1st Test
Day 1
England 179/4 (65.1 ov) v South Africa
South Africa won the toss and elected to field
The opening day of the series in Durban started and ended with Dale Steyn's vein threatening to pop through his neck, but England did not allow the world's No. 1 bowler or team to overwhelm them. Two of their inexperienced top order responded with impressive resilience as Nick Compton, on his return to the Test side, and James Taylor produced sturdy half-centuries in a fourth-wicket stand of 125 as England closed on 179 for 4.
Steyn, who had not bowled competitively since November 5 when he was injured in India, won an early head-to-head when he removed Alastair Cook for a duck and, after a break in play for rain and a threat of lightning, debutant Alex Hales edged behind for 10. He then returned in the dying moments of the day to find Taylor's edge and give South Africa the lift they desperately needed but Compton, in the city of his birth, remained unbeaten on 63 from 179 deliveries alongside Ben Stokes.
When Joe Root was lbw to Dane Piedt's first delivery, England were 49 for 3 with their two most prolific batsmen removed and South Africa sensed an opening into a batting line-up that has struggled to put consistently big totals on the board but it took them another 45 overs to break through. However, the pitch did not offer the pace or movement that had been expected when Hashim Amla won the toss and unsurprisingly, given the overhead conditions, decided to bowl, while a wet ball was not ideal.
Between them Hales, Compton and Taylor have just 15 Test caps so to see two of them combining for a restorative stand of considerable authority will have been a confidence-building sight for the England dressing room early in the series where both sides have question marks over the vulnerabilities of their top orders.
Compton's edge was found early by Steyn but it fell short of Stiaan van Zyl at first slip; AB de Villiers may consider it was one he could have dived for. There was then a scampered single to get off the mark, but in defence he was solid and he left well. He also showed a keenness to get forward whenever possible - a sign of the lack of pace in the surface - and his cover drive was in good order even though a few picked out the fielders. A very significant fifty came from 145 deliveries, soaking up the pressure but, tellingly, never allowing the scoreboard to seize up.
Taylor, who returned to the side with a half-century against Pakistan in Sharjah, made his Test debut in the infamous Headingley Test of 2012 when Kevin Pietersen plundered a thrilling 149 against South Africa, amid his disintegrating relationship with Andrew Strauss and the England dressing room. On that day, Taylor became almost the forgotten half in the 147-run stand with Pietersen but the 2015 version was very much a proactive partner this time and his fifty required 87 balls
Five of his boundaries came off Piedt who he played superbly to ensure the offspinner could not quite maintain the holding role that Amla wanted while he also pulled Dean Elgar for six. He was rarely troubled by the quick bowlers to provide further evidence that he is now a player primed to take a second chance at Test cricket he has waited more than long enough for. The forecast is for clearer skies from the second day onwards, and Kingsmead is a ground where looking up as often as important as looking down, so Taylor's late loss was a blow for England but there is a deep batting line-up to come.
Play was delayed for half an hour by morning drizzle which followed significant overnight rain in Durban. Cook, with four quicks at his disposal although not the injured James Anderson, would likely have bowled first as well but it was England's new-look top order that was handed the initial challenge under moody skies.
One of the pre-series talking points has been how ready Steyn would be for his Test return. He could not squeeze in any cricket before the series and has previously started series slowly after lay-offs. He probed outside Cook's off stump with the England captain initially showing good judgement before being drawn into pushing at one angled across him that nipped away with the edge carrying comfortably to Elgar at second slip. Steyn had claimed the first honours in his battle with Cook, for whom this was his first Test duck since facing Australia, at Perth, in late 2013.
The early wicket meant that England's re-jigged top three had lost their figurehead, leaving Hales and the Compton to try and repel South Africa in challenging conditions. Hales had managed to settle his nerves when he was off the mark first delivery he faced in Test cricket as he clipped Kyle Abbott through square leg and was largely secure during the half an hour before play was suspended
Rumbles of thunder followed by rain sent the players from the field and shortly after the resumption Hales was rumbled when he was drawn into playing a delivery he should have left. Root, as ever, began with a positive intent, played a classy back-foot drive against Morne Morkel then pulling Abbott into the stand at deep midwicket only to fall to Piedt's first delivery, which turned significantly. Root called for a review but both the point of impact and the ball hitting the stumps were umpire's call.
Amla had said Piedt's selection ahead of a fourth quick in Kagiso Rabada was very much with conditions later in the match under consideration and the early turn suggested spin could yet play a part. The wicket of a recent world No. 1 batsman was a wonderful way for him to start the series, but as Amla tried to juggle his resources with the appearance of a couple of part-time bowlers there was a feeling that things had not quite gone to plan.
Day 2
England 303
South Africa 137/4 (52.0 ov)
South Africa trail by 166 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Led by Stuart Broad, England kept the pressure on a fragile South Africa batting line-up to leave the opening Test fascinatingly poised after two days in Durban. Broad's three wickets, including the kingpins of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, coupled with a valuable scalp for Moeen Ali left South Africa 137 for 4 in reply to England's hard-fought 303
From 247 for 5, England would have envisaged more than what they ended with but Morne Morkel blew a hole in the much-vaunted lower-order strength with three wickets in six balls. A last-wicket stand of 36, with Broad finishing unbeaten on 32, ensured the innings did not completely crumble and the contest was even again when Broad extracted two wickets in his first spell to leave South Africa 14 for 2.
Broad later returned to find the edge of a threatening de Villiers, ending a third-wicket stand of 86 with Dean Elgar, and Faf du Plessis paid for an ugly swipe against Moeen. Elgar glued South Africa together with an unbeaten 67, although he would have been lbw on 58 had England reviewed an lbw shout from Ben Stokes, and Temba Bavuma held firm during the closing moments of a day where 11 overs were lost despite an early start.
Leading the attack in the absence of James Anderson, it took Broad just two deliveries to make his first mark on the innings when, starting around the wicket in a clear piece of pre-series planning, he angled a delivery back into Stiaan van Zyl, who misjudged the line horribly and had his off stump smashed.
The out-of-form Amla was given a working over and fell to arguably the third chance he gave in a difficult 24-ball stay. Evidence suggested that he offered a very thin edge off Broad on 1, which was not given or reviewed, and then he provided a clear chance on 2 when he nicked Chris Woakes but Jonny Bairstow grassed the chance diving in front of first slip. However, Broad produced a beautiful legcutter to nick the edge again and this time Bairstow snaffled a regulation chance.
The early wickets meant the ball was still hard when de Villiers entered at No. 4 and he survived a close call on 11 when a leading edge against Steven Finn was ruled not to have carried to Stokes in the gully. Stokes dived forward for the catch and after initially claiming it indicated his uncertainty; the soft signal from the on-field umpires was not out and, as so often in such circumstances, it was not overruled on the TV evidence.
De Villiers played himself in either side of tea and there were signs of him starting to dominate when he lofted Moeen straight for six. However, he was outfoxed by a cunning piece of bowling by Broad who rolled his fingers across another legcutter, which moved just enough to find the outside edge.
Broad, though, needed some wicket-taking assistance to chip away at South Africa. Woakes and Finn both bowled excellent spells - Woakes' pace was eye-catching as he nudged 90mph - but it was Moeen who nipped in when du Plessis, perhaps carrying the residual baggage from India, came down the pitch and missed a swipe across the line. For a moment it appeared Bairstow had missed a stumping chance, but the ball grazed the bail with just enough force to dislodge it although there was the curious sight of a bowled dismissal being referred to the third umpire.
As batsmen struggled to play the defining innings, Elgar stood firm. Much like Nick Compton for England he left well outside off, making the bowlers come straighter to him which allowed runs into the leg side, his dominant scoring area. His fifty came from 93 deliveries, brought up with a rare moment of freedom as he followed de Villiers' lead by depositing Moeen over the boundary, but despite the sun being out conditions did not swing in favour of the batsmen.
When England resumed on 179 for 4 following the late dismissal of James Taylor on the opening evening, Stokes was quick out of the blocks before top edging a pull off Morkel from a delivery that was not short enough for the stroke. The new-ball brought an increase in the tempo, firstly as Compton and Bairstow enjoyed the extra hardness of the ball to take their stand to 51 and then when Morkel changed the complexion of the morning.
Compton under-edged a pull - a rare occasion in his 236-ball stay where he had not been fully committed to a stroke - then Moeen edged a ball angled across him and Woakes was pinned lbw by a delivery which would have clipped leg stump. With Dale Steyn a little down on pace, and a suggestion he was struggling with an injury, it was a vital interjection from Morkel at a time when Amla would have been pondering how to juggle his three-man pace attack.
Bairstow ducked into a short delivery from Morkel and a short while later was well caught at second slip for 41 as he tried to be aggressive against Kyle Abbott - his third score in the 40s in England's recent overseas Tests - but Broad played smartly. Finn showed a straight bat before missing a full delivery from Steyn who claimed his 50th scalp against England and moved ahead of Curtly Ambrose with 406 wickets in the all-time list.
Day 3
England 303 & 172/3
South Africa 214
England lead by 261 runs with 7 wickets remaining
Three days into this series England hold a 261-run lead over a South Africa side riddled with problems which included another injury to Dale Steyn after their batting had slumped in the morning session. Moeen Ali, who claimed 4 for 69, continued their difficulties against spin to earn a priceless 89-run advantage before England benefited from crucial fielding lapses to steadily increase the advantage with Joe Root unbeaten on 59.
Any hopes that a return to home soil would ease the ills of the India tour for South Africa have not come to pass early in this series with England's impressive attack compounding the pressure on a fragile batting order. They lost 6 for 77 in the opening session as their first innings finished on 214 although Dean Elgar fought outstandingly to become the sixth South Africa batsman to carry his bat for 118.
Then Steyn pulled up after the second ball of his fourth over with a right shoulder injury and an attempted return was aborted after three deliveries. Though he was back on the field by the end of the day having gone for scans his future participation in this match - and Cape Town which starts on January 2 - was in serious doubt.
To further compound South Africa's woes their fielding also let them down. Dane Piedt had removed both openers - Alastair Cook lbw with one that slid on and Alex Hales defeated by drift to be caught at long-on - but in consecutive Morne Morkel overs shortly before tea they had the stuffing knocked out of them. Nick Compton was shelled on 11 when Elgar missed a sitter at second slip and Root was missed on 6 when he gloved a pull which AB de Villiers, the subject of much speculation over his future during the day, could not gather one-handed above his head.
Morkel put in sterling service in the absence of Steyn but, astonishingly, a third chance was to be missed off his bowling when Compton, on 45, edged a pearler only for de Villiers to grass another. That opportunity, at least, did not proved costly as two balls later Compton glanced Morkel down the leg side and de Villiers made amends. He puffed out his cheeks; Morkel just about managed a celebration.
By then, however, England's lead was over 200 on a surface offering considerable assistance for the spinners and a hint of uneven bounce. England's progress was never electric but time was on their side. Root made the most of his life with a 96-ball fifty which kept the scoreboard ticking over. He collected a six with a slog-sweep off Piedt and some of his off-side driving was a delight on a surface where few batsmen have found that sort of strokeplay easy.
