England closed day one of the final Test at The Oval on 49-1 after dismissing South Africa for 194.

Andrew Strauss (six) was England's only casualty after a great day in the field on Kevin Pietersen's first day as Test captain in south London.

The returning Steve Harmison took two wickets in successive balls while James Anderson passed 100 Test wickets in snaring 3-42.

Monty Panesar picked up 2-4 in an impressive performance by England.

By Mark Mitchener

606: DEBATE Discuss the day's play on 606

CLOSE OF PLAY

1845: Right then, England may have lost the series but they showed a bit of fight about them today - can the batsmen press on tomorrow? We'll be back to guide you through the day - the debate will continue on 606 (and look out for Jonathan Agnew's verdict coming up shortly on the TMS Blog), but I'll see you back here tomorrow morning. Thanks again for your e-mails and texts, sorry if we didn't have room for yours.
Join the debate on 606

1833 - Eng 49-1 (17 overs)
This will be the last over of the day - bowled by Nel/Gunther. After a single from Bell, he goes around the wicket to Cook. For the last two balls, Smith brings in McKenzie at a very, very silly point position - he's so close in, an offside wide would hit him on the bottom. But that's no bother for Cook, who finishes the day on 20 not out (Bell has 22) as umpire Steve Davis closes proceesings by removing the bails. Captain Pietersen leads the applause from the balcony.

"The MM who comments in square parentheses [ ] is not Morne Morkel I suppose?"
Balu - sitting in Singapore and "watching" the match through text commentary instead of sleeping - in the TMS inbox
[No - neither is it Metal Mickey - MM]

1829 - Eng 48-1 (16 overs)
Ntini continues for his eighth over, Cook works a comfortable two off his legs. TMS duo Phil Tufnell and CMJ chuckle over an e-mail from Richard Milne proposing a new drama series called "The Pitch Inspectors", by the makers of "Bonekickers". Each week they could discover something of earth-shattering importance hidden under the pitch at a Test Match ground. "I don't care if the Holy Grail is buried under here! Play has to start at 1100 prompt!" Cheers Richard.

1825 - Eng 46-1 (15 overs)
Bell guides Nel (hey, that rhymes) through mid-wicket, the zippy Oval outfield does it work and that's another four.

"Re: Nel's end of term games [1719 entry] - imagine his apoplectic rage as he tries and fails for the umpteenth time to guide a small metal hoop around a buzzing metal maze..."
Rich, Devon, in the TMS inbox

1820 - Eng 42-1 (14 overs)
Ntini seems to have some difficulty with a section of his run-up - as if he can feel a mole tunneling up from beneath the turf. Cook steers a four to third man, England are bedding in for the close (which the TMS crew think should be 1830, even though there are still nine overs to be bowled).

1815 - Eng 38-1 (13 overs)
Morkel's off after six wicketless overs and snarling pantomime villain Andre Nel stalks out his run-up. Bell turns him off his legs, and a misfield from the sunhatted Amla alows them a second run. Nel is not only wearing odd boots, but boots made by two different manufacturers!

"Maurice Tremlett [1632 entry]... I lived two doors away from Maurice, while he was on England duty, he taught me to play, but sadly not up to the family's standards"
Clive Gilchrist in the TMS inbox

1812 - Eng 36-1 (12 overs)
Ntini has a very graceful run and bowling action - after a couple more singles, Cook is hit on the pad, but Ntini stifles his appeal mid-shout, and rightly as the Essex man had got an inside edge. The Proteas then have a run-out chance, but once again no-one backs up the throw to the stumps and England pick up an overthrow.

1806 - Eng 32-1 (11 overs)
Cook reaches double figures with a single, and Bell is now scoring at will, tipping-and-running a single into the covers. The left-hand/right-hand combo only serves to slow the over-rate, unfortunately.

1802 - Eng 29-1 (10 overs)
Aggers thinks Ntini is the fastest "walker-back-to-his-mark" fast bowler in the world. How England could do with a bit of that - a change of captain hasn't helped their pretty shabby over-rate. Bell overtakes his partner's score by guiding Ntini off his legs for four to long leg. A well-timed cover drive then piereces the infield for another four - England's best over so far.

