Morne Morkel took the last two wickets to finish with figures of 4-41, as England were bowled out for 243.
Considering that the highest successful chase in Manchester is England’s 294-4 against New Zealand back in 2008, on top of the fact that the 380 South Africa need to win will be the eighth highest successful run-chase of all time, this is going to be a near-impossible task for the visitors.
What the Proteas did do however, was ensure that Moeen Ali’s final-session blitz on day three didn’t extend too far on day four, as he added eight runs to his overnight total to finish unbeaten on 75 from 66 balls.
Morkel has been in sublime form throughout the series and he would be the man to deal with England’s tail. Stuart Broad flashed one to Theunis de Bruyn at point to depart for five, and two overs later Morkel had his fourth as Anderson popped one up to De Bruyn once more, this time at short-leg. Only 19 runs were added to the overnight total for England to be bowled out for 243.
Heavy rain followed South African openers Heino Kuhn and Dean Elgar as they walked out, but time will tell if it passes quickly or not, with the heavy covers on.
