Game,set,throne

Man-of-the-match Vernon Philander took 5-30 as the Proteas dismissed England for 294 on day five to secure a 2-0 series win and with it the mace the ICC awards the worlds top-ranked team but only after an exhilarating fight from Englands lower order.

Needing 346 to win,the hosts made a disastrous start,but defiant innings from Jonathan Trott 63 and Jonny Bairstow 54 kept Englands hopes alive. Matt Prior and Graeme Swann then put on 74 from 66 balls before Swann was run out for 41.

Prior was caught off a no ball before he fell to Philander for 73 and Philander removed Steven Finn with his next ball to complete a thrilling win.

For us to beat England at home is one of the greatest achievements of my career and Im proud of each one of my guys, South Africa captain Graeme Smith said.

His England counterpart Andrew Strauss credited the tourists play. Theyve definitely played the better cricket over the three tests, Strauss said. It was a fantastic effort from our players but South Africa were just too good and they deserve a lot of credit. Theyve outplayed us over the series.

England looked like losing meekly when Ian Bell and James Taylor both went in the first hour. Bell fell to a juggled catch by Smith at second slip when he tried to drive Philander and when Taylor was run out for 4 it seemed to sound a death knell for England. Trott flicked Steyn toward the mid-on boundary,and the batsmen had both turned for a fourth run when Trott stopped in his tracks.

With Taylor already committed,Steyn gathered Hashim Amlas return throw and calmly threw the ball for wicketkeeper AB de Villiers to run Taylor out by several feet.

Yet Bairstow made the most of the reprieve to bat with style and aggression,reaching his 50 in the 42nd over when he flicked Philander to the fine leg boundary.

When Bairstow was bowled by Imran Tahir in the next over,the bowler was so ecstatic he sprinted toward the South Africa balcony and celebrated by pumping his fist wildly.

Trott then departed in the 47th to a spectacular diving catch by Jacques Kallis after edging Steyns first ball after lunch,but England refused to capitulate.

Broad smashed Steyn for six over midwicket,but his risky innings ended when he was caught by Amla at fine leg,although he was reluctant to leave the crease and only did so after a video review confirmed Steyn hadnt bowled a no-ball.

At the start of the evening session the Proteas were still strong favorites,but the partnership between Prior and Swann ignited the crowd. Swann hit Tahir over deep midwicket for six to reduce the target to exactly 100 and in an over that went for 15 runs Prior reverse swept successive Tahir deliveries to bring up his 50.

When Swann swept Kallis for six in the next over it brought up the 50 partnership,before Prior drove Morkel inches past Steyns hand at mid off.

Tight finish

The target was down to 64 when Swann was run out for 41 chasing a single,Tahir smartly whipping Rudolphs throw on to the stumps.

With the new ball imminent in the 79th over,Prior,then on 67,was caught by Duminy and nearly back in the pavilion when the video replay confirmed Morkel had indeed bowled a no ball,to a raucous cheer from the usually staid Lords crowd.

Instead of taking the new ball Smith persisted with Tahir and the third ball of the 80th over saw Prior again reprieved by the third umpire,surviving a stumping chance by the smallest possible margin.

Priors luck finally ran out in the 83rd over when he edged Philander to Smith at first slip and South Africa concluded an unexpectedly fraught victory when Philander had Finn caught in the slips by Kallis for a golden duck.

It almost hurts more to have got that close, Prior said. At that stage I thought maybe it was just my day,but it wasnt to be.

We miss u bouch

Smith admitted he was worried. They came in and played some incredible shots, he said. Out of the rough,reverse sweeps,slogs over long on. Ive never seen Graeme Swann play so many great cricket shots and I have to give credit to Matt Prior,but we just needed to say to ourselves to keep doing the right things and get ourselves to that new ball.

The words We Miss U Bouch were scrawled on Smiths shirt and he confirmed this was a tribute to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher,who was forced to retire from test cricket after suffering an eye injury during a warm-up game.

It was a tribute from the team, Smith said. It was meant to be his 150th Test. Hes been an integral part of the Proteas family for so long and it was something as a team we felt we wanted to do.

Brief scores: England 315 amp; 294 in 82.5 overs Matt Prior 73,Jonathan Trott 63,Jonny Bairstow 54; Vernon Philander 5/30,Jacques Kallis 1/50 lost to South Africa 311 and 351 by 51 runs