At the start of the day there was not a consensus as to whether England had their noses in front or it was honours even. By the close there was no doubt after the match had been seized in the morning session.
As when Stuart Broad started the innings, it took him just two deliveries to locate the stumps, Temba Bavuma this time defeated by some low bounce outside off and dragging on an inside edge. There was certainly some variation in bounce, but it was also the shot of a batsman who had yet to get his feet moving early in the day.
In another shrewd piece of captaincy, Cook did not wait long to introduce Moeen with two left-handers now at the crease, one of whom, JP Duminy, who has had his travails against offspin. And it took Moeen just two balls to find Duminy's outside edge with a beautiful delivery which turned from middle and off, safely held by Ben Stokes at slip.
Kyle Abbott did not stay long, prodding forward at Moeen and getting a thick inside edge into his pad which was well held by James Taylor diving forward at short leg, although it needed the intervention of the third umpire after Rod Tucker had failed to spot the sizeable deflection.
The support provided by Steyn to Elgar suggested that he should be at No. 8 ahead of Abbott. Their stand took South Africa to the brink of the second new ball only for Steyn to try and send Moeen down the ground and instead find mid-off where Chris Woakes held the chance with a juggle. His spell ended on 12-3-24-3 and overall it was the first time Moeen had taken more than three wickets in an innings since facing India, at Old Trafford, in August 2014.
Steven Finn cleaned up the last two wickets in his first over with the second new ball to leave Elgar undefeated with his fourth Test hundred having brought up three figures from 211 deliveries. In an innings marked by his defensive technique, he continued to prosper on the leg side where two thirds of his runs came. It was his second hundred in a Boxing Day Test, following the 121 he made against West Indies last year, and this was his first 50-plus score in ten innings. When the innings ended he became the first South Africa opener to carry his bat since Gary Kirsten against Pakistan in 1997. He may have to perform a repeat to save his team.
Day 4
England 303 & 326
South Africa 214 & 136/4 (47.0 ov)
South Africa require another 280 runs with 6 wickets remaining
Steven Finn made the vital incisions for England as they remained on course for victory in the opening Test at Kingsmead. He claimed three wickets, continuing Hashim Amla's horror run of form and then snaffling Faf du Plessis in the dying moments of the day, to leave South Africa 136 for 4 after they had been set 416 or 140 overs to survive.
South Africa's slim hopes were left with AB de Villiers, who was unbeaten on 37 at the close. However, England could have been further advanced towards a win in the opening Test of an away series for just the second time since 2004 had they taken a chance offered by him on 33. Facing Moeen Ali, de Villiers came down the pitch and was beaten by sharp turn and bounce from round the wicket, but Jonny Bairstow could not gather the stumping chance. Until then it had been a positive day for Bairstow, who struck 79 off 76 balls to swell England's lead but, while acknowledging it was a tough chance, his latest error will do nothing to quieten the debate about the wicketkeeping position.
It appeared de Villiers and du Plessis, who had revived memories of the second innings in Delhi with his dead-batted defence, would take South Africa to the end of the day in a position from where they would have had visions of a draw. Then, in what became the final over, Finn produced a terrific lifting delivery around off stump which forced du Plessis to play and Alastair Cook held on at first slip.
Whether South Africa bring out another blockathon only time will tell, but they began the innings with a positive intent as the fifty came up in the 10th over. But Ben Stokes, who initially appeared to be struggling with a foot problem, provided the first breakthrough and Finn produced a telling four-over spell which brought 2 for 12, removing Amla and the in-form Dean Elgar, as conditions turned gloomy and the floodlights came on.
Stiaan Van Zyl, who nipped in with 3 for 20 to finish off England's innings for an injury-hit South Africa attack, quickly avoided a pair and although he offered a sharp, low chance to short leg on 6 played some fine strokes in the period leading into tea as he took on the pace bowlers. However, after six meaty boundaries he failed to cover the line of a Stokes delivery from round the wicket which squeezed between bat and pad. With Stephen Cook making a big hundred in the current round of Sunfoil matches he could face a nervous wait to see if he holds on to his place.
His opening partner, Elgar, is far more secure and until he edged a full delivery from Finn to second slip - where Joe Root did well to react to the catch, which came from an unusual angle with the batsman jabbing at the ball - he had spent every moment of the match on the field.
That wicket came eight balls after Finn had claimed Amla, who had actually looked much more assertive at the start of this innings. He was off the mark with a back-foot drive and then crunched Stuart Broad over midwicket, but facing Finn he played an indeterminate cut which sent a thick edge through to Bairstow.
The first period of the day had gone as expected once South Africa did not extract a cluster of early wickets. Dane Piedt bagged his maiden Test five-wicket, shouldering a heavy burden alongside Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott in the absence of the injured Dale Steyn. However, Amla opted not to take the new ball and seemed content for England's innings to take its natural course rather than force the pace.
Bairstow ensured England kept up a good tempo, playing as positively as anyone has managed on this surface, timing the ball sweetly from the off in what was one of his most convincing Test innings. There was one sharp chance to leg side on 34, which van Zyl could not gather, but overall it was a commanding innings. His run-a-ball fifty came straight after the break and when he was left with just Finn for company he opened his shoulders to try and speed to a maiden Test century but, after collecting his third six, picked out long-off.
England's other main contributor was Root, who had been dropped on 6 on the third afternoon but looked in serene form until he edged a half-hearted cut to slip. His dismissal for 73 - the 10th time this year he has fallen between 50 and 100 - meant that Steven Smith was assured of finishing the year as the leading Test run-scorer. It has been a stellar 2015 for Root, who has scored the most international runs ever in a year for an England batsman, but he gave a frustrated kick of the turf as he made his way off.
Piedt was the main beneficiary of England's attempt to play aggressively. Stokes came and went for 5 when he gloved a reverse sweep off Piedt in the same over as he had connected cleanly with the stroke. James Taylor, who had scampered and scurried, then charged and missed at a Piedt delivery which went straight on. He became the first South Africa offspinner in 50 years to claim a five-wicket haul in Test when Moeen was lbw on the sweep after a successful call to the DRS.
Day 5
England 303 & 326
South Africa 214 & 174
England won by 241 runs
Inspired by Moeen Ali it took England just 24 overs to surge to an overwhelming 241-run victory on the final morning in Durban. AB de Villiers, South Africa's last realistic hope of salvaging something, fell in the first over of the day and there was scant resistance after that as England went 1-0 up in the first Test of an overseas series for only the second time since 2004.
Although South Africa were four down overnight, after the late dismissal of Faf du Plessis on the fourth evening, England might have expected to be made to work reasonably hard to extract the last six wickets but it all came surprisingly swiftly for them. However, in the end it was over 20 minutes before lunch when Morne Morkel was lbw to Stuart Broad with South Africa's last seven wickets tumbling for 38 from the dismissal of du Plessis.
In the field, England made a habit of setting the tone early in an innings in a bowling stint. Broad removed Stiaan van Zyl second ball of the first innings then claimed Temba Bavuma second ball of the third day and Moeen continued the theme today with his third delivery of the morning when, from round the wicket, he got one to straighten at de Villiers who was playing deep in his crease. De Villiers called for the DRS - he had to, really - but the ball was pitching in line and clipping leg stump.
Jonny Bairstow had a fourth day of contrasting fortunes - a key innings of 79 followed by the missed stumping offered by de Villiers - so there was a heartening moment for him when he took the opportunity presented by Bavuma when he walked past a delivery from Moeen which slid on past the outside edge. It was a simpler stumping chance as the ball did not spin sharply like the one Bairstow missed, but he took it confidently and his team-mates were quick to congratulate him.
Moeen had a third for the morning when the angle from round the wicket worked again as Kyle Abbott was trapped on the back foot. His seven-wicket match haul was the second best of his career after the eight he claimed against India, at the Ageas Bowl, in 2014.
Steven Finn continued his impressive work from the previous day, giving the nightwatchman Dale Steyn a working over before knocking back the off stump with a fuller delivery. Broad was the outstanding quick in the first innings, but Finn took that honour second time around.
Before play, James Anderson bowled six high-intensity overs on the outfield and appears on track to return for the Cape Town Test. That would mean a likely omission for Chris Woakes, presuming all the pacemen pull up well from their exertions here, but he at least managed to open his wicket tally for the Test - a game where he has bowled consistently at good pace - when Dane Piedt popped a catch to short leg.
2nd Test
Day 1
England 317/5 (87.0 ov)
South Africa
England won the toss and elected to bat
On a day when the whole of Melbourne seemed to have descended on the MCG to witness a domestic T20 derby, Test cricket needed an enticing day to reassure its admirers that it still had a great future as well as a glorious past. It found it at Newlands, packed to the brim and looking at its most resplendent as England made decent first use of an excellent batting strip in the second Test.
Around 12,000 England supporters were among the 20,195 in Cape Town, enough to encourage predictions that this Test will set record attendances in the city if it lasts the course. There was no tablecloth over Table Mountain, but the batsmen had napkins in place. The travelling supporters soaked up the rays and wondered whether England's first hundred would be logged before the sunburn really began to set in. The sunburn won, although a late spurt by Ben Stokes, 74 not out at the close, provided some heat of its own.
By the time the second new ball was immediately taken, England, at 271 for 5, had been held at three an over. But Stokes' immediate joust against Chris Morris, South Africa's debutant seamer, brought four boundaries in an over. Stokes muscled his way past 50 and 46 runs came in seven overs before overtime elapsed with three overs still unused.
It was a bountiful pitch, showing decent pace and bounce, encouraging presumptuous thoughts of 500, but it was a long time before England fully availed themselves of its pleasures. Barring a bad second morning, England now have a golden opportunity to build on their 241-run win against South Africa in the opening Test in Durban.
After waving goodbye to a problematic 2015, South Africa must have been encouraged by the gameness shown by their four frontline bowlers, which partially compensated for a morning session in which they bowled too short and too straight.
Most exciting of all, though, were the flashes of potential from Kagiso Rabada, a 20-year-old quick who took three top-order wickets on his home Test debut, dislodging Alastair Cook before lunch and removing Nick Compton and James Taylor, first ball, in successive balls either side of tea.
At 20, Rabada looks a considerable prospect. Newlands might have been a demanding challenge for a bowler whose natural length looked a bit shorter than the Philander-style probing demanded on such a surface, but it sure beat his only other experience of Test cricket last year as he toiled away on India's calculated turners.
Newlands carries dangers for a visiting side batting first - there again, there are generally dangers whatever they do, such has been South Africa's dominance here against all but Australia - but recent hot weather had stripped most of the first-session threat out of the surface.
Morris, who had shed tears when awarded his first Test cap before start of play, was given the new ball ahead of Rabada. A conservative move perhaps, and not entirely convincing considering that Morris' international career has been spent as a one-day specialist and that his fate against the tourists in a warm-up match in Pietermaritzburg was the return 0 for 93 in the match.
