South Africa vs. England, 4th Test, Day 4: Rabada Gives Proteas the Edge

The fourth and final Test of the series between hosts South Africa and England is delicately poised to produce a cracker of a final day.

England are currently 52 for three, still needing 330 for victory. For South Africa, the equation is far simpler: Exploit the variable bounce of the pitch and pick up seven wickets.

The forecast for the final day looks good, and there is only a slight risk of a thunderstorm interrupting play. Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel were impressive, and with the pitch starting to break up, Dane Piedt could also come into play.

It will be nothing more than a consolation win for South Africa, but it will go a long way in restoring their confidence after a nightmare few months.

Here are some of the key points from Day 4.

South Africa Leave the Declaration Late

Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

In Sunday’s press conference, Moeen Ali said that 300 would be the maximum total England would consider chasing. South Africa batted until their lead was 381, with the declaration coming when a rain break disrupted play following tea.

Part of the reason for that is, probably, concern over the workload of their young bowlers, especially young Rabada. With Kyle Abbott still struggling with a tight hamstring, some experts, like Cricket Country's Amit Banerjee, believe Rabada is being overworked. Perhaps South Africa just wanted to make sure they give their bowlers plenty of time to recharge.

Temba Bavuma Shines Again

Temba Bavuma has proved his critics wrong, and he is now South Africa’s fourth-highest run-scorer in Tests since January 2015.

Some were concerned about Bavuma’s height, but it has actually proved to be to his advantage. Bowlers, especially lanky ones, can’t adjust their length to him, and more often than not, he can simply stand still as attempted bouncers sail over his head.

Hashim Amla's Love Affair With Centurion

After scoring 109 in the first innings, Hashim Amla added 96 more in the second, and those who believed he was burdened by the captaincy will be smiling.  

Amla seems to love Centurion—he's scored 1143 runs here at an average of 87.92, with five half-centuries and five hundreds in 14 innings.

The only ground in South Africa where he has a higher average is at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, but he's played just one Test there and batted in just one innings, scoring 112, so it doesn't really count.

There’s No Stopping Kagiso Rabada

Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

Rabada just can't do any wrong at the moment. With Abbott struggling with a niggle, the youngster opened the bowling alongside Morkel, bowling with pace and accuracy and getting two wickets in the process.

A lot of hard work lies ahead tomorrow, and he will need the support of both Morkel and Piedt to keep up his pace, but he's a workhorse who never says no when his captain asks him to run at full steam.

Morne Morkel Takes a Stunner

"

Another angle of Cook's dismissal. https://t.co/ckhcJ3vPYs #SAvENG #cricingif pic.twitter.com/UIgt3TKm5m

— Cricingif (@cricingif) January 25, 2016"

It was quite possibly one of the best catches you will ever see. With Alastair Cook playing back to the bowler, Morkel got down low and quickly to take a superb, one-handed catch. His reaction-time was sublime, and while he made it look easy, hanging on to one of those doesn’t happen every day.

Alex Hales’ Career as Opener is Surely Over

Alex Hales has averaged just 17.00 on this tour and managed to cobble together just 136 runs in the four Tests he played. He did manage one half-century, but the way in which he has been getting himself out has been agonising to watch.

Like South Africa, England are on a merry-go-round of openers at the moment, and Hales will just be more collateral in their quest of finding a Test opener.

All information obtained firsthand, unless otherwise stated.