England go into day five at The Oval needing six more wickets for victory, and to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Proteas will resume their second innings with Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma at the crease. No rain is forecast for day five and so South Africa may need to bat for nearly 100 overs to force a draw.
The chances of the visitors surviving for that length of time are slim. The top order struggled against the England seamers late on day four. Elgar and Bavuma are the last of the specialist batsmen, and the loss of either player in the first session on day five could signal the beginning of the end for the Proteas.
England are favourites to win this match and take a 2-1 lead in the four-game series. South Africa have won the last two Test series in England (2008 and 2012), and have not lost a series in this part of the world since 1998.
England 353 (1st innings) – Ben Stokes 112, Alastair Cook 88, Morné Morkel 3-70, Kagiso Rabada 3-85
SA 175 (1st innings) – Temba Bavuma 52, Kagiso Rabada 30, Toby Roland–Jones 5-57, James Anderson 3-25
England 313-8 declared (2nd innings) – Jonny Bairstow 63, Tom Westley 59, Joe Root 50, Keshav Maharaj 3-50
SA 117-4 (2nd innings) – Dean Elgar 72 not out, Temba Bavuma 16 not out, Ben Stokes 2-29
South Africa need 375 more runs to win
Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