Rabada's opening lines were also fluffed: full and fast followed by short and wide, both deliveries despatched to the boundary by Hales. With the likelihood that Dale Steyn and Philander might return by the end of the series, Rabada knew he had to earn another opportunity. He worked up enough pace to strike Hales on the back, had good control of the seam and looked at the graceful and athletic end of the fast-bowling template.
Cook was a big first wicket for Rabada, departing before lunch to a wonderful catch at third slip by Morris, flinging himself low to his left.
England edged towards a position of strength in a second-wicket stand of 74 between Hales and Compton, a somewhat idiosyncratic affair in which both batsmen played in fits and starts, two batsmen seeking the right tempo, but coming from different directions: Hales a dasher trying to be responsible, Compton ensuring his innings did not lose impetus.
Hales never looked entirely comfortable, encapsulated by three slightly streaky boundaries off Rabada soon after lunch to take him to his maiden Test fifty, but he will rightly regard it as an important staging post nonetheless. It was a good ball that dismissed him, Morkel finding bounce from a good length around off stump and de Villiers diving across Dean Elgar at first slip to hold the catch.
Compton's first three runs encompassed 38 balls, leading one contributor to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball service to remark memorably that he had "the highest ratio of handsome dashing looks to handsome dashing strokeplay."
He found impetus with a favourite get-out shot - a paddle sweep against the offspin of Dane Piedt - and then to general surprise drove him straight for six. There was considerable irony in the fact that his third Test six took him level with his grandfather Denis, who managed the same number in 78 Tests but was much treasured for being a great entertainer. You made your own fun in the 1950s.
Rabada, who bowled a combative pre-tea spell, removed Compton with what became the last ball before tea when he pulled a short ball sweetly enough but straight to Temba Bavuma at midwicket. A first-baller for James Taylor, pushing at a wide one, gave the bowler two in two.
The stage looked set for Root, who had made 13 Test half-centuries in a prolific 2015, but to his frustration had repeatedly failed to deliver a big one when well set. He survived on 13, a devilishly difficult chance off Morkel which Morris, this time diving to his left from gully, let slip through his fingers. He was fortunate again during Rabada's pre-tea assault when he was done for pace on a pull shot and the ball lobbed up safely from his incomplete stroke.
There were also enough of Root's usual delicacies on show - the best a pull against Rabada - to suggest the omens for South Africa were not good, but the New Year retained old habits and, as soon as another half-century was stored away, he gave the persevering Morris a first Test wicket when he chopped him to the wicketkeeper.
Hashim Amla was reluctant to go for the jugular with only four frontline bowlers and the second new ball only 12 overs away: understandable but probably mistaken. Instead, Stiaan van Zyl trundled in, time was generally wasted and by the time South Africa did meaningfully seek late wickets, Stokes crashed all around him. How South Africa, a bowler light, would value someone like him.
Day 2
England 629/6d
South Africa 141/2 (43.0 ov)
South Africa trail by 488 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
This was joy, utter joy, no matter where your loyalties lie: a feat to stir the youthful, cheer the sick and bring reveries from the old. Ben Stokes bludgeoned one of the great attacking Test innings - the second fastest double century in Test history - on the second day of the second Test in Cape Town and those who were there to see it must have been enriched by the experience.
When it was all over, shortly before England's declaration at 629 for 6, a humungous total they could not have remotely imagined at start of play, Stokes' demolition job had brought 258 from 198 balls with 30 fours and 11 sixes. Freckled of complexion and brawny of stroke, he wielded his bat like a wrecking ball, razing South Africa's attack to the ground.
Even his dismissal summed up South Africa's broken state of mind. Stokes heaved at Kagiso Rabada, AB de Villiers dropped the skier at mid-on - AB of all people - but he steadied himself to throw down the stumps and complete a run out as Stokes jogged towards the bowler's end, by then entirely sated. England declared two balls later once Jonny Bairstow's 150 - an emotional maiden Test hundred that will receive limited recognition - had been gathered in.
South Africa will resume the third day 488 adrift with eight wickets intact after enduring an extraordinary batting assault. England struck their second-highest partnership in Test history, 399 in 59 overs, with Bairstow, no slouch himself, playing an intelligent subordinate role. England made 312 for 1 off 38.5 overs in the day. It was once-in-a-lifetime, jaw-dropping stuff with virtually every delivery from a disorientated South Africa attack seemingly ripe for slaughter. There was little of the resourcefulness worthy of the No.1-ranked side in the world.
Stokes played with untrammelled power as blue skies shone over Table Mountain and 12,000 cheering England supporters revelled in every moment. It was a stupendous achievement, a day to treasure, the time-honoured rhythms of Test cricket given way to something more murderous.
Barely anything threatened Stokes' immense sense of feelgood. On 138, a six against the offspinner Dane Piedt barely cleared the outstretched hands of van Zyl, who significantly was a yard off the boundary at long off. On 197, Chris Morris almost yorked him, perhaps to the bowler's surprise. And he pottered around for, oh, all of a few seconds before he pulled Morne Morkel through midwicket to reach 200.
When the ball comes onto the bat, and cricket is a simple game, Stokes' destructive power knows few bounds. This was only his third Test hundred, to follow equally exciting affairs against Australia - including Mitchell Johnson at his fiercest - in Perth and New Zealand at Lord's, and there have been malfunctions along the way, but it was an innings that spoke volumes about the importance of the combative allrounder, able to balance a side and change a game in an instance with bat or ball.
His mind was entirely uncluttered, his physique more demoralising by the minute. His backlift was huge and flowing. Shot selection became entirely a matter of where he would hit the ball - most often down the ground, to off side and leg - because he rarely defended and left only deliveries that were virtually too wide to reach. He powered up and let the shots flow.
Newlands was at its most seductive for batsmen - and Stokes took a golden opportunity at face value. He is not the sort to see fears where none exist. South Africa lacked the waspish pace of Dale Steyn, or the Cape Town nous of Vernon Philander and those asked to fill the roles had no solution. Half-an-hour before tea on the second day, England were impregnable, hoping that the pitch would break up along with South African minds.
England had stolen the game on the previous evening with Stokes and Bairstow taking 46 from the first seven overs with the second new ball. Now they did not just keep it, they ravaged it. That assault began from the outset, helped by some ragged South Africa bowling. An initial plan to bowl wide of off stump proved misguided. Ten came from the first over, from Morkel; a hapless over of short and wide stuff from Morris was flayed to the boards three more times. Playing yourself in was for wimps at a time like this. There were pulls and drives galore. It looked a very simple game.
On this sort of pitch, Stokes fancied he could destroy Morris at will. Morris is a T20 specialist, so Stokes dismissed him from his presence as if playing T20. He looked predictable, a bowler operating at a convenient pace. Morkel produced the occasional good ball - but almost exclusively to Bairstow, one thick edge falling drainingly short of the slips. Rabada's latest lesson in Test cricket was a painful one and his short balls lacked venom. By the time Piedt's spin was introduced, 12 overs into the day, Stokes' eye was set.
Stokes was entirely relaxed, the power of his strokeplay leaving South Africa's captain, Hashim Amla, lost for a response. Bairstow offered no release. Misfields crept in and South Africa's pitch map should have been entitled "desperation". The boundaries rained down, one of the best of them a pulled six against Rabada by Stokes that flew out of the ground in the general direction of the brewery, where accountants could celebrate the profits provided by celebrating England fans. About the only ball he pushed at cautiously in the morning was the last ball of the session: playing for lunch, Ben Stokes style.
England had made 196 in 25 overs in the morning, they added 116 in another 13.5 in the afternoon. What plans South Africa had - and they did not have many - were abandoned at the first sight of failure. Bairstow secured his hundred by cutting van Zyl to the fence and his primeval holler of delight, beard bristling, tightly curled and tightly jawed, holding emotions in check as he looked to the heavens, was a moving moment.
From then on, England slogged in the heat, happy to imagine themselves indestructible, Piedt was slow to chase a half chance behind the wicketkeeper as Bairstow top-edged Rabada and Morkel put down a sitter at long off as he same batsman smeared at Morris. It had to end surely, and it did as Rabada had the presence of mind to roll his fingers across the ball and outwit Stokes. England's ginger quota had proved awfully successful.
What followed was very much the undercard, but with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers still together at the close, and the deficit clipped to 488, South Africa will hope their partnership will swell into something substantial on a third day that should still favour the batting side.
South Africa started hamfistedly when Stiaan van Zyl was run out for 4, sent back by Elgar, and Stokes had enough stardust left to have Elgar caught in the gully off a leading edge, but Joe Root dropped de Villiers, on 5, a waist-high chance at second slip - cue a James Anderson black mood - and Amla logged his first half-century in 11 attempts, courtesy of a neat clip off Stokes that suggested form reawakening. England had plans and South Africa scored at 3.4 an over. Normality was restored.
Day 3
South Africa 353 for 3 (Amla 157*, du Plessis 51*) trail England 629 for 6 dec by 276 runs
It was a good day for batting so Hashim Amla did just that. He was in situ all day, an elegant figure bringing repose to South African cricket. Everything will be fine, he soothed as he repelled England's attempts to force victory in the second Test.
England were persistent, but the pitch was placid, and Amla entirely self-possessed. By the close of the third day, he was unbeaten on 157, a poor 2015 put behind him not by stirring deeds but with a sheen and grace that reasserted his quality. A deficit of 276 insists that much work remains to be done, but there are seven wickets intact to do it.
South Africa made 212 on an attritional day. They made it very quietly. It was all a striking contrast to the fun of the fair on the previous day when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow rattled up 196 in the morning session alone. Test cricket's appeal lies in the fact that it is a game of many moods - and this was quite a jolt.
England will recall Amla's triple-century at The Oval in 2012 and fear what may still lies ahead. But the artist is painting slowly. He made 93 in the day, only 25 in a final session where England became footsore and interest waned. You will find some of the travelling supporters traipsing around Table Mountain on Tuesday.
At least England were spared a wicketless day, their optimism stirred just once when AB de Villiers fell 20 minutes before tea. De Villiers departed on 88, pulling a short ball to midwicket where James Anderson held a head-high catch at the second attempt. England, who dropped three and reacted slowly to another, had finally clung on.
That breakthrough fell to Steven Finn, whose bounce and hostility in unfavourable conditions made him comfortably the most dangerous component in an attack which held South Africa in check, but struggled to find solace.
There was no turn for Moeen Ali - 37C is forecast for Tuesday and it remains to be seen if the bowlers will crack up before the pitch does - and the ball failed to swing or reverse, perhaps too blustery for the latter. South Africa were conscientious in defence and, when the batsmen did err, England's fielding was found wanting.
Amla and de Villiers dutifully set their sights on a long haul to safety, poring like senior librarians over a stand of 183 in 69 overs. South Africa failed to file away a single century stand in 2015 as they rarely justified their No. 1 Test ranking. In the first innings of the New Year, they addressed that shortcoming.
