Late burst from England gives them the edge

Close South Africa 362 and 63 for 5 (McKenzie 9*, Boucher 6*) trail England 445 and 118 by 138 runs
Scorecard

In another captivating day's cricket, in which the balance of power shifted from one side to the other, England emerged with a slight edge in the third npower Test match at Trent Bridge.

On a pitch continuing to favour the bowlers, Shaun Pollock gave South Africa the early initiative with six wickets as England crashed to 118 all out. But England's attack replied with gusto. They picked up five quick wickets in the final session, and by the close Neil McKenzie and Mark Boucher were left fighting South Africa's cause. They need a further 139 runs to win in what will be an intriguing final day's play.

England were staring down the barrel of defeat at tea, but James Kirtley gave them an immediate lift. Opening with Andrew Flintoff, Kirtley was rewarded for his controlled line in the ninth over of the innings with the big wicket of Graeme Smith. He pitched one straight which held its line and hit Smith in front of middle. Daryl Harper gave him out although television replays showed Smith did in fact get a thin edge on the ball (22 for 1). And Kirtley, along with the boisterous crowd, was celebrating even louder in his next over when he trapped Jacques Rudolph absolutely stone dead with a full inswinger (28 for 2).

Herschelle Gibbs, who had earlier hit Flintoff for three fours, then fell for a trap set by Michael Vaughan, with a little help from Nasser Hussain. Vaughan sensed Gibbs was becoming increasingly frustrated and brought in a leg gully, a move which played on Gibbs's mind. Not wanting to be tied down, he skied Steve Harmison with an ugly pull straight to Ashley Giles at mid-on (40 for 3).

Boeta Dippenaar lasted longer than the first innings, but only by six balls. He tamely chipped James Anderson to Ed Smith at short midwicket (41 for 4). Anderson then got the big scalp of Jacques Kallis who tentatively pushed forward to a good-length ball and played on to his leg stump. South Africa were sinking at 50 for 5, but Boucher (7 from 27) and McKenzie (6 from 58) trod water for the final 45 minutes until the umpires came off for bad light with 11 overs to go. Both camps will now feel they can win the game tomorrow, which is still in the balance despite Pollock's morning masterclass which ripped England apart.

Pollock took 6 for 39, his best Test figures against England, who struggled to combat his tight lines, coupled with some lavish seam movement. He set the tone of the innings when he removed Vaughan early on with a peach of an legcutter. He then struck two killer blows by snapping up Hussain and Flintoff soon after the lunch break to set up the enticing run-chase for South Africa.

England's innings never got going. After Pollock dismissed Vaughan, Andrew Hall struck twice in as many balls to put England firmly on the back foot. He ripped one through Mark Butcher's airy defence (39 for 3) with his first ball and trapped Smith lbw with his next (39 for 4). Alec Stewart soon edged a Kallis outswinger to Boucher as the atmosphere became increasingly tense (44 for 5).

Hussain, who had never before passed 20 in the second innings of a Test match after scoring a hundred, grit his teeth and dug in. However, Pollock struck again soon after lunch when he trapped Hussain leg-before high on the front pad (76 for 6). After Flintoff had eased Kallis for a huge six over mid-on he too was undone by that man Pollock again. Flintoff tried to hit him back over his head, but skewed the ball to Gibbs at point (91 for 7). England desperately needed some impetus from somewhere and Giles gave them some with four boundaries in a valuable 21, and who knows, those runs might be the difference between the two teams. It's that close.