South Africa scenting victory

Mark Butcher (57) and Andrew Flintoff (45) were at the crease, having put on a face-saving 70 after four of England’s top six failed to reach double figures.

The game had looked nicely poised in the morning but a South African success, and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, already looked assured by lunch.

Their lower order, effectively choosing to ignore the unpredictable bounce and seam movement of a poor Headingley wicket, took England’s all-seam attack apart, adding 129 at five runs an over in the first session.

Andrew Hall then rubbed in England’s bowling problems with an all-or-nothing, Test-best 99 not out off 87 balls.

The right-hander, who drove and pulled powerfully from the outset, became only the fifth man in Test history to be left stranded one short of a century, as No.11 Dewald Pretorius lost his middle stump to James Kirtley.

The all-rounder, batting at No.9, was robbed of another landmark — South Africa’s fastest Test century, shared by Jonty Rhodes and Shaun Pollock off 95 deliveries.

Hall opted for attack as the best form of defence.