1757 - Eng 21-1 (9 overs)
Bell sways away from a Morkel bouncer and then dabs a single to rotate the strike.

"Thanks for the county scores - I see Pattinson took 4 for 50 at Taunton!"
Phil in the TMS inbox
Latest county scores

1753 - Eng 20-1 (8 overs)
Bell pushes Ntini and calls for a quick single, Amla's throw hits the stumps and rebounds for four overthrows. But did Bell make his ground at the non-striker's end in time? Umpire Dar calls for the third umpire Peter Hartley to adjudicate - this will either be out, or five runs. It's a close call, but Bell's not out, so it's five. Isn't that the first time the third umpire's been called up on today?

"I hardly think that's fair of Neil (1643) to pick out Bell to 'start performing' when he's made a 50 and a (virtual) double hundred already, while Andrew Strauss has gone untarred despite only making one score above 30 in five innings so far"
Tim Miller in the TMS inbox

1748 - Eng 15-1 (7 overs)
Aggers reveals he's just been asked the strangest question he's ever been asked in his long BBC career (by Eddie Mair on the Radio 4 FM PM programme). Apparently they wanted to know what KP thinks about stamp duty. Honestly. Cook pulls away as Morkel is about to bowl when the pitch is suddenly dive-bombed by a squadron of three pigeons, but then steers him for four through square leg. Geoff Boycott then lays into the unfairness of death duties - bit of politics there, my name's Ben Elton, good night.
Options 'kept open' on stamp duty by Treasury

1744 - Eng 11-1 (6 overs)
Cook works Ntini for a single to leg, then Bell gets up on his tiptoes to fend off a couple of rising deliveries.

"Regarding the coin toss picture (Nick Green, 1445), maybe that is the secret to KP's batting success - he can see about half a second into the future..."
Colin in the TMS inbox

1740 - Eng 10-1 (5 overs)
Cook turns Morkel away for a single, then gets a second on the rebound when a throw hits the stumps and is not backed up. A single brings Bell on strike, he's not yet off the mark.

"Demob happy? Do you believe G Smith is happy to watch his boys bowled out for less than 200 on KP's first day in charge - I don't think happy will be the mood of the day. Fantastic bowling performance"
Bob Spinks in the TMS inbox

1736 - Eng 7-1 (4 overs)
With Michael Vaughan having shuffled off stage left, Ian Bell takes his place at number three. The right-hander defends his first ball from his erstwhile Warwickshire team-mate Ntini, and it's a wicket maiden for Ntini.

1729 - Eng 7-0 (3 overs)
Cook is off the mark with a leg-glanced single, then Morkel bizarrely falls over in his follow-through. Twice (though not in successive deliveries). Strauss dabs another single, then two ground staff come on to examine the footmarks Morkel keeps tripping on.

"I definitely think ABDV's parents missed a trick by not adding Charles as another middle name. ABCDe Villiers would be killer. Still not as good as WPUJC Vaas though"
Pete in the TMS inbox

1724 - Eng 5-0 (2 overs)
Ntini, fresh from his entertaining cameo with the bat, takes the second over. Strauss clips him through mid-wicket for four.

"The South African players have won the series and their minds are already in the departure lounge at Heathrow. This game is meaningless. Graeme Smith looks like a man more interested in planning what movies he is going to watch on the plane home than field placings at the Oval"
Chris Allen in the TMS inbox
[I'd have thought Smith would at least be thinking of the upcoming ODI series which they've got to play first! MM]

1719 - Eng 1-0 (1 over)
Morne Morkel takes the new ball, and after his first delivery to Strauss, keeper Mark Boucher immediately waves Makhaya Ntini to stand finer on the fine leg boundary. Strauss guides one off his hip to get England under way with a single. Cook fends and misses at the last ball of the over.

"Re: 1622 entry. Which game do you think Andre Nel would bring in on the last day of school?� I reckon he's a bit of a 'Buckaroo' man myself!"
Stephen Bridge in the TMS inbox
[Just imagine how competitive and worked up Nel would be over Buckaroo, or even a game of Snap - MM]

1715: South Africa are led out by Graeme Smith, inscrutable behind a pair of dark shades, while left-handers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook are opening up for England.

