Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla batted throughout the afternoon session in an unbroken second-wicket stand of 134, as South Africa extended their lead to an imposing 183 with one session remaining of the third day at Newlands. By tea, both men had reached their half-centuries and were looking good for several more, against a frustrated England attack that was beginning to toil on the hottest day of the series so far.
One man who was getting particularly hot under the collar was Stuart Broad, who was less than amused when Smith edged him over the slips in his penultimate over before tea. He also attracted the scrutiny of the umpires when he was seen in one incident to tread on the ball with his spikes as it rolled back along the pitch towards him. If it was an attempt to scuff up one side of the ball, it was largely unsuccessful. Though England did locate some reverse swing as the afternoon wore on, they were unable to utilise it to their advantage.
South Africa started their second innings with a slender lead of 18, thanks to Morne Morkel's stand-out figures of 5 for 75, but England were given their now-habitual early breakthrough when the struggling Ashwell Prince was extracted in Graeme Swann's second over for 15, to bring to an end an opening stand of 31 that was South Africa's biggest of the series to date.
But Amla launched his innings in a positive vein, clipping Broad for four through fine leg, as England's seamers failed to find the same patience and penetration that had marked their first-day performance in overcast conditions. Amla in particular took full toll of their unsettled line of attack, cutting and clipping 12 boundaries in total, most of them through the arc of point and third man, as he was offered too much width.
Smith, meanwhile, saved his most aggressive tendencies for Swann, whom he looked to work against the spin and through midwicket at every opportunity. He did, however, have one massive let-off on 51, when Swann straightened a delivery on middle stump that was initially adjudged lbw, but Smith rightly suspected that the ball was bouncing too much. Sure enough, the replays showed it would have skimmed over the top of off stump, and so his vigil went on.
It was the second reprieve that South Africa enjoyed via UDRS, although the first - in the third over of the day - was extraordinary. James Anderson appealed speculatively for caught-behind as Prince waved his bat at a leg-side delivery, and after a lengthy delay, umpire Harper raised his finger. The reviewed decision showed that his bat had been at least six inches from making contact, and Prince, on 5 at the time, had a let-off.
He could not, however, make it count. On 7, he inside-edged Graham Onions millimetres past his leg stump, but on 15, his luck finally ran out. Swann was brought into the attack in the 10th over and caused instant palpitations as Smith survived an lbw shout, a low edge towards slip and a top-edged sweep in the space of five balls.
Prince negotiated the final ball of his first over, but that was as far as he could go. Swann's very next delivery trapped him plumb in front of middle, and despite the optimistic use of a review, there was no reprieve. Astonishingly, it was only the fifth delivery that Prince had faced from Swann all series, and he had been dismissed by three of them. Little wonder he left the field shaking his head.
Earlier, Matt Prior had carried the attack back to South Africa after Morkel had claimed back-to-back breakthroughs in his first over of the day, as England added 32 runs to their overnight 241 for 7 to finish their first innings on 273.
Prior, who resumed on his overnight 52, was powerless to react at first as Morkel ripped through England's lower-order, dismissing Swann without addition to his overnight 5 courtesy of a fourth-ball lifter that took the glove and flew to Smith at first slip, before Anderson was handed the second duck of his Test career as Smith again claimed a regulation edge.
England's No. 11, Onions, survived the hat-trick ball, but at 241 for 9, England's deficit was still a sizeable 50 runs. Prior took it upon himself to whittle the lead away, taking on Morkel with a swished edge over the slips for four, before advancing down the wicket twice in his next over, to drive and clip a brace of very welcome boundaries.
Onions, who was limited to a handful of deliveries each over, joined the fun when he slashed outside off at Morkel and edged through Smith's fingertips for four, but it was Prior who eventually fell for 76, as he attempted to work Dale Steyn for a single to keep the strike, but under-edged onto his stumps.
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