England take control of Test after SA collapse

Lauren Filer troubled South Africa with the short ball and finished with 2-53

South Africa v England, one-off Test (day two of four)

England 395-9 dec & 31-1 (14 overs): Knight 19; Hlubi 1-1

South Africa 281 (88.4 overs): Wolvaardt 65; Bell 4-49

England lead by 145 runs

Scorecard

England took control of the one-off Test against South Africa as the hosts lost their last seven first-innings wickets for 44 runs in a dramatic evening session.

The Proteas' top order battled to reach 237-3 in Bloemfontein, before a delay for lightning after tea coincided with a change of course in the game.

England's seamers pounced with the new ball under darkening skies to dismiss South Africa for 281 and take a 114-run lead.

That advantage was extended to 145 as Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight steered England to 31-1 at the close, after first-innings centurion Maia Bouchier fell for a duck.

South Africa earlier appeared on course to reach parity through Marizanne Kapp, who made a fluent 57 before she was bowled by debutant Ryana MacDonald-Gay which sparked the collapse as the delay came just five balls later.

MacDonald-Gay struck again shortly after the resumption with Nadine de Klerk caught behind for a duck, Lauren Filer ended Sune Luus' resistance for a gritty 56 and Chloe Tryon tamely chipped Lauren Bell to mid-on for 20.

Bell finished with 4-49 after mopping up the tail, with the collapse distracting from the disciplined efforts of South Africa's top order throughout the morning and afternoon sessions.

Opener Anneke Bosch fell in the second over of the day, but a stand of 92 between Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen helped the hosts rebuild until the latter was caught at slip off Filer from the final ball before lunch.

The omission of the decision review system (DRS) for the match had a huge impact on the home side as captain Wolvaardt was visibly frustrated to be given out lbw to Sophie Ecclestone for 65, suggesting she had hit the ball.

A chanceless partnership of 99 between Kapp and Luus followed but, once broken, a fragile middle to lower order was exposed and gave England hope of a first Test win since 2014.

Proteas blown away by Bell & Filer

There was some concern that Kate Cross' omission from England's XI because of a back spasm could leave the seam attack short of control, but Bell and Filer stepped up with impressive maturity despite South Africa's gutsy partnerships for the second and fourth wickets.

At times, Filer sacrificed accuracy as a result of her raw pace, but that point of difference proved invaluable on a docile pitch.

The impressive Dercksen withstood the pressure after England's early breakthrough and dug in alongside her captain, and though both batters were tested by Filer's short ball in her fiery opening spell, they were mostly untroubled.

But Knight threw Filer the ball for a short burst before lunch and it produced the desired result, with Dercksen fending off a short ball to slip where Ecclestone took a cracking one-handed rebound catch.

While Luus and Kapp's partnership after lunch was solid, South Africa are not blessed with the same batting depth as England and it always felt as if one wicket would change the direction of the Test.

MacDonald-Gay took out Kapp's off stump with a beauty as reward for her disciplined spell and then the lower order was blown away by Bell, with the tail backing away as England moved into the ascendancy.

Jones & Ecclestone's understated excellence

Sophie Ecclestone bowled nine maidens in her 25-over spell

While the seamers played starring roles, wicketkeeper Amy Jones and left-arm spinner Ecclestone also proved crucial. They ensured that South Africa's top order, despite batting well, were unable to be ruthless in the manner of Bouchier and Nat Sciver-Brunt for England on day one.

Ecclestone may have got a touch fortunate with the wicket of Wolvaardt if she did get an edge, but that moment followed a spell of remarkable consistency that gave the batter so few options to score and put the pressure back on.

Wolvaardt seemed happy to defend Ecclestone and score from the other end, but she could only defy the spinner's greatness for so long, getting stuck on the crease by one defensive prod too many.

The result was a furious Wolvaardt thumping her helmet with her bat as she marched off in disbelief, and while that was Ecclestone's only scalp, she twirled away for 25 overs and conceded just 40, which allowed captain Knight to rotate her seamers regularly and ensure they were all well rested between spells.

Meanwhile, Jones' ability to stand up to the medium-pacers set up the prized wicket of Kapp, who also found herself stuck in the crease and unable to manipulate the ball as effectively as she had against Bell and Filer.

Kapp became frustrated and lost her off stump, while De Klerk also fell victim to the same trap as she got an edge through to Jones for a sharp catch.

Luus had previously dropped anchor as Kapp was more aggressive, but following the wickets she looked uncertain about whether to continue with the approach or try to increase her strike rate when batting with the tail, eventually falling to the new ball by edging Filer behind after a 148-ball stay.

The pitch is showing signs of deteriorating and Beaumont and Knight had to negotiate some uneven bounce at the end of the day.

England's healthy lead puts them in a commanding position, though a forecast for wet weather on day four could force them to move the game along at a quicker rate.