"Sounds as though Andre Nel is on Gardening leave as well, making for the groundsman's hut [1622 entry]"
Mark Sterling in the TMS inbox

1710: I'd also like to clear up confusion from earlier - at 1539, it was Mike's e-mail that was "n the TMS inbox"not the duck jalfrezi!

"I don't think there's any chance Pete Reed [1558 entry] won't be winning gold this summer; I once met a year ago at a dinner at Lord's, and he was literally the size of three people. Saying that, the room was full of rowers, of which I was the smallest, including all the women!"
James, the City, in the TMS inbox

SOUTH AFRICA FIRST INNINGS

1701 - SA 192-9 (64 overs)
TMS scorer Bill Frindall has to reach for the correction fluid for something as Flintoff frustratingly beats Harris's outside edge on several occasions. Bowl straight, lads! Harris cover-drives for a couple, and we're going to have a drinks break.

1657 - SA 190-9 (63 overs)
The crowd are getting a little restless, the longer South Africa prolong their innings. More swiping and missing from Ntini, then when Anderson finally finds the inswinger, Ntini bashes it back past the bowler for four!

1653 - SA 186-9 (62 overs)
Sir Trevor McDonald looks on as Flintoff replaces Harmison. (With 33 wickets having fallen at the Riverside in less than two days' play, might the pitch inspectors be beating their way to Harmy's manor?) Harmy beats the bat a couple of times and Harris swipes a two.

"Speaking of one hit wonders, I was in Australia last year when Luke Pomersbach made his one and only appearance for Australia. They were about to play New Zealand in Perth, Brad Hodge got injured in the warm up, and without a 12th man, and the talent of West Australia playing in Victoria, they called upon Pomersbach, who had been serving a ban from state level cricket and was in the crowd to watch the game with his girlfriend, to come and play. From what I remember he knocked a big six and a few more boundaries for them too. He had to wear Hodge's jersey too, which was an awfully tight fit"
Goose, Durham, in the TMS inbox
Pomersbach is the surprise inclusion as Aussies blitz Kiwis

1648 - SA 184-9 (61 overs)
Broad's off, Anderson's on as England look for this last wicket. He nearly cleans Ntini up with an outswinger, which just misses his stumps. But another swipe to leg brings Ntini another single, and Harris pinches the strike with one of his own.

"The obituaries in today's papers for 'Great Escapee' Eric Dowling (Glastonbury born) say that he captained the Somerset team in the Stalag Luft III cricket league. We could do with some of his spirit in digging us out of a hole at Taunton today"
Keith Sellick in the TMS inbox
Latest county scores - it's raining at Taunton

1643 - SA 182-9 (60 overs)
This pair look like they're battling to see who gets an asterisk here. Harris clips Harmy for four through mid-wicket, and the Durham man's response is a bouncer which has Harris down on his backside. Harris works the last delivery away for a two to leg.

1640 - SA 176-9 (59 overs)
Harris doubles his score with a single off Broad, then Ntini is denied runs when he on-drives and Harris (wrongly) didn't think there was a run in it.

1636 - SA 175-9 (58 overs)
Harmy still has a full slip cordon for Ntini, who's finally off the mark when he tries to work Harmy to leg but gets a fortunate two through mid-off.

1632 - SA 173-9 (57 overs)
Broad beats the bat repeatedly, but can't find the edge as he sends down a maiden to Harris.

"Re: 1458 internet link - Is the TM Tremlett playing for Hampshire in 1983 any relation to Chris Tremlett, the man who carries the drinks for the England team?"
Toby Powell in the TMS inbox
[You're right - Chris's father Tim was an all-rounder for Hampshire for many years, and also played for England B - subsequently renamed England A, and now known as the England Lions. He's now Hampshire's director of cricket. Also, Tim's father Maurice played for Somerset and England - MM]

1628 - SA 173-9 (56 overs)
Harris is still scoreless after facing 17 deliveries prior to this over - can Harmy wrap it up? There's an arc of six slips/gullies - Strauss, Fred, Colly, Cook, Anderson and Capey. Harris nudges a single to long leg and is finally off the mark. Capey moves from sixth slip to leg slip for Ntini.

