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England left needing 130 to win South Africa series

England left needing 130 to win South Africa series
© Reuters
England will look to chase down a target of 130 to win the decisive Third Test in their series against South Africa, having bowled the Proteas out for 169 at The Oval.

England have been set a target of 130 to win their deciding Third Test against South Africa at The Oval.

Day four of the Test - which was just the second day of play - picked up where the first left off as wickets fell at regular intervals.

England lasted less than three overs at the start of the day as their final three wickets fell in double-quick time, but they were back at the crease by the end of the day courtesy of another destructive bowling display.

South Africa improved on their first-innings total of 118, but not by much as England bowled them all out for 169 in 56.2 overs.

The truncated Test - affected first by adverse weather and then by the death of The Queen - now looks certain to come to a conclusion, with England chasing a modest target at the end of a summer which has seen them successfully hunt down much bigger totals.

Having started the day on 154-7, England immediately found themselves on the back foot as Ollie Robinson's wicket fell with just the second ball of the day.

Indeed, the hosts added only four runs to their overnight total as Jack Leach and Ben Foakes soon followed Robinson back to the pavilion, with England failing to fully punish South Africa's poor first innings as they went in with a 40-run lead.

Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee soon erased that lead with an opening partnership of 58 - the biggest of the match so far - before Ben Stokes made the breakthrough as Erwee was caught by Joe Root for 26.

Elgar was then trapped lbw by Stuart Broad for 36 - although had he reviewed the decision then it would have been overturned - and from there South Africa suffered another collapse, losing seven wickets for 63 runs with Keegan Petersen the only other batsman to make it past 20 runs.

England's bowlers spread the wickets around, with Stokes and Broad both picking up three apiece while Robinson and Jimmy Anderson took two each.

The hosts will now look to quickly set about the run-chase and could aim to wrap up the Test before the end of play on day four.

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Written by
Barney Corkhill

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England's Ollie Robinson celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of South Africa's Wiaan Mulder on September 10, 2022
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