England will rue those three dropped chances, evenly spread like fumbled water bottles on a marathon. De Villiers was spared on the second evening on 5 when Joe Root spilled an opportunity engineered by Anderson; Amla allowed a let-off on 76 half an hour before lunch when this time Anderson flapped down a quick edge off Root.
That left them evens, although a bit more sulking had been evident when Root dropped the edge from Anderson. Part-time bowlers are not allowed such liberties: for them, every wicket is a bonus.
Amla also escaped on 120, Nick Compton failing to hold an acceptable chance to his left at backward point as Finn's insistence forced another opportunity.
De Villiers passed 8000 Test runs in the morning, becoming the third South African alongside Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith to achieve the feat when he struck Moeen down the ground, one of the most adventurous moments in a session characterised by sober defence. There were only 20 runs by drinks, and only 58 in the session at two runs per over, as South Africa's third-wicket pair concentrated on watchful defence.
Anderson's morning salvo was a stalemate, largely delivered outside off stump to packed off-side fields. Moeen gazed forlornly at cracks that failed to widen. Broad's hot spurt was nowhere to be seen. But Finn caused discomfort from the start, his extra bounce unsettling de Villiers who produced an uneasy edge, cut and pull in quick succession, all of which fell short of expectant fielders.
In England's innings, the second new ball was the catalyst for Stokes and Bairstow's assault. Nobody expected such tomfoolery this time: there was work to be done. It came at 230 for 2. A daring captain might have gambled and thrown the ball at Finn, but Cook preferred the tried and trusted, Anderson and Broad. It was only when Finn appeared that things began to happen.
It would have been tough on Amla if he had been run out on 119 when Finn got a finger on a return drive from de Villiers, but Amla regained his ground in time. Stokes then won an lbw appeal from Aleem Dar when de Villiers was 85, but even as de Villiers signalled for a review, Stokes knew that the batsman had got an inside edge.
Late in the day, as Faf du Plessis also made his first Test fifty since the start of 2015, Finn responded sluggishly at mid-off to a leading edge off Anderson. Even Alex Hales had a trundle: trendy sunnies, sleeves down, collar up - shades off another Nottinghamshire offspinner. Then he released something as fluffy and innocuous as a kitten. Du Plessis smiled wanly, as if he would rather have been met by a rabid hyena, but survived.
The final hour was a stalemate, with approaching clouds encouraging both sides to wonder if they could get off the field. Amla's solid defence, smooth drives and wristy manoeuvres were now typed repetitiously on English minds. South Africa, on a ground where they have been so successful, had rediscovered their spine.
Day 4
England 629/6d & 16/0
South Africa 627/7d
England lead by 18 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 2nd innings
In the troubled transformation of South Africa cricket Temba Bavuma inspired heady hopes of a bright and contented future with a zestful maiden Test hundred which brought a slumbering Cape Town Test sparking into life. A run-glut Test or not, the squeals of delight that greeted his breakthrough innings lit up Newlands. Temba Bavuma: quota cricketer no longer.
Twenty-four years after South Africa's readmission to international cricket following the dismantling of apartheid, Bavuma became the first black African to hit a Test hundred for South Africa. It was a momentous moment.
Bavuma had made only one half-century in seven Tests and most mentions of his name before the Test had encouraged the mistaken belief that his first name was Drop. But he danced around Newlands like a summer breeze, his bright-as-a-button innings refreshing onlookers who were beginning to tire of runs that in this Test had become as undervalued as the South African rand.
Bavuma's unbeaten 102, from 148 balls, replete with enterprising cuts and pulls, was a cheery topping on Hashim Amla's slow-cooked special - the fourth double-century of his Test career. When Bavuma reached his hundred with a thick edge off Steven Finn and Amla pulled the plug soon afterwards, South Africa had batted for 211 overs and had cut the deficit to two runs. For the first time in South Africa both sides had made more than 600 on first innings.
England reached 16 without loss by the close, and probably consigned the Test to oblivion in the process, but both batsmen had alarming brushes with short leg and Cook left a ball that missed off stump by a whisker. Two down would have caused the odd sleepless night.
Had that been so, England would have only themselves to blame. Pristine pitch or not, they dropped nine catches in the innings: six on the fourth day. Many, it must be noted, were immensely difficult. It was also their ninth day of Test cricket in 11, the heat was searing, and as the overs mounted, they were understandably flagging. The law of averages, though, meant that some should have stuck.
The one that will be most dwelt upon - however cruelly it may seem - will be Jonny Bairstow's drop of Bavuma on 77, partly because Bairstow's ponderous footwork threatens his future as a Test keeper, partly because Broad kicked the pitch in frustration, so bringing a huge lump out of it and attracting an unofficial warning from umpire Aleem Dar. It was the only time the pitch has shown signs of wear.
When Amla's steadfast resistance finally expired in the fourth over after lunch, his 201 represented the third-longest Test innings in South Africa, in terms of ball faced. Over nearly 12 hours he had glued together South African resolve, an understated captain responding indefatigably in a time of need. His concentration was admirable, his defensive technique impeccable, but in cricket when the situation is dead the game is dead and as long as Amla remained at the crease there seemed no chance of a positive result.
Amla's was one of three wickets to fall on the fourth afternoon as the third new ball brought England momentary release - Faf du Plessis and Quinton du Kock also dismissed within the space of 22 balls. Amla was the first of them, undone by Broad who coaxed just enough movement out of a placid surface to bowl him off an inside edge. Only Gary Kirsten and Michael Atherton had faced more deliveries in a Test in South Africa than his 477.
Du Plessis, 81 not out at lunch, missed out on a hundred that he seemed to have been heading inexorably towards, James Anderson finding the edge from around the wicket and Ben Stokes retrieving an alert, low catch at third slip. There were good plans, too, for de Kock, who was given a strong leg-side field and a surfeit of short balls and who mis-hooked to square leg.
With South Africa still 180 behind, at 449 for 6, a positive result could not entirely be discounted - not by computer programmers anyway. England cranked up the aggression for an hour, indulging in a few verbals along the way and Anderson knowingly collected a second warning for running on the pitch. Go for broke and see what happens was the obvious message.
Bavuma, jockey-sized in the style of James Taylor, stood up for the little man, later in his innings also dealing well with England's attempts to stifle him with 7-2 off-side fields. He found a redoubtable ally in Chris Morris, who made 69 on Test debut in a stand of 167 before Joe Root, who had dropped several in the slips, held on at short extra.
England had little glimpses of opportunity in the morning, most glaringly when Amla miscued Moeen down the ground on 197 and was fortunate that the ball dropped safely between the two straight fielders. A ball later, he soft-shoe shuffled a single through mid-on for his 200.
Du Plessis' most anxious moment came when he edged a full-length ball from Moeen past Anderson at slip. For the second time in the innings, the ball flew too rapidly past Anderson who was hunting an edge from a defensive push - a theory which, although events conspired against it, did possess a certain amount of logic. Root, helmeted because he was so unnaturally close, was to make the same miscalculation later when Morris edged Broad.
This Test has passed through recognisable phases. It began with excitement, as Stokes and Bairstow batted at an astounding rate on a flat surface nevertheless offering decent pace and bounce. It became a challenge of concentration as Amla stiffened South African sinews in the face of England's 629 for 6. And, on the fourth day, with that pace and bounce a distant memory, as long as Amla remained it became a process of repetition.
Old timers wallowed in memories of big scores of days gone by, England fans crept away to climb Table Mountain and there was a terrible temptation to switch TV channels and watch the Big Bash pack them in again in Adelaide. Even the Indian schoolboy who has scored 1009 not out in Mumbai must have been under greater threat.
This was becoming the Test with no reason to live. Then came Bavuma to bring it alive once more.
Day 5
England 629/6d & 159/6 (65.0 ov)
South Africa 627/7d
Match drawn
From nowhere, a smouldering Newlands Test burst into life. A final day that many anticipated would bring unbearable drudgery became an urgent England battle for survival. Fourth-day slumbers threatened to turn into something darker and more disturbing.
When rain and bad light intervened in the sixth over of the final session England could already rest easy, their lead 161 with four wickets left, but the monsters had felt real, never quite in view, but sensed enough to disturb the mind.
Forbidding clouds clung to Table Mountain, where some England supporters had strolled the previous day to pass the time with the Test at its most inactive. The pitch remained sound for a fifth day, but there was swing around for the first time in the Test in muggy conditions. As the pressure mounted, there was some turn too, as three wickets for the offspinner Dane Piedt testified.
The most damning critics of this Newlands surface discovered their judgment had been, at best, premature, at worst entirely invalidated. The pitch did not quite wear sufficiently and there was a period on the fourth morning when Hashim Amla was on his lengthy constitutional that the Test was in stalemate, but even then taking wickets was not impossible: England dropped nine catches in South Africa's second innings after all, and must have fleetingly wondered if they would regret it.
South Africa's slim chance of victory was probably extinguished 15 minutes before tea when Jonny Bairstow survived a stumping in Dean Elgar's first over by the narrowest margin - Rod Tucker's not-out ruling taking so long that they lost an over in the process. England led by 149 with 38 overs left, Bairstow cut the next ball to the boundary and a melancholic drizzle began to fall.
Is there any first-innings score where a Test side can feel absolutely safe these days? England's declaration at 629 for 6 smacked of impregnability, but they were alarmed to find that it was not the case. The climax became a battle for survival: three wickets lost in the first hour, six by drinks in mid-afternoon.
A draw always remained by far the likeliest result, but English stomachs were queasy. South Africa, so bereft midway through the second day, had enjoyed a restorative time since then and, assuming they go to the highveld still 1-0 down in the series, they will go with a new sense of purpose.
It used to be assumed that 400 on first innings made a Test side pretty much impregnable. That assumption, in terms of England's history at least, was forever destroyed at Adelaide in 2006 when England declared on 551 for 6 only to lose by six wickets after batting meekly against Shane Warne and co on the final day.
Now even 600-plus was no guarantee of safety as every member of South Africa's quartet struck by lunch. England made 71 in the session, batting with enough purpose to stretch the lead, but the dangers were apparent. Ben Stokes had batted so quickly for his first-innings 258 that the time available in the Test seemed to have expanded as a result, a fact that Amla, in particular, had used to his advantage in South Africa's reply.
Alastair Cook departed in the second over of the morning, falling to a leg-side push to the wicketkeeper, not for the first time, as Kagiso Rabada attacked his pads, a captain unable to kill the contest. Alex Hales followed in the next over, an unconvincing push away from his body at Morne Morkel, and a wonderful catch by Chris Morris at third slip.
Morris has taken two slip catches in this Test that will not be bettered all year - Cook in the first innings, flinging himself low to his left, now equally razor-sharp reflexes to his right to hold another stunning low catch. He can be happy with his Test debut, and if Dale Steyn is fit for Johannesburg South Africa's selectors will have much pondering ahead of them.