1624 - SA 172-9 (55 overs)
Will last man Makhaya Ntini have a swipe against Broad? He plays inside the line of the last ball.

1619 - SA 168-8 (54 overs)
Harmison returns in place of Monty, and immediately gets a bit of bounce against Harris, who looks a little fearful of the Durham man's pace but sees off the over safely.

"I'm currently on 'Gardening Leave' from my job. They really should rename it 'Cricket Leave' as that is far more apt"
Stuart Thomas, "In my garden listening to TMS", in the TMS inbox

1614 - SA 168-8 (53 overs)
As Morkel causes some amusement by walking off the field through the wrong gate and ending up in front of the groundsman's hut, the new batsman is Andre Nel, who blocks his first ball.

1607 - SA 164-7 (52 overs)
Monty to continue against Morkel, and a single brings Panesar's fellow spinner Harris back on strike. Monty is rapidly through his over in little more than a minute and a half.

"Slow down a minute England, I have tickets for both the Sunday and the Monday and wouldn't mind seeing some cricket"
James, London, in the TMS inbox

1605 - SA 163-7 (51 overs)
Stuart Broad, the only wicketless England bowler today, has three slips and a gully for Morkel but an edge flies streakily between third slip and gully for four. The lanky Morkel then flicks a single off his hip. A couple of burly gentlemen move behind the bowler's arm to delay play, by the look of them they may have been stood behind Kallis and Boucher in the pie queue during the interval.

1559 - SA 158-7 (50 overs)
New batsman Paul Harris defends his stumps as the Montster finishes his over from before tea.

1558: After possibly the shortest tea interval on record (well, that's how it feels), we're back on.

TEA INTERVAL

"Hello Mark, I'm off to Beijing on Saturday to watch my boyfriend Pete Reed row for GB. If Dirsy is covering it on live text (1117) can you tell him to be kind and if he doesn't win gold, just change the result? That'd be great, thanks"
Sally, nervous waiting at work in London, in the TMS inbox
Pete Reed's video diary on the BBC Sport website

1551: Apparently, on the subject of auto-refresh updates [see 1432 entry], we've had several e-mails you can also get an "add-on" for Firefox (who sounds like he's a superhero and should be in the Fantastic Four or something, but is another web browser).

"Hi Mark - It seems my little 'all the best' chat with Steve Harmison last night in the sushi restaurant (see 1221 entry) has worked wonders! What a legend... For any England players in need of a bit of a positive chat, to perk up the spirits this evening, I'll be in 'The Saint' in St Paul's from 6pm"
John in the TMS inbox

"Surely, we can refer to AB de Villiers as 'Cruella', rather than the more perfunctory ABDV?"
Mike, bored at work in Kensington, but looking forward to duck jalfrezi this evening, in the TMS inbox

1537 - SA 157-6 (49 overs)
ABDV flays Broad for another four which beats the cover sweeper, then smacks the flaxen-haired Notts man back over his head for four. He's given Broad no quarter today.

1532 - SA 149-6 (48 overs)
ABDV nudges Flintoff for a single to Monty at fine leg. Geoff Boycott on TMS thinks Freddie is bowling too wide to Morkel, but says Richie Benaud told him once that it's better to be a lucky captain than a good captain.

"Bit of a geeky question - why is Harmison referred to as S Harmison, and Morkel referred to as M Morkel on the scorecards when everyone else has to suffice with their surname alone?"
Paul Archer in the TMS inbox
[If you play in the same team as someone with the same surname - Harmy's brother Ben also plays for Durham, while Morkel's brother Albie is in the SA ODI squad - then we need to distinguish you with an initial on the website to avoid confusion. However, it comes up whether your brother/namesake is playing or not - MM]

1528 - SA 148-6 (47 overs)
More boot changes for Flintoff on the boundary, with bowling coach Ottis Gibson now down to take an advisory role, as Broad replaces Anderson but is off-driven for four by ABDV. He now has 29 - 24 of which have come in boundaries. Another powerful drive is cut off by sub fielder Stewart Walters who is on again briefly, and they run one.

