Rain and bad light came to Englands aid and allowed them to escape this Headingley test with a draw.
After winning the toss, England skipper Nasser Hussain elected to field, hoping to exploit a wet pitch. His plan appeared to be working as South Africa slumped to 103-4. Hansie Cronje and Brian McMillan then added a superb 260 for the 5th wicket as the pitch dried out and batting became easier. Both men made hundreds and South Africa eventually declared on 473-8. Darren Gough was the pick of the bowlers, with a superb performance, taking 5 for 93.
England started brilliantly on a now flat pitch and openers Atherton and Stewart put on 153 for the 1st wicket. Stewart eventually fell for 62, while Atherton went on to make a very good 134. The rest of Englands batting lineup did not fare so well as they lost 9 wickets for 71 runs, collapsing to 275 all out. Brett Schultz and Alan Donald took 3 wickets apiece as Englands last 6 wickets fell for 23.
South Africa had a huge lead and added 175 more as Wessels made 74 and Cronje finished unbeaten on 73, taking his tally to 203 for the match. The Springboks declared once again, setting England an unlikely target of 374 to win in about 3 and a half sessions.
England were 27-0 at the close of day 4 and had reached 131-2 when play resumed at 4pm on day 5, following several interruptions for rain. The game seemed to be heading for a boring draw when South Africas bowlers began to find swing and seam movement and England collapsed once again. They lost 6 wickets for 89 and were suddenly 8 down with an hour still to play.
The cricket gods seemed to be on Englands side however and the light was offered to England just as Devon Malcolm came to the crease. The teams went off and despite South Africas best efforts, they were unable to get back out to play. The match ended in a draw and England will count their blessings, as their frail batting almost cost them the game.
Hansie Cronje won man of the match for his batting and captaincy and South Africa now head to Cape Town for their final game, where they take on the Rest of the World. England travel to Brisbane to play Australia.
England 1990s: MA Atherton; AJ Stewart; N Hussain [c]; RA Smith; GP Thorpe; RC Russell [w]; DG Cork; D Gough; AR Caddick; DE Malcolm; PCR Tufnell
South Africa 1990s: KC Wessels; AC Hudson; G Kirsten; WJ Cronje [c]; JN Rhodes; BM McMillan; DJ Richardson [w]; SM Pollock; PS de Villiers; AA Donald; BN Schultz
South Africa 1990s 1st Innings 473-8 (141 Ov)
BM McMillan 142, WJ Cronje 130, SM Pollock 63*, D Gough 5-93, AR Caddick 2-114
England 1990s 1st Innings 275-10 (93 Ov)
MA Atherton 134, AJ Stewart 62, BN Schultz 3-36, AA Donald 3-71, PS de Villiers 2-57
South Africa 1990s 2nd Innings 175-3 (46 Ov)
KC Wessels 74, WJ Cronje 73*, D Gough 3-63
England 1990s 2nd Innings 220-8 (75 Ov)
AJ Stewart 78, RA Smith 51, N Hussain 41, PS de Villiers 4-52, AA Donald 3-56
Match Drawn
Man of the Match: WJ Cronje
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