South Africa are on the brink of winning the 4th Test against England at SuperSport park, Centurion. Set 382 runs to win, England were 52/3 at the end of play on day 4 with Joe Root and James Taylor (both on 19*) at the crease.
Kagiso Rabada continued from where he left off in the first innings, by picking up early two wickets. He got started by dismissing Alex Hales LBW with the help of the surface as the ball kept low on the English opener.
The second wicket to fall was that of English captain Alastair Cook who was caught brilliantly by Morne Morkel on his follow through. The tall fast bowler was quick to stretch his right hand out to grab a uppish straight drive from Cook and ended up taking the catch one-handed.
Rabada then came back into the attack and got Nick Compton caught behind for 6 and England were in the dumps at 18/3. The 20-year-old South African pacer now has 9 wickets to his name in the match after grabbing 7 wickets in England's first essay.
Earlier in the day, half-centuries from former skipper Hashim Amla and Temba Bavuma helped the hosts reach a total of 248/5 before current captain AB de Villiers declared. Amla missed out on scoring two centuries in the match by just 4 runs – he was dismissed for 96 after edging a wide delivery from Stuart Broad.
De Villiers’ run of ducks extended to three as he was struck plumb leg-before-wicket by James Anderson. At 49/3, the Proteas were in a bit of trouble, but Amla, with a useful 29 from JP Duminy and an unbeaten 78 from Bavuma, helped rebuild the innings.
Anderson, whose form and pace has been questioned recently, was the pick of the bowlers for England – ending with figures of 3/47. Broad and Stokes were the other wicket-takers for the Cook-led side.
England have already won the series, but a win for South Africa could be huge as they haven't tasted victory in the format for over a year. While a win for the visitors looks unlikely, Stokes and Jonny Bairstow might have other ideas if they can get their eye in tomorrow.
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