If Nick Compton had fallen in between, first ball, England's situation would have been even more parlous. Rabada rapped into his pads, full and straight, but a review revealed an inside edge. It was enough for Compton to drop anchor. He would be sailing nowhere in a hurry.
With time of the essence, South Africa could not afford any delay. They removed Joe Root for 29 when Morris, with his first ball, exposed tentative footwork with one that straightened to hit off stump, but they might have got him on 18, four overs earlier, when Morkel had him caught by de Villiers at second slip only to have overstepped.
It was left primarily to James Taylor to fashion a response, but even he needed a let-off when Rabada made a thrilling effort at short fine leg to claim a top-edged sweep, looking on in despair as the ball fell from his grasp when his elbow crashed into the turf.
Piedt, the unlucky bowler, was not to be denied. By lunch, he was also in the wickets column, Compton's suspicious innings ended by extra flight and a loose clip to short mid-on.
All it needed was for a couple of balls to career off the size 11 hole that Stuart Broad had made in the pitch in frustration at a dropped catch the previous day - his aggravated response to the umpire's intervention bringing him a fine - and it would have capped England's uncomfortable morning.
Stokes was an obvious threat. Such is his rate of scoring that an hour of him would be terminal for South Africa. His 26 from 34 balls eased England's nerves, but every time they sensed safety another wicket fell. Stokes had swept Piedt convincingly behind square but the bowler shrewdly offered him a repeat and this time his control was lacking, a top-edge sailing to Morkel at deep square.
Taylor played England's most well-balanced innings, but he succumbed, too - a third wicket for Piedt as the ball gripped and brushed the glove before settling at short leg. It was left to Bairstow and Moeen Ali to banish the monsters.
3rd Test
Day 1
South Africa 267/7
England
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat
England showed commendable resistance to keep South Africa in check on the opening day of the third Test at The Wanderers. A day in the field at The Bullring was an onerous demand for a squad stricken by a stomach ailment since the end of the Cape Town Test, but they recovered from an uncomfortable morning to take four wickets in the final session and leave the Test nicely balanced.
AB de Villiers was skippering South Africa for the first time and, such is the inspirational nature of his cricket, England would have been wary of the consequences as they defended a 1-0 lead in the series with two to play: another reason for queasy stomachs.
"They are climbing out of their death beds to play," Alastair Cook, England's captain, had said upon losing the toss, before swiftly backtracking and suggesting that "a few are not quite feeling 100%." He has never been one for hyperbole.
Steven Finn was the sharpest component of England's attack. A hasty addition to England's South Africa tour party after shaking off his foot injury on a Lions tour, he spearheaded their challenge, his efforts supplemented by the tendency of a succession of South Africa batsmen to get out carelessly when well set.
Only Hashim Amla escaped such a charge. The ball that Finn unearthed to dismiss him for 40 - leaving him peremptorily from around off stump - was a key wicket, the maker of a double hundred in Cape Town unpicked when he was looking ominous. Even Cook would admit it was hard to exaggerate the value of that.
There was less fortune for England's seasoned new-ball pairing. James Anderson went wicketless, much in keeping with a record at The Wanderers which had brought him only two wickets in two previous Tests and Stuart Broad, one of those most affected by the stomach bug that had ravaged the England camp - media troupe included - did well to sustain as much threat as he did.
The decision by de Villiers' to bat first after winning a tricky toss was vindicated by the batsmen's composure in that first session. As tosses go, it was one of the more interesting decisions. The pitch was a little greener than normal and the skies were overcast, but as Dean Elgar, in particular, proved a bugbear, England's attack failed to build prolonged pressure.
South Africa will anticipate that the pitch will quicken on the second and third day when the pitch dries out and their quartet of pace bowlers - three drawn from the Highveld Lions who were so impressive on this ground in winning the domestic trophy - take the field with aggressive intent.
The manner in which England's attack became more threatening as the day wore on encouraged that expectation. Every batsman got a start without any of them making a half-century.
De Villiers' first morning as captain was not without disruption. Dane Vilas caught a morning flight to Johannesburg - he arrived midway through the first session - in response to an emergency call-up as wicketkeeper - the result of a knee injury to Quinton de Kock, suffered when he slipped at home the previous evening. Batting first at least spared de Villiers from having to take the gloves again until his keeper turned up - and so experiencing a fate known to club captains worldwide.
With South Africa needing an opener, JP Duminy was dropped - others can consider whether this represented a relaxation of the transformation policy: guidelines that seem to exist or not exist depending on who you speak to and what day of the week it is.
That de Villiers' accession to the captaincy had come at a time when he is openly musing over how best to balance the demands of international cricket and franchise T20 was hardly the most encouraging sign for cricket. For all the predictions that 90,000 spectators were expected over five days, the crowd was thin and it will take big crowds over the weekend to lighten the belief that if the ICC fails to manage the game with enough conviction it will be left to market forces to determine the future.
Ben Stokes took England's only wicket before lunch, Stiaan van Zyl succumbing to a long hop in his first over. Stokes' first few balls were as grouchy as an old car on a cold winter's morning - a suitable image for the tourists because back home in England the first cold snap of the winter had arrived - but van Zyl obligingly tried to flick the third of them to the leg side and Jonny Bairstow collected a gentle skier. It was not the shot of a battle-hardened opener. Stokes looked upon his gift wicket with bemusement.
The second-wicket pair - Amla smooth and languid; Elgar, a nuggety batsman whose shorts are full of friction - gave South Africa a strong position at 117 for 1, only for Moeen Ali, the only recognised spinner in a Test where pace bowling will dominate, to find enough turn to clip Elgar's outside edge.
Stokes came close to dismissing Amla on 26, signalling so emphatically for a review after bringing the ball back to strike the pads that it brooked no argument. Amla survived on an umpire's call and, when Amla groped forward to the next ball to inside-edge the next ball to the boundary, Stokes reddened with enough frustration to light up half of Johannesburg.
But Finn, outstanding after lunch, removed him as England upped their game, a fast bowler brimful of confidence again, trusting his ability now to take the ball away from the right-hander, and encouraged by the bounce available at The Wanderers, a ground where not only the higher altitude sends fast bowlers heady.
De Villiers was in enterprising mood: no chance, one suspects, that this captain will be consumed by negativity because of the cares of captaincy. He rattled up 36 from 40 balls, Moeen planted into the crowd at deep midwicket, but Stokes, fresh from his batting feats in Cape Town, again revealed a Bothamesque ability to take wickets with humdrum balls as de Villiers wafted a catch down the leg side - the fourth catch in a row for Bairstow.
Du Plessis had even more cause to berate himself. The delivery from Finn that he clipped off his hip had no devil, but du Plessis clipped it carelessly to deep backward square.
Worse followed. Temba Bavuma could be blamed for hesitation, but there was little to commend Vilas' eagerness for a single to mid-on; Bairstow rushed to the stumps with alacrity to field the bounce from the substitute, Woakes, and complete the run out.
When Vilas was bounced out by Broad, England had every chance to polish off South Africa's innings. But weariness had taken hold and instead Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada regrouped with 32 runs in 10 overs against the second new ball. The last ball of the day, from Broad, reared past an outside edge - a reminder for England of the challenge lying ahead.
Day 2
South Africa 313
England 238/5 (52.4 ov)
England trail by 75 runs with 5 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Joe Root has been jostling for the honour as the No. 1 Test batsman in the world over the last six months, but his reputation can only have been further elevated by a richly enterprising hundred against South Africa in the third Test at The Wanderers. He is a serious player, worthy one day in the future of being measured against the best.
It had been bittersweet applause that had greeted Root since his last Test century, against Australia at Trent Bridge in August. Five half-centuries in eight innings had done little to satisfy him as long as the hundreds went begging. As the Bullring demanded that courage and character was the order of the day, his ninth Test century was one in which he could take particular pride.
With his shambling, stiff-legged gait, Root cuts the sort of figure that makes physios want to impose emergency stretching exercises, but put a bat in his hand and he is revamped into a picture of elegance: the perfect cover drive off Chris Morris that brought up his century will have brought him shivers of satisfaction.
That such moments were hard won was emphasised, too, by the final act of a second day that ended 50 minutes before the scheduled close because of bad light and, ultimately, rain. Kagiso Rabada beat Root on the hook, skimming his helmet in the process, and while he called for fresh head gear it was enough for the umpires to withdraw light meters and beat a retreat.
If England manage to clinch the series with victory in Johannesburg, they will need to summon one of their outstanding performances of recent years. South Africa's 313 was quite an achievement from an overnight 267 for 7, but by the close it had been clipped to 75 with five England wickets standing.
South Africa had begun with a conviction that a change of captain, in AB de Villiers, will bring a change of fortune as they seek to peg back a 1-0 deficit in the series, but as Root and Ben Stokes cut loose, a quartet of aggressive right-arm quicks was unable to stem the tide. A fifth-wicket stand of 111 in only 15 overs, from a shaky 91 for 4, represented the boldest of counter-attacks in a Test where no other players have reached 50.
On a wonderful pitch of pace and bounce, offering opportunity for bowlers and batsmen alike, the cricket has been compelling. If all Test cricket was like this it would remove the pessimism surrounding the most traditional form of the game. Bethuel Buthelezi, who took over as head groundsman last November, and whose first job 30 years ago was cleaning the tennis courts, had cause for delight.
Hardus Viljoen made a memorable entrance to Test cricket when he claimed the scalp of England's captain Alastair Cook with his first delivery - and on his home turf. The achievement was quite something, even if the delivery itself was unexceptional, a loosener down the leg side which Cook nibbled at, for wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, making his first appearance in a home Test, to take a diving catch.
Viljoen came with a big billing - the wild bull in the Bullring. In his two exploratory overs before lunch, he did not quite crank the pace up to the 150kph-plus of which he has been deemed capable, but he was enough of an unknown quantity for Cook, a habitual wafter down the leg side, to fall once again in a manner that has troubled him since the tour of the UAE in November. Sixty runs in five knocks left England's captain in pensive mood when he returned to the viewing area.
To know how fast Viljoen really bowls, it might be best not to rely on a speed gun that, to judge by its inconsistent readings, had been found in a Christmas cracker. But as the day progressed predictions seemed a little overstated.
If the notable statistic went to Viljoen, much of the skill rested with Rabada. He bowled superbly for much of the day, repeatedly leaving the right-hander, beginning with a morning spell of 6-3-7-1, picking off Alex Hales by exposing a lack of footwork with one that left him slightly. Hales' naïve drive ended up in the hands of second slip, the first single-figure score in the match. Suggestions that Rabada is interested in a brief spell in English county cricket should have coaches scrambling to find out more.
Nick Compton began with characteristic dourness. Six runs dripped by in 45 balls, at which point de Villiers, of all people, dropped an inviting chance off Morne Morkel at second slip. Compton was encouraged into a spurt forward, particularly against Viljoen, and seemed to have settled but edged a back-foot force against Rabada to second slip where this time Dean Elgar held on.
