South Africa vs. England, 4th Test, Day 3: Kagiso Rabada Takes 7 to Help SA

The fourth and final Test is shaping up to be packed with intrigue. At the close of play on Day 3, South Africa were 42-1 in their second innings, with a lead of 175 after dismissing England for 342.

Aside from a few brief moments on Sunday, the rain has mostly stayed away and the forecast seems to suggest it might continue that way for the next two days.

South Africa will have to think very carefully about how many runs they put on the board, though, as they might be a  bowler short.

Kagiso Rabada Bowls Himself into the Ground

Kagiso Rabada became the youngest South African ever to take seven wickets in an innings as he picked up his second five-for in a row at Centurion on Sunday. The young quick burst onto the scene in 2014 when he grabbed six for 25 in the semi-final of the U-19 World Cup and he has gone from strength to strength since then.

Rabada clearly has a bright future ahead of him and he gave it his absolute all at Centurion on Sunday. By the time South Africa had eventually managed to dismiss England, he looked visibly shattered.

With Morne Morkel wayward and Kyle Abbott off the field with an injury, Rabada had to dig deep to crank out 29 overs. The 20-year old will be hoping the batsmen manage to stick around for long enough so that he can recover.

South Africa’s Struggles with Injury Continue

They say when it rains, it pours—and it did pour very briefly at Centurion on Sunday, but it’s South Africa’s struggle with injuries to bowlers that’s making their forecast look pretty grim. With Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander already sidelined, Abbott picked up a hamstring injury on Sunday and had to have the situation assessed.

Moeen Ali Gets Some Runs

Moeen Ali hasn't had the best series. Aside from the seven wickets he took in Durban, he has struggled for both wickets and runs. In Centurion, though, he pounced on a flagging South African attack and added a very handy 61 runs to England's total to help them to a more-than-respectable 342. The confidence boost should do him some good heading into the limited overs series.

The Pitch Is Starting to Break up

"

This Centurion pitch is stress..

— Gilly-boi (@GilmarWalsh23) January 24, 2016"

It’s not a complete minefield out in the middle at Centurion just yet, but this track is known for breaking up towards the latter stages. Ever so often during England’s innings there were signs of variable bounce and Ali was getting quite a bit of turn toward the end of the day.

Batting last on this track is going to be a real struggle, and if South Africa can manage to hold on until tea on day four, we could very well be in for some fun come Tuesday

Cricket and Its Weird Intricacies

When the players meandered for a drinks break just before 6 p.m., a few sections of the press box wondered what was going on. The scorers swiftly informed everyone that play could carry on until 6:18 p.m.

That’s right folks, not until light allows for all overs lost due to the rain to be completed, only 6:18. It’s one of those things which make cricket just a little bit weird and often difficult to explain to those who are new to the game.

All information obtained firsthand.