ENG VS RSA - 3rd Test, South Africa tour of England, 2022

England will be touring Pakistan for seven T20Is, following which 'Bazball' will face a stern test in the three-match Test series. South Africa will also be travelling to the subcontinent to lock horns against India in the shorter formats before the T20 World Cup. Plenty of cricketing action coming up and on that note, it's time to bring the curtains down on the English summer. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. For now, it's goodbye from Abhinand Raghavendran and Pradeep Krishnamurthy. Cheers!

Three 3-days Tests, three results, it has been a victorious summer for Ben Stokes and co. and they have ended on a winning note. Unlike the series against New Zealand and the one-off Test against India, it wasn't the 'Bazball' approach that won them this series. On spicy wickets and up against two world-class pace attacks, the batters from both sides struggled, and it was England's better depth in the middle-order that eventually made the difference. Anderson and Broad showed the value of experience while Ollie Robinson made a fine return to Test cricket. Stokes's captaincy was aggressive and he battled injury to lead from the front, both with bat and ball. So did South Africa's four-prong pace attack led by Kagiso Rabada. Anrich Nortje steamed in at pace and Marco Jansen used his height to great effect. But it was South Africa's batting which let them down at Old Trafford and Kennington Oval, with scores of 151, 179, 118 and 169 eventually leading to their downfall and this is Elgar's first series loss as Test captain. A bit more than 8 days of top-class cricket and England end their profitable home summer with a 2-1 series win.

Ben Stokes | England captain and England's Player of the Series: It's been a great series for us as a team. We've had no real individual standout performance. Different people have put their hands up. Toss is something you love to win, you still have to execute. When it comes to Test cricket, it's who execute their plans better. When you've got bowlers like Jimmy, Broady and Robinson, you try to manage them. It's about understanding when I have to bring the best out of the them. They have been outstanding. For me, it's about clarity. There's a reason why we've been able to go out there and perform. With this game being shortened, our main aim was to get a result. We'll always play the way that's going to entertain the people. It's very important to give guys time to perform. Pope showed us what he's capable of doing. Credit to Lees and Zak. Opening is very tough in England. Don't underestimate the way they set the tone. They (Anderson and Broad) are phenomenal. To have two of the great seam bowlers, I feel very blessed. They keep turning up day in and day out, they keep believing. A lot of young cricketers will look up to them. Joe's got to take a lot of credit for captaining the side for six years and buy in something totally different. We've started off the summer with six wins in seven matches. Different challenge in Pakistan, spin will play a big role, we'll go in with the same positive mindset.

Dean Elgar | South Africa captain: It hasn't been great for me here at the Oval in the internationals. We had a good first innings at Lords with the bat. First innings runs is so big here in the UK, we failed in that department. You need runs on the board. Tough decision for us to make (following Rassie's injury), didn't work this game. Lot of experience for the guys. Lot of learning for those players. A lot of credit to our bowlers who ran in and gave their best. The wicket's going to do something. The grind's going to be hard work. Day three was tough. I am an advocate when it comes to Test cricket. Hopefully the calendar can ease up and we can get a few more fixtures. I think they (England) played amazing Test cricket, not out of the ordinary. England did everything they had to do to win the series.

Kagiso Rabada | South Africa's Player of the Series: It seemed like every game was decided from the toss. We won the toss at Lords and things went our way. We are a relatively young side, a lot of learnings to take from this series. I injured myself in second T20, I wasn't sure if I could make it to the first Test. The medical staff were outstanding. It's exciting to see the talent in the fast bowling department. There's a lot of talent in the squad. It's about stringing together and playing as a team. You can never take the game for granted, you need to work hard. It's about finding a way to get the job done.

Ollie Robinson | Player of the Match: It's been an enjoyable comeback. Great to be with the lads again. I don't feel like a finished article, I'll keep pushing hard. The environment is a great place to thrive, enjoyable environment, we are having a great time. With Stokes, you get complete honesty. It was a helpful surface. Tall bowlers tend to do well here at the Oval.

Test Player of the Season -> Jonny Bairstow

Broad, from round the wicket, hit the South African skipper's pad three times in four deliveries. The 36-year-old speedster appealed on all three occasions and eventually umpire Nitin Menon's dreaded finger was raised. Elgar walked off without even pondering about a review and that was a mistake as ball-tracking showed it to be missing leg. That started a slide and SA ended up losing their last nine wickets for 86 runs with all the four England pacers being amongst the wickets. Chasing 130, both the England openers got reprieves but that didn't stop them from batting aggressively. Zak Crawley registered his first fifty of the season off just 36 deliveries. England would have wrapped up the match in two days in front of a packed crowd at the Oval. Bad light forced stumps on day four with England needing just 33 runs. Lees fell to Rabada but England took less than half an hour on the final day to cap off the proceedings. Crawley remained unbeaten and hit the winning runs. This knock will do him a world of good. Stick around for the presentations...

11:26 Local Time, 10:26 GMT, 15:56 IST: Day one - washed out due to rain. Day two - suspended following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Only three days were available for the series-decider. However, just like the first two Tests, that was more than enough. Inserted to bat, South Africa lost six wickets in less than 70 minutes before getting bundled out cheaply for 118. The conditions were conducive to seam bowlers and Robinson, with his impeccable lines and lengths, scalped a fifer. In reply, England were in the driver's seat at 84/2 and the Pope-Root duo was looking in good touch. But England's urgency coupled with SA pacers' disciplined bowling saw the hosts getting bowled out for 158, thereby giving the visitors a sniff. South Africa, in their second dig, wiped off the deficit without losing a wicket and the game was nicely poised with perhaps Elgar's men being the happier side. But, but, then came the pivotal moment of the Test ... and ... the series in the post-lunch session on day four.

Marco Jansen to Crawley, FOUR, width served on this back of a length ball, Crawley stands tall on the back foot and punches it firmly through the covers. England win by 9 wickets and retain the Basil D'Oliveira Trophy!

Marco Jansen to Crawley, no run, back of a length with extra bounce but the line is down leg, past Crawley's glance

Marco Jansen to Ollie Pope, 1 run, short delivery, leg-lined, Pope pivots across and pulls along the ground to long leg

Ollie Pope is fine to resume

Marco Jansen to Ollie Pope, no ball, Pope goes for the reverse-sweep against a length ball. Premeditated and the ball deflects onto his helmet off his wrists. Captain Stokes sees the funny side of it as the physio is out for a mandatory concussion test...

Rabada to Crawley, no run, skiddy short of a length ball wide of off and Crawley shoulders arms

Rabada to Crawley, no ball, FOUR, fuller and wider, allows the batsman to free his arms and Crawley plays a fierce square-drive. Speeds away to the fence

Rabada to Crawley, no run, stays back and plays with soft hands to tap this short of length ball to backward point

Rabada to Crawley, no run, full and angled in around off, blocked stoutly off the front foot

Rabada to Ollie Pope, 3 runs, short ball, leg-lined, pulled backward of square on the on-side. Rickelton sprints to his left from fine leg and makes a diving stop. Saves a run for his team

Rabada to Crawley, 1 run, in-angler, wristily bunted to mid-on's right