Graham Thorpe described his 16th Test ton as one of his best after England finished day four of the second Test against South Africa with all the aces.
Thorpe's 118 not out led the visitors to 570-7 declared after they had lost three wickets for 21, setting South Africa a Durban-record 378 to win.
"It is probably one of the best hundreds I've played.
"I pulled it out from somewhere as I haven't been hitting the ball too well lately," Thorpe admitted.
"I had to dig pretty deep. It was a situation where the middle-order had to function and fortunately it did.
"I went out there and dug as deep as I possibly could and that's all you can do."
 |  We've given ourselves a chance, but it's not over yet |
Thorpe shared in stands of 114 with Andrew Flintoff (60) and 132 with Geraint Jones (73).
The left-hander had scored just 39 runs in three previous innings this series, and he admitted he was hungry for runs.
"Trying to be philosophical and trying to relax is one thing, but I walked out and said a little prayer to God," he said.
"Something turned around for me and I don't know where it came from. I had a few throwdowns this morning which didn't do much help.
"I have been trying to relax. Hopefully it has come round for me and I'm delighted.
"It was good for Freddie and Jones to get some runs. We put our hands up today."
South Africa fell to 21-1 at the close of play, and Thorpe believes England are well-placed to end the year with a ninth consecutive Test win.
"South Africa are going to have to bat very well to win the game or save the game.
"We've given ourselves a chance, but it's not over yet. We are going to have to bowl very well.
"We have really dug deep on this tour and have probably been a bit undercooked at certain times.
"We've had to work really hard and the spirit in the team has really helped."
MMIX
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