The Bridge too far for Smith146;s SA

England won a dramatic third Test against South Africa by 70 runs on Monday, taking the last five wickets early on the final day to level th...

England won a dramatic third Test against South Africa by 70 runs on Monday, taking the last five wickets early on the final day to level the series at 1-1.

Debutant fast bowler James Kirtley was England8217;s hero, completing figures of six for 34 on a deteriorating pitch to give Michael Vaughan his first victory as captain in his second match in charge.

nbsp;	SCOREBOARD	nbsp;
England 1st Innings: 445 South Africa 1st Innings: 362 England 2nd Innings: 118 South Africa 2nd Innings: G.Smith lbw Kirtley 5; H.Gibbs c Giles b Harmison 28; J.Rudolph lbw Kirtley 0; J.Kallis b Anderson 13; B.Dippenaar c Smith b Anderson 1; N.McKenzie b Kirtley 11; M.Boucher c Stewart b Kirtley 52; S.Pollock b Flintoff 0; A.Hall c Trescothick b Kirtley 0; P.Adams c 038; b Kirtley 15; M.Ntini not out 3; Extras lb2, nb1: 3; Total: 131 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-28, 3-40, 4-41, 5-50, 6-71, 7-80, 8-81, 9-126 Bowling: Kirtley 16.2-7-34-6, Flintoff 17-4-54-1, Harmison 11-2-24-1, Anderson 12-4-17-2.

Kirtley, named man of the match, sealed the win by having Mark Boucher caught by wicketkeeper Alec Stewart for a defiant 52.

8220;It hasn8217;t really sunk in yet, but I8217;m sure when we get back to the dressing room we8217;ll see how important the win is,8221; said Kirtley.

8220;I had to keep hitting it in the right areas and fortunately the wickets fell.8221;

Vaughan said: 8220;For James to bowl as well as he did on his debut was fantastic. It was a good a toss to win, but we exploited the conditions fantastically.8221;

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England amassed 445 in their first innings before a fine low-order performance allowed South Africa to score 362. England were dismissed for 118 in their second knock, leaving South Africa a target of 202 for victory. South Africa resumed on 63 for five and Boucher and Neil McKenzie survived the first five overs from Andrew Flintoff and Kirtley without undue alarm. Kirtley, named man of the match, struck first in the day8217;s sixth over, bowling McKenzie for 11 with a ball that kept low. Flintoff then bowled Shaun Pollock for a duck, the ball rising no more than a few inches off the Trent Bridge pitch before crashing into the all-rounder8217;s stumps.

Andrew Hall fell first ball when he slashed Kirtley high to Marcus Trescothick, who held a sharp catch to his right to leave South Africa reeling at 81 for eight.