Yoss

Smith out now too, 50/6.

"batting is weak" - really? Smith, Prince, Amla, Kallis, deVilliers, Duminy (with the likes of McKenzie and Rudolph unable to get a game). It's a top six to match anyone's. Or at least I thought so until this afternoon, maybe you were right after all. The bowling lacks the same strength in depth, agreed.

Fucking hell, 44/5. We're going to win it tonight at this rate.

And bloody hell, Broad gets Kallis and deVilliers and SA are 44/4. We're going to win this, and I'm going to be eating humble pie on the team selection.

Cheers.

Meanwhile, England eventually declared on 575/9, lead of 232, and Swann has taken two wickets (Prince and Amla) leaving SA 37/2 at tea. It's looked a flat and easy pitch for the past two days, you've got to think SA shouldn't have much trouble on it, but pressure does funny things.

Aus backed themselves with another earlyish declaration against Pakistan, setting them 452 to win with plenty of time left. Pakistan are 170/3 at stumps on day four and will be dreaming of glory, unlikely though it is. Has anyone ever lost a Test after declaring twice? (I'm not counting the infamous Centurion Test of 2000, when I believe SA's second innings was technically forfeited rather than declared.)

Good day for England that, shame they couldn't have picked up the scoring rate a little but Cook and Collingwood weren't the players to do that. Like btb says, there are players to come who can hopefully do so in the morning. I'd be very happy with another hundred runs. I'd still back the draw but it'll be interesting to at least see this vaunted SA batting line-up have to bat under the pressure of needing to save the game.

SA 343 all out, England 103/1. Shame about that annoying tenth wicket partnership, but we've given ourselves a decent platform. I'll put the curse on by backing us to take a modest but healthy first innings lead from here.

Short final session, as it turned out, but long enough for three wickets; 175/5 when bad light and rain came in. Bit of luck with Smith's run out but we deserved that, Onions especially bowled well this morning, beat Smith's bat several times.

I can see it's a tricky decision. Bell wasn't the only failure, Cook is under pressure and Prior didn't bat like a top six batsman in the first Test either, and shortening the batting line-up will increase the pressure on both. But I think it's got to be done. If there's going to be swing in the air there's a strong argument for bringing in Sidebottom as your fifth bowler, but that'd be a bigger risk than I think they'll be willing to take. I'd play Wright, though it does run the risk of falling between two stools and getting another Gavin Hamilton. Got to bear in mind as well that South Africa's bowling line-up is going to be stronger than last time as well, Steyn will probably return and Kallis will be back to bowling duties. Their difficulty is who to drop to make way for Steyn - by rights it ought to be Ntini, who has looked past his best for a year or so now, and de Wet had a good debut. But that's not an easy decision for them to make either, not least for political reasons.

I don't dislike Bell, and I only don't think he should have been playing in this match because of the balance of the side, not because I dislike him or don't rate him personally. But I'm not sorry he's failed twice here, I'm hoping that will tip the balance of team selection for the next Test.

Draw. Always under control.

Well okay, maybe not that comfortably. We'll still be alright.

They're both pretty unlikely, but I guess the former is the more unlikely since we won't even go for it. We'll bat out the draw pretty comfortably from here.

Hundred partnership between Trott and Pietersen. And, much more importantly, a thirty over partnership, after the early losses of Anderson and Cook. 133/3, almost half way into the day's overs. So far, so not too bad.

"that was a shit of a day, but could be a lot worse... could be rafa benitez!" Graeme Swann on Twitter

Forget about the target, we're jsut playing for a draw now. And if they get a full day's play in tomorrow I can't see us getting it. Not without Monty.

Amla's hundred up, Boucher has fifty, lead is well over 300 now, just a question of whether Smith will take a chance and declare in time to have a bowl tonight. (He probably won't.)

SA are still favourites, and Amla and DeVilliers are starting to build an innings here. Storms forecast though.

Sorry. Swann last man out for 85, all out 356. Bowl well and we can still win this, in spite of everything.

Terrific stuff this, partnership is over 100. Swann has 81, Anderson has 29. (Anderson has faced more balls.)

Swann is rescuing us again.

Apologies for labouring a point here, but we played a bowler short just for this. 59.5 Harris to Bell, OUT, oh my goodness me, that is hideous! Shades of Adam Hollioake in 1997 as Bell shoulders arms to a straight delivery, and has all three stumps demolished! IR Bell b Harris 5