the warm-up minutes before the fourth Test started - and how.

Wood's contribution in Port Elizabeth was so much more than the five sixes he struck, the sharp catch he took and the three wickets he claimed as he hit the pace that makes him such a weapon, intimidating as well as damaging. But in adding his second five-wicket haul in Tests to his unbeaten 35 off 39 balls in an 82-run partnership with fellow tailender Stuart Broad at the Wanderers, Wood added the stat - the cherry on top - to a pivotal performance.

And he had to bat again, adding 18 off 11 balls before walking across his stumps to be bowled by Dwaine Pretorius in the closing stages of the day, the ninth England wicket to fall. England set South Africa 466 to win when Joe Root was out on the last ball, caught brilliantly by Faf du Plessis for 58 to give Beuran Hendricks a five-wicket haul on debut.

Wood already had three wickets in the bag when South Africa resumed on a teetering 88 for 6.

After Chris Woakes accounted for Vernon Philander, caught by Broad on the fifth ball of the day, South Africa put up some resistance via Quinton de Kock and Pretorius in a 79-run stand for the eighth wicket. Ben Stokes ended up making the breakthrough when he had Pretorius caught by Zak Crawley at gully for 37 off 73 balls.

De Kock failed to convert the big score he had threatened, falling for 76 off 116 to a beautiful ball from Wood that trimmed the top of middle stump and shattered the leg-side bail.

It became a mater of time before South Africa were all out and they were soon enough, when Wood had Dane Paterson caught behind by Jos Buttler to claim his fifth and send the hosts to lunch with a deficit of 217 runs at 183 all out.

England opted not to enforce the follow-on and their new opening pair of Crawley and Dom Sibley posted their third consecutive stand of 50+ runs.

Philander, playing his last international match, limped off after bowling just nine balls, in the third over of the innings. He was sent for scans on his hamstring and did not return, later diagnosed with a grade-two hamstring tear and ruled fit to bat in South Africa's second innings. Thus ended a torrid day for Philander, who was also fined 15 percent of his match fee and handed one demerit point - which is of no consequence in his final match - for giving Jos Buttler a verbal send-off on Saturday.

Hendricks stepped up in his the absence - and that of the suspended Kagiso Rabada - by claiming 5-64 off 15.3 overs.

The Crawley-Sibley union was ended on 56 when Pretorius had Crawley caught behind by de Kock for 24. Sibley hung around to put on 44 runs but was furious with himself when he chipped Hendricks straight to Pieter Malan at midwicket.

Stokes came out swinging, adding 28 off 24 but he became Hendricks' second victim, edging to Rassie van der Dussen in the slips.

When Anrich Nortje had Ollie Pope caught behind cheaply, it was de Kock's 200th dismissal as a Test wicketkeeper. Nortje and de Kock combined again to extend Buttler's tortuous time with the bat, out for eight, having failed to reach 30 this series.

Hendricks took care of Sam Curran and Woakes before du Plessis' stunning dive at gully sent Root on his way and handed him his fifth wicket.

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England 400 (Crawley 66, Root, 59, Pope 56, Nortje 5-110) and 248 (Root 58, Hendricks 5-64) beat South Africa 183 (de Kock 76, Wood 5-46) and 274 (van der Dussen 98, Wood 4-54) by 191 runs

Nine wickets for the match to Mark Wood propelled England to an emphatic 191-run victory and 3-1 series triumph against South Africa inside four days at the Wanderers.

Wood's conquering of adversity - and England's for that matter - on this tour gives them huge cause for optimism, but the hosts' view of what lies ahead remains obscured by mountains every bit as imposing as their 466-run target for victory in this match.

While England could enjoy the return of one of their key strike weapons to his best and the emergence of several youngsters with decade-long careers beckoning, South Africa's rebuilding prospects have been hit by structural turmoil, issues with depth and low confidence, which has to be near rock-bottom after losing two consecutive home series for the first time in 70 years.

Wood, playing back-to-back Tests for the first time since 2017, claimed a rare double by contributing 53 runs and nine wickets to play a pivotal role in the result and be named Man of the Match in an incredibly popular choice given his battle to even be playing here.

Wood added 4 for 54 to his first-innings 5 for 46 - the second five-wicket haul of his Test career - as England comfortably accounted for the home side in the end, despite some resistance in the form of Rassie van der Dussen, who fell two runs shy of his maiden Test century and put on a 92-run stand with Faf du Plessis for the third wicket.

As straightforward as England's win ultimately was, the Test was not without tension with du Plessis becoming involved in an altercation with several England players, which included him making physical contact with Jos Buttler that could land him in hot water with the match referee. That was after the retiring Vernon Philander was fined 15% of his match fee as his verbal conflict with Buttler spilled into a second chapter.

With uncertainty remaining over du Plessis' Test future and Philander playing his final international match, South Africa stand to lose experience with only the greenest of green shoots appearing.

While van der Dussen's display with the bat, reaching his third half-century of the series in just his fourth Test, Beuran Hendricks' five-for on debut and Anrich Nortje's five-wicket haul in England's first innings should all have given South Africa hope - and they may yet prove to - the overwhelming feeling was that there is just so much work to be done.

In contrast, England were led by the likes of Man of the Series Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Stuart Broad offering a nurturing core to youngsters Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Dom Bess, the latter missing from this side which boasted a five-pronged pace attack. And with James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns to return from injury, the depth is there that South Africa seem to be lacking.

It was Archer's absence, only settled on during the warm-ups in the first morning in Johannesburg when he aggravated an elbow injury, that brought Wood to the fore.

Despite concerns over his ability to back-up after Port Elizabeth, his first match in six months, Wood produced in consecutive innings at the Wanderers, too.

South Africa openers Pieter Malan and Dean Elgar started strongly enough, negotiating the first hour without worry. It was Chris Woakes who made the breakthrough after drinks when he tempted Malan to send an outswinger to Stokes at second slip. Elgar was out in similarly soft fashion, spooning a return catch to Stokes.

Du Plessis and van der Dussen then came together, sparking South African hopes of reaching a fifth day, but it wasn't all smooth sailing for the pair with van der Dussen withstanding a testing spell from Woakes and du Plessis getting into that heated exchange after he was struck by a ball thrown in from the outfield.

Du Plessis fell first for 35 to a Stokes delivery that kept low and ricocheted on to his stumps off the toe of his bat. Having been hit on the chest by a Wood bouncer, van der Dussen was dispatched two runs short of his hundred a short time later when his attempted drive popped up to Broad, who was stationed for the catch at short extra cover.

Broad sent down a gem to the recalled Temba Bavuma, who gloved the ball to Buttler behind the stumps and walked despite the umpire looking unmoved. Once Broad had Dwaine Pretorius caught cheaply hooking to deep backward square, Wood was back in the game.

Wood had Philander out, strangled down the leg side for an anticlimactic end to his final Test, drew an all-too-typical smash from Quinton de Kock who found the safe hands of Woakes at mid-off and then another leg-side strangle dismissed last man Nortje after Hendricks had been run out.

England's struggles with illness at the start of the series, when a virus affected most of their touring party, and the 107-run loss in the first Test seemed so long ago as they looked towards their tour of Sri Lanka in March with the luxury options of resting players, further exposing the newer ones and picking their squad to suit the conditions. South Africa, meanwhile, must surely be asking, "Where do we go from here?"

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Lost first ODI by 7 wickets

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2nd ODI abandoned

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Just about managed to win the 3rd game to level the series, Parky didn't play but Saq did bowled well and strangely didn't bowl after his initial spell with the captain relying on Jordan to bowl three overs of utter dross at the end

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Win the slog fest 2-1