England beat South Africa in Port Elizabeth to edge closer to series victory

Needing four wickets to secure an innings success at St George's Park, and with rain looming, the tourists

Scorecard

Port Elizabeth (final day of five): England 499-9d, South Africa 209 & 237 - England won by an innings and 53 runs

England wrapped up victory on day five at Port Elizabeth to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match Test series against South Africa.

Needing four wickets to secure an innings success at St George's Park, and with rain forecast, the tourists struck in the first over of the day.

Stuart Broad caught the inside edge of Vernon Philander's bat, with the ball booming up to Ollie Pope at short leg, who completed his sixth catch of the match.

Kagiso Rabada showed plenty of aggressive intent, including a towering straight six off Joe Root, but the seamer could only make 16 before he chipped a catch to Broad at mid-on off Mark Wood.

Anrich Nortje could not provide a vigil anywhere near as long as his three-hour first-innings stay, making five before being bowled by Dom Bess.

Keshav Maharaj provided some entertainment, taking Root for 24 in an over (a Test record-equalling 28, when four byes are also included) and reaching his second Test half-century.

^{Stuart Broad celebrates a wicket in Port Elizabeth}

He and Dane Paterson put on 99 for the last wicket, South Africa's second biggest 10th-wicket stand in Tests, but a run out completed the job for the away side.

The win is England's first by an innings away from home in nine years - since the victory over Australia in Sydney in 2011.

Centuries from Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes had put them in a strong position in the first innings of the game, which the visitors declared closed on 499 for 9, before South Africa reached 206 for 6 by the end of the third day - Bess taking five wickets.

It was day four which pushed England into the ascendancy, with Broad striking three times in quick succession as the home side lost four wickets for one run in the space of 28 deliveries.

Root then claimed four wickets in South Africa's second innings to leave the tourists needing to rattle through the tail on the final morning. 

South Africa will now need to win in the fifth Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, due to start on Friday, to level the series.

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