England struggling to save final Test

South Africa need seven wickets on fifth day for consolation win

England may need help from the weather if they are to save the fourth Test against South Africa and end an annoying sequence.

Although the series is safe for the tourists, who lead 2-0, if they are defeated at Centurion it will be the fourth rubber in a row that they have lost the final match.

They are perilously poised on 52 for 3 at the end of the fourth day, nominally in pursuit of 382 for victory. Joe Root and James Taylor are unbeaten on 19. Thunderstorms are forecast for Tuesday.

Morne Morkel took the key wicket of Alastair Cook, a fine caught and bowled. England’s captain remains 36 shy of becoming the first Englishman to 10,000 Test runs.

The series is also over for Alex Hales and Nick Compton, with both failing to nail down a case for retention this summer, even though the latter had a fine opening Test of the series.

Compton was caught behind off Kagiso Rabada (his ninth wicket of the match), and was then criticised for wasting a review when the evidence looked watertight. He also nearly ran Cook out. He has made 245 runs in eight innings this series, 134 of them coming in Durban. Ian Bell back, anyone?

Hales has had a leaner time, with 136 runs, and only one notable score (60). He was trapped lbw by a decent ball from Rabada that kept low. His technique outside offside stump has also come under the forensic microscope of Geoff Boycott among others. The quest for a successor to Andrew Strauss is far from over.

The hosts may be hampered by the injury to Kyle Abbott, and will need Dane Piedt to take his first wickets of the match.

The hosts had earlier added 206 to their overnight 42 for 1, with Hashim Amla narrowly missing out on his second century of the game.

New skipper AB de Villiers had hinted before the match that James Anderson’s speed was down. That honesty came back to haunt him when England’s leading Test wicket-taker swung one back in to dismiss him lbw for a duck, giving him a pair.

The first wicket of the day was Stephen Cook, and, with him gone, Anderson went past Sir Richard Hadlee on the list of Test wicket-takers. He is now one behind Kapil Dev (434) and the only seamers ahead of him are Courtney Walsh (519) and Glenn McGrath (563).

Amla’s composed knock banished any safety fears for South Africa, and an unbeaten 78 for Temba Bavuma confirmed his promise.

It was a disappointing match for Chris Woakes, who took 1 for 142, figures that would have done nothing to silence those who wanted to see what Mark Footitt was made of in this ‘dead’ match.

England lost to Pakistan in Sharjah, Australia at The Oval, New Zealand at Headingley and West Indies in Bridgetown, and have a long way to go before emerging unscathed from this closing encounter.