Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 05 10 06:30 PM
South Africa led by 74 runs with nine second innings wickets in hand at lunch on the third day of the third test against England after dismissing the tourists for 273 earlier on Tuesday.
The hosts had reached 56 for one at the break with captain Graeme Smith 22 not out and Hashim Amla on 14. England had claimed the wicket of Ashwell Prince, who was trapped lbw by off-spinner Graeme Swann for 15.
England, replying to South Africa's first innings total of 291, resumed on 241 for seven on Tuesday morning but Morne Morkel claimed two wickets in the first over -- his fourth and fifth of the innings -- to reduce them to 241 for nine.
Swann gloved a superb lifter angled into the body to first slip to be caught for five, and Jimmy Anderson steered the next delivery to the same place for a duck, Smith taking both catches.
England were still trailing by 50 runs and the situation called for some brave strokeplay, which wicketkeeper Matt Prior provided with a punchy 76 off 118 balls.
He managed to protect last man Graham Onions for nearly half-an-hour as 32 runs were added, leaving just an 18-run first innings gap between the two sides.
Prior's run-spree was eventually stopped six overs into the day when he tried to get a Dale Steyn bouncer away for a single but could only bottom-edge the ball into his stumps. Onions finished on four not out.
Steyn, nowhere near his best in the second test in Durban last week after returning from a hamstring injury, was much-improved in taking four for 74 in 22 overs, but Morkel was even more effective with five for 75 in his 22 overs.
South African openers Prince and Smith had no real alarms against the new ball, but Prince fell to Swann's seventh delivery when he played for more turn and was struck low down on the front pad.
There was no doubt the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps and the left-hander failed to get the decision overturned on review.
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