Photos: Action from The Oval Quotes: Trescothick reflects

Marcus Trescothick hit a patient 64 not out to give England a faint chance of winning the final Test to square the series.

South Africa looked so dominant on 362-4 overnight that the home side may have feared spending another arduous day in the field.

But they rallied to claim five wickets before lunch, and despite a 10th-wicket partnership of 52 between Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini, overall it was England's day.

Pollock's innings of 66 not out, his best against England, preceded his dismissal of Michael Vaughan, his 300th Test wicket.

Vaughan had hit 23 rapid runs before he attempted an injudicious drive which ended up in third slip's lap to leave England 28-1.

Trescothick was then joined by Mark Butcher who rattled the boundary boards in a boisterous start to his innings full of thumping drives and canny deflections.

But, having hit 32 at nigh-on a run a ball, he fell lbw to a fine delivery from Andrew Hall.

It was a weak over from Hall, however, which provided the catalayst for Trescothick to get going as he plundered three fours - a drive and two cuts all reaching the rope - and soon afterwards he reached his half-century.

Kallis was most unfortunate to be run out off a deflected drive

When bad light brought an early end to play, he had put on 87 with Graham Thorpe, who added so much solidity to an England order, lacking after his 13-month absence from the international game.

Some of England's success early in the day owed much to fortune. Kallis was unlucky when Pollock hit a drive off Ashley Giles which the bowler managed to deflect onto the stumps at the non-striker's end.

Kallis had strayed inches out of his crease and, after a referral to the third umpire, he was ajudged run out after a chanceless, authoritative innings of 66.

The day began with Martin Bicknell, in quite possibly his final appearance for England, bowling immaculate outswingers.

He struck in the second over of the morning when Jacques Rudolph was trapped lbw for a duck.

Fortune was on his side, however, when umpire Venkat ruled in his favour following an appeal for caught behind against Mark Boucher.

Replays showed Boucher had hit his pad with the bat and never touched the ball.

The Kallis dismissal gave England just enought time to remove Hall and Paul Adams before lunch, but the stand between Pollock and Ntini was a slightly deflating experience for the home side.

England: M P Vaughan (Capt), M E Trescothick, M A Butcher G P Thorpe, E T Smith, A J Stewart (Wkt), A Flintoff, A F Giles M P Bicknell, J M Anderson, S J Harmison.

South Africa: G C Smith (Capt), H H Gibbs, G Kirsten, J H Kallis N D McKenzie, J A Rudolph, M V Boucher (Wkt), S M Pollock, A J Hall P R Adams, M Ntini.