When James Taylor thrust blindly at his first ball, England looked unnerved. In an attempt to flay a boundary, his bat flew past a startled Temba Bavuma at short leg. The next time Bavuma sensed anything in his range it was the ball - arriving via Taylor's inside edge and body - and an excellent catch at the second attempt brought Morkel the reward.
The Test was now at its most physical. Stokes, following his impact innings in Cape Town, was welcomed by two fearsome deliveries from Morkel and responded with customary vigour. Root, on 35, would have been run out by Stokes' straight drive if Morkel had managed to get a finger on the ball; Stokes, sent back by Root as he sought a single on the on side, would have been run out by a direct hit.
Their stand, on either side of tea, revived memories of their alliance against New Zealand at Lord's last May - a stand that introduced a more enterprising shade to England's cricket. This time the job was far from complete when Stokes knocked up a return catch to Morkel off a leading edge. Root, bothered this time not by his stiff back, but by what appeared to be cramp on a humid day, reached the close with his hundred achieved but the Test still in the balance.
Earlier, South Africa had added a further 46 runs to their overnight 267 for 7. England broke through in the third over of the day, Morris beaten on the drive by Stuart Broad and Rabada followed to James Anderson in the following over top another wicketkeeper's catch, a relief for the bowler who has yet to make an impression on the series after missing the first Test in Cape Town because of injury.
Anderson was removed from the attack by umpire Aleem Dar for running on the pitch - one infringement the previous night, two this morning - but his replacement Stokes immediately brought the innings to a halt when he had Morkel caught at slip.
Bairstow equalled the record for catches in a Test innings at The Wanderers, a sizeable list also including another former England keeper Jack Russell. A share of the world record eluded him, though, when he failed to hold a fast but takeable catch above his head when Morkel slashed at Anderson.
Day 3
South Africa 313 & 83
England 323 & 77/3
England win by 7 wickets
Stuart Broad left England in ecstasy in Johannesburg as he summoned the sort of great Test fast-bowling burst that has become his forte to deliver an unexpectedly rapid victory in the third Test and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
South Africa were routed for 83 in 33.1 overs, leaving England needing only 74 for a victory, a task they undertook calmly, losing three wickets with the match well won. The final Test in Centurion next week will come amid considerable South African soul searching.
Broad's sequence of 5 for 1 in 36 balls destroyed South Africa's top order in the first hour after lunch as 23 for 0 became 35 for 5. Remarkably, it was the seventh time in his Test career that he has taken five or more wickets in a spell. When he sees an opportunity he does not demur; when he runs hot the opposition are scalded.
He finished with 6 for 17 in 12.1 overs, not to be denied the final wicket when Faf du Plessis swung the ball onto his pad and, eyes lighting up, a sprint and dive claimed a one-handed catch in the middle of the pitch.
South Africa had suffered disturbing collapses in India, but this disintegration in front of their own supporters, and in the Bullring, too, where they have so often been at their most ferocious, will cause the greatest reverberations of all. Expectations that AB de Villiers elevation to the captaincy would be South Africa's route to salvation have been proved overly optimistic. Broad extinguished their guiding light for a fifth-ball duck and the Test turned in a trice.
This was South Africa's lowest total in a home Test since readmission and second lowest of all in that period, beaten only by their 79 against India on a turning surface in Nagpur in November. They have now failed to beat England in their last three home series, losing two of them.
A fluctuating Test, compelling from the outset, had been tantalisingly poised after the first innings, with England holding an insignificant 10-run advantage, but it was commandeered by Broad as South Africa lost eight wickets in the afternoon session. A big weekend crowd were stunned as the No 1-ranked side in the world were picked apart.
A muggy day had provided perfect conditions for swing bowling, the pitch offered pace, bounce and increasing seam movement, and Broad responded to his opportunity voraciously. A great bowler or a bowler of great spells? Bowl enough of the latter and you begin to lay claim to the former. What was undeniable was that he passed Bob Willis' record of 325 Test wickets to go third on England's all-time list behind James Anderson and Ian Botham.
In the first innings, he was enervated by the stomach bug that had raged through the England camp, leaving the field on at least one occasion to be sick. Now his health had returned - his hair, stragglier than usual, the only reminder that he had been too unwell to attend to some of the niceties of life. He bowled with great intensity, hit an excellent length from a great height with resolve, his pace up to maximum.
Broad's first wicket, three overs into the afternoon, needed Dean Elgar to fend at a wide one, but that was enough to consume him with recognition of the opportunities on offer. Even the solitary single he conceded in his five-wicket burst came from a dropped catch offered by Stiaan van Zyl as Anderson failed to hang on at second slip. Van Zyl soon pushed a fullish ball to Ben Stokes at gully.
South Africa had banked upon setting loose a ferocious pace quartet on a Wanderers pitch possessing more grass than normal. Their inexperience meant they conceded to somebody better. Instead, it was Broad who was roused, reviving memories of his 8 for 15 to dismiss Australia for 60 in one spectacular session at Trent Bridge in August, or his 5 wickets in 16 balls against India on the same ground four years earlier.
If the openers were a satisfying starter, the main course - AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla in successive overs - was a gourmet dish served to a privileged few. It took a fine delivery to dismiss de Villiers for a five-ball duck, jagging back sharply for Jonny Bairstow to hold the inside edge.
Amla was the first of two batsmen to fall to a stunning catch by James Taylor at short leg - shrewdly positioned, it turned out, slightly more forward than usual. Taylor was slightly on the rise when he changed direction to clutch Amla's firm clip by his ankles. The little men, Taylor and Temba Bavuma, are perfectly designed for the role - instant response units, armed with fast reflexes, bravery and an ability to get down quickly from a low starting position.
Bavuma then played on for a duck, swaying back with an intention to leave but running the ball onto his stumps. Broad, who relishes the role on tour of the Bad Guy, signalled his five wickets to the crowd. When Faf du Plessis, struck on the shin, picked the ball up and tossed it back to him, he looked aghast, hands on hips, the very picture of theatrical villainy. In no mood to let go of the ball, he puffed out his cheeks and extended his spell to 10 overs before standing down with 5 for 14 to his name.
Amid all this, Anderson had glowered his way through an unrewarded spell, finding movement himself, but still looking out of sorts with the world. Instead it was Steven Finn and Stokes who offered initial support.
Dane Vilas fell to another outstanding catch by Taylor, another firm stroke, this time the fielder flinging himself to his right to intercept. Finn's first wicket was followed by two for Stokes, who also swung the ball lavishly, bowling the right-handed Chris Morris with one that came back, then finding outswing to the left-hander to silence Kagiso Radaba's brief flurry.
South Africa did not detain England overlong after tea, Anderson having Viljoen lbw before Broad's full-length dive left England on the brink of their first Test series victory overseas since they overcame India in 2012-13.
Rabada, a quality fast bowler in the making, had been somewhat overshadowed. But he had prospered in the morning in a manner that augers well for South Africa's future, taking his first took first five-wicket haul in Tests. Blessed with a smooth action and a calm head, he took three of England's last five wickets on the third morning as they added another 85 runs.
For all the praise directed towards Joe Root on the second day for one of the finest hundreds of his career, the Test had still been in the balance when play resumed. At 238 for 5, England trailed by 75 and Root himself did not stay long. He added only four to his overnight 106 when an airy drive against Rabada caused his downfall. Few would have anticipated that later in the day he would be at the crease once more, hitting the winning runs as England won the series.
Rabada later dislodged Broad with an excellent yorker that struck off stump and Jonny Bairstow's attempts to force the pace with the last pair at the crease gave Rabada a five-for when an attempted pull plopped gently to midwicket.
4th Test
Day 1
South Africa 329/5 (90.0 ov)
England
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat
South Africa shook off a week of introspection by taking two centuries off a flaccid England attack in a satisfying opening to the final Test in Centurion. Hashim Amla found his innings so untaxing that he might have made it in his sleep; Stephen Cook must have imagined every step of his so vividly that there would have been times when sleep was hard to find.
The series has been lost, South Africa are about to relinquish their No. 1 Test ranking to India, and five changes from the side that lost in Johannesburg told of the uncertainty afflicting their cricket, but they hold the upper hand here.
For Amla, a 25th Test hundred was an unburdening after a sequence of low scores which contributed to him conceding the captaincy. For Cook, the unburdening came with opportunity, a Test debut at 33, one he grasped so desirously that he became the 100th batsman to make a century on Test debut. Two - Lawrence Rowe and Yasir Hameed - even had the audacity to do it twice in the match.
Why is it that 100 Test batsmen, previously unchosen, have now trodden this path? There is often an advantage that bowlers have had no time to explore their deficiencies, but most influential of all must be the hunger that runs through their veins.
England will rue the life offered to both batsmen - Amla on 5 and Cook on 47, and both of them fixing further attention on the wicketkeeping of Jonny Bairstow - but that should not deflect from the untroubled assembly of a second-wicket stand worth 202 in 53 overs.
Both will be frustrated that they failed to cement South Africa's authority, dismissed in identical manner, playing on, in a final session where England belatedly became attuned to their task. Amla, even at his must luxuriant, does not always concern himself with the gap between bat and pad and it was a sizeable one as he hung his bat limply against Ben Stokes. Chris Woakes silenced Cook - an indeterminate drive at a rising delivery.
Amla's sixth Test hundred against England was replete with poised off-side drives as England's bowlers repeatedly erred in length. Cook, too, a sober-minded sort, played with a fluency that he has not always attained during his career as he has built an image of a steady accumulator. He looked what he is: a proper opener. That said, South Africa zipped along for much of the day above four an over.
Four wickets in all in the final session, all with the old ball, gave England hope. AB de Villiers' defensive jab at Stuart Broad flew to Joe Root at second slip, his second successive duck and the 10th time Broad has dismissed him in 14 Tests. JP Duminy, ambitiously high at No. 5 despite his recent double hundred in domestic cricket, then pulled at Moeen Ali's offspin and was lbw to a straight one.
It was left to Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock to re-establish South Africa's authority against the second new ball, their unbroken stand of 56 coming with a relaxed air that belied South Africa's anxiety to bring their losing run to an end.
A Test debut at the ripe old age of 33 is something to take seriously. Cook was never going to regard it any other way. From the moment that he took guard at SuperSport Park, and despatched his first ball in Test cricket - a half volley from James Anderson - to the boundary, an air of gravitas descended upon proceedings.
England's only success on the first two sessions after they had lost the toss came from an astounding short leg catch - another one to follow two superb efforts in Johannesburg - by James Taylor.
Taylor's catch to dismiss Dean Elgar left the batsman with hands on hips in disbelief. Moeen's offspin was given an outing in the first hour and Elgar, as is his wont when spin makes an appearance, came down the pitch to his fourth delivery with attacking intent. The ball flew forcefully to the leg side and, as Taylor moved sharp-wittedly with the batsman, the ball lodged in his midriff.
Where was it? When the ball released and headed towards ground, Taylor had the instinct to clamp his legs together and somehow trapped it between right ankle and thigh. After much wrapping of hands round legs, he finally found it. England's Danger Mouse, standing where many fear to tread, had come up with the goods again.
