Postpublished at 08:59 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special
"The approach to frustrate wide of off stump to De Villiers is a good one, but Amla is a far more patient player."
Summary
Amla 157*, Du Plessis 51*
Amla dropped on 76 & 120
De Villiers 88 - only wicket to fall in day
SA need 430 to avoid follow-on
England lead 1-0 in four-match series
Postpublished at 08:59 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
SA 155-2 (Amla 69 off 143)published at 49 overs
Ben Stokes might be able to hit a Morne Morkel length ball over long-off for six, but he needs help fixing his wonky sunglasses. Thankfully his mate in the slips, Joe Root, appears to be a dab hand at such tasks.
Perhaps Root's got one of those small screwdrivers you 'win' in a Christmas cracker and generally lose by February.
James Anderson delivers a maiden to Hashim Amla. I've nothing else to add to that.
Not a bad view for a Mondaypublished at 08:55 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Test Match Special
Postpublished at 08:54 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special
Image source, AP"De Villiers is trying to play a pure innings where he only plays a shot at a bad ball. It's because of the confidence of the team and he knows how important his runs are. He bats longer when he plays his natural game, attacking."
SA 155-2 (trail by 474)published at 48 overs
AB de Villiers is giving a few chances in this innings. He tries to cut Steven Finn through point but doesn't take into account the paceman's extra bounce and the ball drops just short of Nick Compton at point. Almost a chance.
Image source, Getty Imagesget involved Get Involvedpublished at 08:51 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
#bbccricket
Rachel T: Keeping an eye on the cricket score while ordering office stationery. Must be careful not to order 258 lever arch files.
Postpublished at 08:51 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special"I'm surprised with the pitch - there is absolutely nothing there and it doesn't look as though it will change a great deal. It generally doesn't matter what the surface is against a team so low on confidence and that's the card England have to play.
"The four seamers is a huge advantage for England and they need to rotate them frequently. They have to deliver the ball full of length at the 'fourth' stump and look for the edge."
SA 155-2 (Amla 69, De Villiers 34)published at 47 overs
A change of ball for England, because the current one has gone out of shape.
It's a curious process. The on-field umpires try and fit the ball in question through a circular contraption which looks like a hybrid of something used to catch criminals (handcuffs) and something to test eyesight.
The ball doesn't fit through it, so the fourth umpire brings out a briefcase with a number of similar balls (ones that are around 45 overs old). The briefcase looks like one you'd see a 1960s KGB agent carrying around in the movies. Like I say, all very odd.
The new ball isn't doing anything different and the match continues on its steady, almost sedate course.
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 08:44 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special"If South Africa can get out of this with a draw it will feel like a win for them and that might be their way of getting back into rhythm."
SA 154-2 (trail by 475)published at 46 overs
Image source, Getty ImagesThe bad news for England is that Hashim Amla looked as impressive as ever yesterday. He begins in a similar vein today, clipping Steven Finn off his pads for four. Let's not sugarcoat this... Finn has bowled some bad deliveries this morning. His radar appears to be about as reliable as Daniel Sturridge's hamstring.
Finn, though, is a world-class performer and is always capable of delivering a wicket-taking ball. England just have to be patient.
Postpublished at 08:39 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special"Anderson is probably thinking 'why on earth did I declare myself fit for this game on this pitch'."
SA 150-2 (Anderson 10-2-25-0)published at 45 overs
England have positioned a fielder right next to the non-striker to try and unsettle AB de Villiers. The fielder, James Taylor, fixes his gaze at the batsman and crouches with his hands on his knees. That's got to be, as the youngsters say, 'awks' for the batsman. One from the over.
Postpublished at 08:36 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special"You don't keep world-class performers down for long, particularly on a surface like this. England just have to try and create that opportunity early on and if a few runs come from run I don't mind that."
It came naturally to Ben, says dadpublished at 08:35
More from the BBC Radio 5 live interview with Ged Stokes, father of the England talisman. "It is something that always came naturally to him," dad reveals.
"We had a plastic cricket bat around the house, and I remember him, as a baby, picking that up as soon as he had started to walk.
"It was just a natural thing for him to do, to hit the ball. As a kid growing up, he would practise cricket out in the back yard or at the cricket club.
"When we moved to England, the first thing he looked for was the local cricket club.
"It was around three minutes’ walk around the corner, and he spent a vast amount of his time down there just playing cricket."
SA 149-2 (trail by 480)published at 44 overs
Image source, Getty ImagesEvery run which AB de Villiers scores is a dagger to the heart of Joe Root, who spilled the Proteas superstar at second slip yesterday. The young Yorkie fails to get to another edge this morning too as Steven Finn squares up AB but the ball drops short and runs for four. When the ball is pitched up, De Villiers drives four back past the bowler. England are in a battle.
Postpublished at 08:30
Okey dokey... the players are out in the middle beneath a sun-drenched Cape Town sky. Let's play.
Stokes family revel in successpublished at 08:29
It was party time at the Stokes household yesterday, with Ben's dad Ged revealing the family were round to watch that momentous 258.
"We had 10 or 11 of Ben’s family around, and it turned into compelling viewing," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"It wasn’t a surprise he got some runs - his form was pretty good, as he got a good few runs in the warm-up matches as well.
"What was a surprise is the amount of runs and the way he got them. It was just fantastic."
Postpublished at 08:27 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Simon Hughes
BBC Test Match Special"If you break the partnership between De Villiers and Amla, there's not an awful lot of resistance in the South African batting.
"The cracks on this pitch will widen. They're very solid at the moment but on the fourth and fifth day there will be a little bit of uneven bounce, so as a bowler you need to persevere."
From the England dressing roompublished at 08:26 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Postpublished at 08:25 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2016
Simon Hughes
BBC Test Match Special"I was having a chat with Stuart Broad this morning and there is this glum feeling if you're a bowler looking at this pitch.
"The ball isn't going to move off the pitch, it isn't going to swing and it isn't going to reverse swing because the outfield is very lush. It's a hard day from a bowler's point of view and you've got to be optimistic, keep trying and try different things."