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England 269 & 391-8d,
South Africa 223 & 126-2• Pieter Malan unbeaten on 63 as hosts chase 438The bandwagon for four-day Tests lost a wheel at Newlands. Here the game has already captivated busy stands for four fluctuating days and on the fifth a good number will surely turn up to witness the outcome of an intriguing contest. All four results remain possible. At the close South Africa, who were set 438 to win from 146 overs, a required rate of exactly three runs per over, were 126 for two. The short odds are on an England victory and the draw but the last year in cricket has reminded us that anything is possible.
The pitch, an excellent one for Test cricket, has obstinately declined to deteriorate. In fact batting seems to be getting easier as was demonstrated by Ben Stokes and Dominic Sibley, who registered his maiden Test century in the first part of the day, and the South Africa top order in the evening, among whom was the veteran debutant Pieter Malan, who calmly reached his first half-century at this level.