Amla's let-off came late in the morning session when Stokes found the edge but Alastair Cook put down a tough catch at first slip as Bairstow, initially moving towards the leg-side for no good reason before switching direction, and diving across his sightline.
Bairstow's blemish in the third over of the afternoon was in similar vein. This time Broad was the unfortunate bowler as he found Cook's edge, the ball died low once more and Bairstow made strong contact but failed to hold on. If the errors persist, England will soon join others in wondering if his preferable role is as a specialist batsman. Jos Buttler, though, is bound for the IPL.
Cook's diligence, that escape apart, remained uninterrupted. He batted conscientiously, moving across to off stump and picking off the leg-side gaps. Occasionally, he was invited to risk a pleasing off-side drive. It is a method that has brought him much success in South African domestic cricket and it soothed the wounds of South Africa's recent failures.
A nervous hour was passed in the 90s, his mood not settled by an extended tea interval because part of the outfield had been soddened by a leaking drain - a suitable metaphor for England's attack. On 98, he then survived an England review by virtue of an umpire's call as Stokes swung a ball of full-length back into his pads. He clipped the next ball wide of mid-on; hundred achieved. Considering South Africa's needs, he seems the sort likely to stick around for a while.
Cook and Amla were assisted by a stodgy surface - hard to bear after the pace of the Wanderers a few miles down the road in the previous Test - and an England attack unable to summon much vigour. De Villiers' pre-Test assertion that England had top-order weaknesses and that at least one component of their pace attack - Anderson - was highly-skilled, but down on pace, looked what it was: less a declaration of war as a reasonable statement of the facts.
Anderson needed three wickets to go past Richard Hadlee into seventh place in the Test wickets list, but he was no closer by the close, swing again eluding him. Woakes, the replacement for the injured Steven Finn, who had been the best England bowler in the series, one hot flush from Broad apart, had not bowled since the first Test in Durban and was in dire form, length and line awry, disappearing at five an over until he redressed matters slightly after tea.
As far as Cook's father, watching intently from the stands, was concerned, Cook's Test debut at 33 made him a mere stripling compared to Jimmy himself who was 39 when he made his Test debut against India, got a first-baller and played only twice more. Few batsmen of such quality have been so lightly rewarded. His son is already more blessed.
South Africa's record in Tests at Centurion is outstanding - except in Tests against England. They have won 15 out of 20 matches at the venue, with just two defeats, most recently against a Mitchell Johnson-inspired Australia in 2014. England's batsmen will have to outstrip the standards of the bowlers to threaten them from here.
Day 2
South Africa 475
England 138/2 (46.0 ov)
England trail by 337 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Quinton de Kock announced his arrival among the ranks of attacking wicketkeeper-batsmen to be reckoned with as he raced to an enterprising maiden Test century which has positioned South Africa for a consolation victory on a Centurion surface already showing signs of unreliability.
Only two England batsmen have been prised out in the first 46 overs and South Africa have looked a pace bowler light, especially with Morne Morkel in one of his malfunctioning moods. But Nick Compton had reason for grievance after he was lbw to one from Kagiso Rabada from scuttled through low - this on only the second day. There was enough evidence that he might not be the last.
England's top three has offered low returns throughout the series: one half-century apiece for Alastair Cook, Alex Hales and Compton. But Cook remained at the close on 67, England's deficit still 337 runs with eight wickets intact, and there were signs as he tried to plot a long route towards safety that that his long-limbed defence was creeping back into rhythm.
He has rarely looked more exasperated as in England captain in the field than he has during the 132 overs that South Africa batted. England, with the series won, have lost a little intensity. Cook, whose batting is all about such qualities, will be hell bent upon coming up with a meaningful retort. Apart from an inside edge off Morkel, on 55, which popped safely into the off side and numerous attempts to have him caught down the leg side (the latest theory), he played soundly.
England's reply started badly: Alex Hales perishing in the nine overs up to tea. Hales is fast becoming the latest failed claimant in the past three-and-a-half years to the opening position vacated by Andrew Strauss. Unlike many other contenders, he has a limited-overs pedigree behind him, enough to encourage loyalty by many good judges, but in Test cricket his approach remains fraught with uncertainty, summed up by a weak drive at a floaty outswinger from Rabada and a catch for Dane Piedt at cover point.
Hales, unbalanced in the shot and dismissed for 15, has one innings remaining to enhance a debut series that stands at 135 runs at 19.28 with only one half-century on a Cape Town featherbed.
De Kock now has that settling maiden hundred under his belt. His return to the South Africa wicketkeeping role after a freakish accident that ruled him out of the third Test - he slipped while walking the dogs - had not been universally supported after a strong showing behind the stumps by Dane Vilas as his emergency replacement.
But that debate was silenced as de Kock's blithe-hearted strokeplay took full toll of a lethargic England attack that failed to respond to the rigours of a fourth Test in as many weeks. Unlike his fateful dog walk, this time he had provided a strong lead.
He remained unbeaten on 129 from 128 balls when South Africa's innings finally came to a halt at 475. Such a breakthrough innings could not be more timely for South Africa as they seek to emerge from an uncertain period - illustrated by five changes for this Test - and establish a new-look side.
De Kock survived two challenging catches on 28 when Ben Stokes could not hold on at gully off James Anderson and again on 90, Cook this time the culprit as de Kock drove the offspinner Moeen Ali to short cover.
He was only 62 when South Africa lost their eighth wicket, but Piedt provided steadfast support for more than two hours as the home side, trailing 2-0 in the series, took a firm grip on the final Test.
Just to add to England's disenchantment, there was a mix-up between Jonny Bairstow, a wicketkeeper under scrutiny, and his captain, Cook, who was stood unsettlingly alongside him at first slip when an edge from de Kock, on 80, flew between them. Both could have gone for it; neither did.
The poor alignment of keeper and slip should definitely be questioned before any other factor because Cook had virtually moved alongside Bairstow so confusing their areas of responsibility. On this occasion, it was a tactical error primarily, but it was not the first chance to go astray and the dissatisfied expressions on both faces told of a distrust and disappointment that is unlikely to aid Bairstow's cause.
England needed quick wickets at start of play with South Africa already 329 runs to the good. They missed out on de Kock, who had added only three to his overnight score when Stokes failed to hold on, but had a promising start nevertheless when Stuart Broad and Anderson struck in the first four overs, Temba Bavuma edging to the wicketkeeper and Rabada falling lbw first ball.
Finally, nearing the end of an unrewarding tour, Anderson had made the ball swing and must even have found joy in Rabada's decision to review the decision as it meant he could wallow in innumerable replays proving as much on the big screen. It was the only joy he found in the innings.
De Kock's response was emphatic. A modicum of width was enough for him to flay his next two balls, from Broad, for successive off-side boundaries. A wristy late cut against Moeen signalled his half-century. When Kyle Abbott deposited his first ball from Moeen for a long-on six, and de Kock also cleared the ropes later in the over, South Africa reached drinks in exuberant mood.
Stokes silenced Abbott with a blockhole leg-before - the batsman's review entirely pointless - but de Kock sallied forth. There was no dallying in the 90s as he again found Moeen to his liking , a pull and drive over the top taking him to 99, before stealing a single into the covers to reach his hundred at the start of Moeen's following over.
It was Stokes who eventually moved things on, breaking Piedt's resistance with a rising delivery and Morkel lbw without scoring for his third wicket of the day and figures of 4 for 86.
Day 3
South Africa 475 & 42/1
England 342
South Africa lead by 175 runs with 9 wickets remaining
Four specialist bowlers and one of them succumbing to injury. For Kagiso Rabada, an up-and-coming fast bowler acting as spearhead one moment, workhorse the next, it was an onerous burden. But Rabada was up to the task, producing the most redoubtable display of his fledgling career to give South Africa anticipating victory in the final Test in Centurion.
Radaba's return of 7 for 112, his finest figures in a Test career only five matches old, presented South Africa with a first-innings lead of 133 which they extended to 175 for the loss of Dean Elgar by the time bad light fell upon the third day.
With reason to expect that this surly surface will become more indifferent as the Test progresses, South Africa retain strong hopes of a consolation victory which would reduce the series margin to 2-1 and enable them to claim their first victory in nine Tests.
Rabada tore through England's batting line-up with three quick wickets on the stroke of lunch, removing Joe Root, James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow in succession to turn the Test heavily in South Africa's favour. With Kyle Abbott leaving the field as tea approached for intensive treatment on a tight hamstring, South Africa's four-strong attack was under heavy strain and Rabada, at the tender age of 20, bore most of it.
By the time he led South Africa from the field half an hour after tea, his figures were the third best ever recorded at Centurion, outdone only by two other outstanding displays of recent vintage - Abbott's 7 for 29 against Pakistan in 2013 and Mitchell Johnson's 7 for 65.
The accolades were thoroughly deserved for a display of great control, nous and stamina. His best Test figures followed a return of 5 for 78 in the third Test in Johannesburg. His achievements so young are rarely achieved. An unrewarding Test introduction on spin-friendly surfaces in India has been well and truly put behind him.
His progress this series has been swift, his speeds consistently around 140kph, and his control of line excellent. He caresses the pitch - the antithesis of Hardus Viljoen who in Johannesburg tried to deep mine it. At 20 years old, he is a prize asset but he is still physically developing and South Africa will have to nurture him with care as they prepare for a future - not too distant now - without Dale Steyn.
Alastair Cook, the first wicket to fall on the third day, must wait for the potential accolade of the youngest player to reach 10,000 Test runs - and as he watches England flounder after losing an influential toss he must be ageing by the minute.
Cook, 67 not out overnight, began fifty runs short of the record, but he added only nine runs in an hour before he was unpicked by Morne Morkel, an excellent delivery from around the wicket which bounced and seamed away to take the edge. The wicket stirred Morkel, whose signal has come and gone like a mobile in an iffy reception area.
Cook has one more innings in South Africa to secure a record that looks inevitable, barring injury, as he still has a full English summer to achieve it. He has ticked off the record thousand by thousand since his Test career began to evolve, the youngest batsman at every measuring point.
The removal of Root, the mainstay of England's batting line-up, was a huge breakthrough for South Africa. Root had launched England's challenge by taking three back-foot boundaries off him in an over, the first of them thick-edged wide of gully, but he became the first victim of the morning when Rabada produced one that shaped away a tad around off stump for Quinton de Kock to hold a simple catch.
Rabada struck again when Taylor was too early on a pull shot that was both too wide and high for the shot, especially with wickets falling and lunch approaching, and cue ended the ball to the wicketkeeper. Taylor might have been defeated by the inconsistent bounce, but it was an unwise shot with a short leg and two men back for the shot.
Three balls later - the last before the interval - Rabada added Bairstow for nought. It was a dismissal that emphasised he is already a bowler of craft, an offcutter bouncing back at Bairstow who failed to withdraw from the shot to catch the glove and give de Kock his fourth catch of the innings.
