South Africa's brilliant paceman Makhaya Ntini collected his second five-wicket haul of the match to give the tourists a richly-deserved victory at Lord's.

Ntini took 10-220 in the match In pictures: Sunday's play Quotes: Vaughan misery

But the fourth day will chiefly be remembered for some brilliant batting from Andrew Flintoff in front of a packed house on a perfect summer's day.

Flintoff twice hooked Ntini for six in his first Test century on home soil and en route to reaching his best score at this level he smashed five sixes and 18 fours in all.

He was the last man out for 142 having faced just 145 deliveries for his runs.

At the start of the day, Nasser Hussain (70) and Mark Butcher (61) looked in good form.

They had added 126 for the third wicket before Andrew Hall, switching to round the wicket, had Butcher chipping an easy catch to square leg.

And moments before lunch, Ntini dismissed Hussain and Alec Stewart in the same over. Stewart, in his final Test innings at HQ, fell for a miserable two-ball duck.

Butcher reached his fifty when he hit his 100th delivery for four off Ntini - a perfect square cut rattling along the turf to the fence.

Flintoff produced some of the cleanest hitting since Botham

Hussain joined him to the landmark not long afterwards, ferociously cutting the ineffective slow bowler Paul Adams for four.

But both men were dismissed soon afterwards and it was particularly soul-destroying when Hussain went.

He became the fifth England batsman to be dismissed mis-hitting a pull off Ntini in this match - the ball ballooned up in the air for Mark Boucher to claim an easy catch.

That was nearly lunch but there was still time for Stewart to be beaten by his first ball, before he edged the next one into the slips where Hall took a fine diving catch.

The third ball after the interval saw Anthony McGrath (13) edging Shaun Pollock to the wicket-keeper.

By then England had collapsed from 186-2 to 208-6. But then came the Flintoff show.

First, he added 89 for the seventh wicket with Ashley Giles before Ntini removed Giles with the second new ball.

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Darren Gough and Steve Harmison both fell soon after tea, but not without spending enough time at the wicket to ensure Flintoff had time to reach three figures.

And he got there with a controlled pull for four off the hard-working Ntini which bisected two fielders in the deep.

It was his 14th four, and by then he had also hit three sixes - the first a lofted straight drive off Adams, before the two hooks in one over off Ntini.

But he was still not done. Hall disappeared for another six before Flintoff left Pollock pondering an over that contained 6, 4, 4, 4, 2 off consecutive balls.

With Flintoff constantly walking out of his crease it was no surprise when he was stumped by Adams shortly after 1700 BST.

The Lancashire batsman had lit up an otherwise miserable day for England, but even his innings failed to dampen the South African celebrations when his bails were finally removed.

England: Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan (captain), Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain, Alec Stewart, Anthony McGrath, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, James Anderson, Steve Harmison.