England won by 177 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Moeen Ali
Batter
Bowler
That's the series done and dusted, hope you've enjoyed our coverage. This is Sagar Chawla signing off on behalf of Krishna and Akshay Maanay. So long!
Showers of champagne as Joe Root holds the trophy aloft. Moeen Ali, who must have sneaked off to stay dry, is sought back by the England team before they pose as Champions. The future looks bright under the new captain, who has such resources at his disposal that it must be the source of envy for many other teams, as Faf repeatedly pointed out during his interview. South Africa are still a proud team who will look to put this defeat behind them quickly and start afresh, probably under a new coach? We'll see.
Root: Really pleased with the way this series has gone. The way our guys have responded to pressure has been great stuff. We knew we had a lot of runs. That partnership between Faf and Amla did build some pressure. But the way we responded again epitomizes this whole series. They're fabulous (Anderson and Broad). They've done that for a number of years now and are still going strong. Throughout we've had to come over different challenges. We've been brilliant in these last two games. Have got a lot of hard work to do in the future, but yeah, great series. It's important to look at the conditions. When you have match-winners like we have with both bat and ball, it's a great luxury to have. Very proud moment (winning at home against South Africa in nearly 20 years). It's been a fantastic team performance. That's what it takes to win a series like this.
Time for the winners' medallions now.
Faf: Just want to congratulate Joe and the England team, the well deserved winners of the series. Consistently they were the better team. It's been a tough time for us here. We came here for the ODIs before the CT, almost seeing it as the opportunity to play them as warm up games, didn't go to plan. Had a disappointing CT, and then tried to turn it around in the Test series. But England were coming up with answers all the time. The quality of the English bowling attack was superb this series and they were relentless. As a batting unit, we never felt like we could get on top of them. We didn't do ourselves any justice with the bat. We dropped a few opportunities in the field. When you're playing against quality teams, those half-chances matter. They've got so much balance in their side with those all-rounders, it becomes a challenge against their attack. The real threat they have as a team is they always have one guy who can blow the match away. That's the most frustrating thing for us this series, Vernon will be the most important bowler here. So to have had him for so little in the series is frustrating. We don't have the quality of balance that England have. They're very, very fortunate with the all-rounders. It's a great place to tour. We love coming here. The last team which was here had a great series and became No. 1 in the world. We couldn't match England in consistency.
The South African players line up for their medallions
Ali: The crowd helps a lot especially when things are tough. It's been a fantastic series. They played very well, they're two world class players (Faf and Amla). It was about being patient as a team. We knew one wicket would be crucial. It was a great pitch to bowl, especially today I felt it was nice if we just land it in the good area and put some revs. I didn't really back my defence too much last evening so I just went out there and played a few shots. The No. 8 position offers the license. It's a good spot to bat sometimes. It's been good, it has definitely taken the pressure off me (the tag of the 'second spinner'). I've done a lot of work with Saqi.
Moeen Ali is England's Man of the Series.
Morkel: Definitely going to enjoy this tonight. It was hard work. Personally, you set yourself some goals for the year. This was one of them to come out here and do well. The important thing is to keep asking questions, you can't control other things. Pleasing thing was that I've committed to bowl a fuller length, and I got that right. Especially over here, it's crucial. As soon as the ball goes softer, it's important to hit the fuller length consistently. So I've been working hard on that. Alastair's record speaks for itself, so yeah I enjoy bowling to left-handers. I've got two brothers back home and have bowled a lot to them in the backyard.
South Africa's Man of the Series is Morne Morkel.
We will have two Man of the Series, one for each team, as is the custom in England.
Moeen Ali is Man of the Match
Speaking solely about the Test matches, England have just been too strong. Barring a collective failure with the bat at Trent Bridge, they've been at South Africa all the time. Of course, there are still questions about a couple of young batsmen, but the way their clutch players have risen to the fore has made for dominating displays. You can say the bowling has been pretty much neck and neck, even though Broad and Anderson showed yet again of how dangerous they are as a combo in these conditions. South Africa were unlucky with injuries. Losing Vernon Philander was huge, as he's the biggest weapon any team could have when the ball is nipping around. But there's been no denying the batting frailties. We have the presentations coming up shortly..
A marathon English summer, not a very memorable one, for South Africa comes to an end. They came here before the Champions Trophy, lost the ODI series, underperformed in the global event, lost the T20I series, and have now been outplayed for the most part in the Tests.
The match was probably decided in the first innings, with England gaining a booming advantage through a 136-run lead. It wasn't a bad toss to lose for South Africa in chilly morning conditions where the ball jagged around, but they would have been left disappointed at conceding 362. That disappointment turned into frustration as their batsmen failed to deliver in probably the best batting conditions all series on day two. From there, it was about playing catch up, and admittedly, their bowlers were doing a pretty good job of it before Moeen Ali turbo-charged the hosts out of sight. He then came back with the ball to demolish a fledgling partnership between du Plessis and Amla and bowled England to a massive win with a five-for.
17:36 Local Time, 16:36 GMT, 22:06 IST: Moeen Ali picks out a stump as a souvenir. He deserves a lot more. What a series he's had! Most likely recipient of the Man of the Series for England if I were to put my money. So England seal the series 3-1, the first time they've beaten South Africa at home in nearly two decades.
Moeen Ali to Olivier, out Caught by Stokes!! Moeen Ali seals his five-for to wrap up the win for England. Flighted outside off, going on with the arm, and takes the edge to slip. It's all over at Old Trafford. Olivier c Stokes b Moeen Ali 0(1)
Moeen Ali to Olivier, THATS OUT!! Caught!!
Duanne Olivier, right handed bat, comes to the crease
Moeen Ali to Morne Morkel, out Caught by Root!! Taken at mid-off. Morkel couldn't get the elevation he wanted and picks Root first ball. Tried to get under the tossed up delivery and lift it for a boundary. Couldn't do so and South Africa are nine down. Morne Morkel c Root b Moeen Ali 0(1)