There cannot be a more breathtaking venue than Newlands at Capetown. The silhouette of the moon above the Table Mountain in broad daylight, adding to the allure of the southern cape. South Africa's batting did not initially appear quite as breathtaking as Graeme Smith hoped when he won the toss in the crucial third Test.

Graeme Smith and Jacques Rudolph steadied South Africa's position with an eighty-three run partnership to help restore the early setback when Herschelle Gibbs shouldered arms to Matthew Hoggard yet again, to be bowled out early. Jacques Rudolph scratched around for twenty-nine and typically nicked the ball off Simon Jones just before lunch. Graeme Smith was flawless, etching out seventy-four runs, but fell to Ashley Giles, not making the most of a reprieve by the umpire earlier of the same bowler, just as South Africa went past the 150-mark.

That brought Boeta Dippenaar, who missed the Durban Test due to a knee injury, to the wicket. In a way, his restrained disturbed the momentum South Africa were so desperate to maintain. The sixty-eight run partnership was put to an end at the very end of the day's play when Dippenaar fell for twenty-nine. South Africa, although steady at 247 for four on day one, were far from taking the initiative away from England.

The lessons from the previous day were clearly not imbibed as Abraham de Villiers, after a potent alliance with Kallis, perished in a fashion similar to Dippenaar, succumbing to the negative bowling tactics of Ashley Giles. Bizarre selection meant that Hashim Amla retained his place despite Martin van Jaarsveld's crucial but assertive innings in Durban. Batting overnight on eighty-one, Jacques Kallis was peppered with some cut-throat bouncers by Steve Harmison, but he survived the difficult first half-hour before bringing up his fourth century at Newlands and his nineteenth Test hundred. He is now only two short of Gary Kirsten's all-time record for South Africa.

Andrew Flintoff's late burst almost derailed South Africa before vice-captain Nicky Boje combined with Jacques Kallis in a 104-run partnership that proved decisive and wrested the initiative away from England. Kallis eventually departed one short of 150, and Boje for a well-deserved seventy-five. South Africa were placed comfortably at 441. The session subsequent to the delayed tea interval saw England coast to fifty with little trouble. Until then, that is. Marcus Trescothick was then caught by Herschelle Gibbs at backward point for twenty-eight. Robert Key, who replaced an injured Mark Butcher in the XI, was caught down the leg-side off Shaun Pollock, and Michael Vaughan survived an injury scare after being hit by James Anderson in the nets. Charl Langeveldt, whose long wait on the fringes after his seven-wicket haul for South Africa 'A' against England ended on a happy note with his first Test cap at the expense of Dale Steyn, picked up the prize wicket of Vaughan by bowling one in the corridor of uncertainty and inducing the England captain to nick it. England were in a spot of bother at ninety-four for four at stumps on day two.

A tremendous Test debut - Charl Langeveldt celebrates the dismissal of Graham Thorpe.

If the visitors lost four wickets for forty-three runs on the second evening, they fared no better on the third morning. Neither Flintoff nor Thorpe could stem the rot. The first session belonged entirely to South Africa, who bowled England out for 163, 278 runs in arrears. Ntini and Langeveldt combined in a deadly bowling display that spelt doom for England. The 30 year-old debutant took five wickets on his debut and Ntini chipped in with four. But lady luck had already let down Langeveldt, when he broke a bone in his left hand while evading a bouncer from Andrew Flintoff. The blow means that he will take no further part in the series. His heroics at Capetown though have certainly put South Africa in the driver's seat. The hosts had the option to enforce the follow-on, but chose not to. Kallis, with yet another half-century, and Dippenaar played cautiously, and Smith declared at 222-8, setting England a target of 462. No team has chased so many runs in the history of Test cricket and won. England are up against it.