South Africa had squandered two reviews in the morning session. Morkel's belief that he can get Cook caught down the leg side is all very well, but not when South Africa review an appeal - as they did when Cook was 70 - that missed the bat by several inches. The noise must have been that made when a theory collides with reality.
There was over-eagerness, too, in de Kock's belief that he had held a leg-side tickle from Root off the offspinner, Dane Piedt. Such considerations were soon forgotten as Rabada made deep inroads into England's order, reducing them to 211 for 6 - still 63 short of avoiding the follow-on.
Rabada added the wicket of Ben Stokes, picked off at second slip with only the second delivery with the second new ball, a success Rabada greeted with nothing more aggressive than the gentlest of smiles.
England would have sensed an unlikely escape route, especially with Moeen Ali fashioning resistance with his usual languid unpredictability, leaving South Africa eminently grateful for the charitable departure of Chris Woakes shortly before tea.
JP Duminy, a notional fifth bowler, whose confidence impaired by an injury in India when he split the webbing of his bowling hand, looks in bad shape, bowling wise, and seems to have adopted a strange, whirly Harbhajan Singh impression.
He did nothing more than slip a straight one across Woakes, who edged it into the pads of the wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and from there to first slip where Dean Elgar held a simple chance. Woakes had also been dropped on 1 when de Kock failed to hold a one-handed catch above his head off Morkel.
After tea, South Africa threw the ball to Rabada once more. By the time he added his seventh - Stuart Broad obligingly pulling to deep square leg - he was running on empty, about 15kph down on his speed at the start of the Test, Rabada could not summon the energy to run and congratulate the fielder.
Moeen's departure to Morkel, for 61, driving on the up to extra cover, finally gave Rabada release. His 29 overs had revealed a few home truths about the arduous nature of Test cricket. In another 24 hours or so, perhaps even less, he would be doing it all again.
Day 4
South Africa 475 & 248/5d
England 342 & 52/3 (21.0 ov)
England require another 330 runs with 7 wickets remaining
South Africa will be confident that a first Test win in 10 attempts will fall their way on the final day of the fourth Test after grabbing three England wickets in the last 21 overs at Centurion. England, with the series already won, will seek to shrug away their disappointment, but salvaging something from this match looks unlikely even against a South Africa side that will have to count its fit and able on the morrow.
Watchful batting followed by a late clatter of English wickets: a brief flurry of rain apart, South Africa's day at Centurion could hardly have been any more satisfying.
They first made the game safe with steadfast innings from Hashim Amla and Temba Bavuma - Amla falling only four runs short of making two centuries in the match before they declared 381 runs ahead - then took giant strides towards winning it.
The inroads were made by pace - two for Kagiso Rabada and one for Morne Morkel, but there was also enough purchase for the offspinner Dane Piedt to suggest that he can play an influential role. With the fitness of Kyle Abbott in serious doubt, he may have to. The odd thunderstorm is also lurking in the vicinity.
Alex Hales' was England's first wicket to fall, his unhappy debut series continued to the end. Leg before to Rabada for a single, he finished with 136 runs at 17 with only one half-century on a Cape Town featherbed. Uneven bounce played a part in his latest dismissal - probably as much as a foot's difference to strike him on the knee roll - but his aptitude for Test cricket remains unproven.
His exciting potential in limited-overs cricket means that many observers look kindly upon him and for a while at least, until a contender demands the right to supplant him, they might as well.
Alastair Cook must also wait until next summer to become the youngest batsman to 10,000 Test runs - he still needs 36 after Morkel plucked a return catch to his right. Nick Compton not only fell driving at Rabada, he wasted a review in a frivolous challenge.
It could have been worse for England. Joe Root had two escapes against Piedt in the gloom, both on 10, Quinton de Kock missing a stumping when Piedt threaded one between bat and pad and then surviving a review as he was beaten on the sweep.
South Africa's Test cricket has long been based on discipline and sobriety. It was thus when they were No. 1 in the world and it was not about to change with that ranking about to be lost and with a run of nine winless Tests behind them. It was a method that spread into English cricket during the coaching reigns of Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower. It is in their blood.
No side has ever successfully chased more than 251 in the fourth innings at Centurion, a feat achieved by England in 2000 with two wickets to spare: the infamous match-fixing declaration by Hansie Cronje. Rule out skulduggery and nobody has ever chased down more than 200.
But a game so reliant on statistics does not trust them when it comes to declarations, especially a risk-averse side with its bowling resources under strain.
Abbott, with his hamstring heavily strapped, attempted a few deliveries on the outfield before the start of play but his approach was so tentative and delivery so feeble his future involvement in the Test was cast into doubt; he looked in more danger of getting a late call up for the Masters Champions League.
"He won't bowl today," came the advice from the South Africa camp when England batted. "He is on the field so he can bowl tomorrow." But with England's openers dismissed within seven overs, he could not resist an exploratory over off a short run. It was hardly venomous but neither did he fall in a heap. He will probably play a bit part at most.
By the time rain five overs after tea hurried South Africa into a declaration, they had scored 206 in the day: four wickets lost and a run rate a shade above three an over. The centrepiece of that was a stand of 117 in 38 overs between Amla and Bavuma, assembled with great deliberation.
Amla and Bavuma wore down England's resistance in a wicketless afternoon in which neither player offered a glimmer of a chance. They met England's three main pace bowlers with great concentration, adjusted calmly when the pitch occasionally misbehaved, and gladly accepted scoring opportunities as Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali were unable to sustain the pressure.
If South Africa's caution as tea approached began to feel excessive, their morning's work was impressive. It was exemplified by Amla, whose painstaking progress was in sharp contrast to his blissful hundred in the first innings. On each occasion, he has summoned an innings perfectly suited to the situation and has been comfortably their leading batsman in the series.
His second hundred went missing when he tried to abruptly shifted tempo after tea, surviving an England review as he swung lustily at the third ball, from Stuart Broad, skylarking at the fifth to be caught at the wicket. Bavuma's outside hopes of a century also departed with the rain that forced the declaration - although to manufacture that end result would have been tactically unforgiveable.
If Amla has given South Africa's most batting sustenance in the series, AB de Villiers has had a torrid time since assuming the captaincy after Amla's mid-series resignation. He has had three ducks in succession, facing only nine balls in the process, his latest failure coming second ball when James Anderson found a hooping inswinger to have him lbw.
Considering that de Villiers had politely observed before the Test that England had some bowlers - essentially Anderson - who remained highly skilled but were down on pace - the dismissal came with a bit of invective attached. De Villiers reviewed: the batsman disconsolate, the bowler continuing to fume until he had his reward.
Anderson took the first three wickets to fall. Dean Elgar had been snaffled the previous evening in a challenging session where South Africa did well to close at 42 for 1. Stephen Cook followed in the fifth over of the morning, a drive away from his body, a perceived weak spot.
Anderson began South Africa's second innings with only four wickets to his name, having missed the first Test in Durban because of injury, but whose pace and movement was greater than at any time in the series.
At 49 for 3, the lead 182, South Africa had a few qualms. JP Duminy, batting high at No. 5, eased them, adding 57 with Amla before Ben Stokes drew him into a loose drive. Stokes, who had also struck Amla painfully on the thumb of his bottom hand the previous evening, was a handful. He reached his half century when Stokes spat one of a length at his face, the ball flew past short leg off his glove. Amla immediately signalled for an arm guard.
As the ball aged and the skies cleared, batting problems lessened. The declaration came too slowly for some, but South Africa had chosen their tactics and fulfilled them rather well.
Day 5
South Africa 475 & 248/5d
England 342 & 101
South Africa won by 280 runs
Kagiso Rabada completed a dream sequence with 13 wickets in the match as South Africa thumped England by 280 runs in the final Test at Centurion. England won the series 2-1, and can claim the bragging rights, but South Africa have their first Test win in 10 outings and evidence that the future is not necessarily as bleak as has been suggested.
South Africa's victory was a convincing one, a splendid recovery after their defeats in Durban and Johannesburg. Most pride of all will come in the feat of Rabada, only the third South African to take so many wickets in a Test. He finished with 13 for 144 in the match, pronouncing that he has the capability to become the inspiration in South Africa's attack for many years to come.
From the start of their innings, England's task was to try to bat long and hope that South Africa's attack fell apart in front of their eyes. Kyle Abbott was carrying a hamstring injury, Rabada had borne a heavy workload in the first innings, and the unpredictability of Morne Morkel meant that he was liable to go haywire if left to carry the pace bowling alone.
It all proved a hollow theory. Little went right for England for the outset. They lost three wickets in 21 overs on the fourth evening and capsized completely on the final morning, their last seven wickets disappearing for 49 runs in 13.4 overs.
It is fair to suggest that they made no concerted attempt to save the match.
This enterprising England side is a side of great extremes, committed to a positive approach which can produce thrilling cricket but which also comes close to an abdication of responsibility in times of hardship.
There was talk among spectators of Cape Town 2010 when England began the final day three down and saved the match at 296 for 9 thanks to plucky backs-to-the-wall resistance from Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood. From the moment that Joe Root edged his first ball of the day, from Piedt, past the flailing gloves of the wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock that possibility seemed non-existent. In Centurion 2016 they did not even quite make it to the first drinks break.
South Africa had shrewdly given the first over to Abbott - an on-field fitness test in an attempt to gauge the level of his contribution for the battle ahead. One trundling over was enough to indicate he was unlikely to be a figure of heroic deeds.
Morkel replaced him and struck with his sixth ball, making the ball rear sharply at James Taylor who fended to the keeper. Bounce is one of Morkel's greatest assets and he has always imagined he could expose a player as short of stature as Taylor: this was how he imagined it would be.
Root was not attuned to the challenge. Shot-making has become central to his game as he has become one of the most prolific No. 4s in Test history, but there seemed little reason to be tempted into a drive at Piedt in the following over, the resulting edge flying to first slip.
Jonny Bairstow avoided a pair; Ben Stokes needed strapping around his chest after being struck by Morkel. Both were committed to attack. England had a chancy feel about them. Bairstow managed to get out twice in successive balls. Rabada overstepped for the first, as Bairstow thrashed at one to be caught at slip, then the batsmen edged again, a more conservative push this time, de Kock taking the catch.
The daftest shot fell to Stokes - the Man of the Series, often an inspiration with bat, bowl and in the field, but daft all the same as he pulled a short one from Morkel to deep square leg. More than any other England batsman, attacking cricket is in his nature, but he had been suckered.
And so it went on. Another go-down-guns-blazing swing of the bat, this time from Chris Woakes, another wicket for Rabada. In his next over, Rabada rounded things off with wickets in successive balls, Stuart Broad beaten on the drive and James Anderson lbw first ball to a leg stump yorker. What a Test he has had. What expectations, at only 20, he must bear.
"Sometimes what you say makes no difference," said Alastair Cook. "We are nowhere near the finished article." He sounded like a captain whose speech had fallen on deaf ears. As England posed happily for the team photo, series victors, there should have been some guilt mixed in with the deserved celebrations to follow.
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