1523 - SA 143-6 (46 overs)
Flintoff, re-booted (one for all of you stuck in front of computers), is steered away for a couple by Morkel as the under-employed Monty Panesar fields in the deep. With the over-rate pretty dreadful today, can they get him on for a twirl before tea?

1519 - SA 141-6 (45 overs)
Flintoff leaves the field very briefly for more boot adjustment - replaced by another Surrey youngster, Jason Roy from Whitgift School. ABDV square-cuts Jimmy for four, then another wide one looks like it's going for four before a full-length dive by Broad at cover cuts it off. The TMS team think Anderson should take a rest - but what will Captain Capey think?

1514 - SA 137-6 (44 overs)
Messrs Selvey and Agnew, both former swing bowlers, are purring over Anderson's bowling as Flintoff begins a new over to ABDV. The field suggests England would be happy to give ABDV a single to bowl at Morkel, and he works one to leg. Fred is still having a bit of toe trouble, and bizarrely, he swaps left boots with Harmison (who presumably takes the same size and style of boot). If anything, Fred has a spring in his step with Harmy's boot on, and sends down one which Morkel only just nudges away for four. Morkel then plays and misses as an appeal for a catch behind is turned down.

1508 - SA 132-6 (43 overs)
Anderson nearly removes new batsman Morne Morkel second ball without playing a stroke. It's like Jimmy's using "the Force", as the ball is swinging around corners here at the moment. There's a half-hearted lbw shout from a ball which did too much, and it's a wicket maiden for the "Burnley Express".

"England have indeed had the most "one-Test wonders" [see 1322 entry]; with recent OTWs including, Kabir Ali, Joey Benjamin, Ian Blackwell, Simon Brown, Gavin Hamilton, Jon Lewis, Mike Smith and the much discussed Darren Pattinson"
Jacko in sunny Burscough, Lancs, in the TMS inbox

1503 - SA 132-5 (42 overs)
Time for another trundle from Flintoff, who keeps it tight against Boucher. Just a single past point is added.

1458 - SA 131-5 (41 overs)
Mike Selvey on TMS recalls an end-of-season County Championship match against Hampshire, in which both sides co-operated to allow Selvey's Glamorgan to bowl over 70 overs of spin in a session and avoid an over-rate fine. Mark Nicholas obliged by running straight off after being out first ball! Back on the pitch, ABDV straight-drives Jimmy for four.
INTERNET LINK: Hampshire v Glamorgan from September 1983

1454 - SA 127-5 (40 overs)
Boucher nudges Harmy for a single, AB pinches the strike, this is a careful rebuilding job by this pair who are arguably the last recognised batsmen in this side.

1450 - SA 125-5 (39 overs)
ABDV on-drives Anderson for a single. Boucher, finally on strike, plays his first ball defensively. Another edge, and yet again it bounces in front of Colly at third slip? They run one. If I can see from the television that the ball keeps bouncing in front of the slips and that they appear to be too far back, can't Captain Capey see? Can one of those regularly-appearing 12th men not tell him?

"I join with the support for Devon Malcolm, especially as he's currently playing for my team Brixworth in Northamptonshire and scaring many a batsman with his sheer presence! Top bloke, with some right stories to match!"
David Cunningham in the TMS inbox

1445 - SA 123-5 (38 overs)
ABDV steers Harmy for four to fine leg, then steers a cheeky single to leg off the last ball, so new batsman Mark Boucher still hasn't faced a ball yet.

"The picture of the toss reminded me of the 'Spot the Ball competitions' that used to be on the back of the pools coupons, eyes all over the place. What is Capey looking at? Is he dreaming of creaming one over the gasholders? I hope he sees the ball better than the coin"
Nick Green in the TMS inbox

"It is possible to listen to TMS on MW, tune to 720 and you can pick it up"
Steve Brunt (and many others) in the TMS inbox

1432 - SA 117-4 (36 overs)
Harmy digs one in short, Prince hooks and misses and it's still rising when Tiny Tim leaps like a salmon to claim it one-handed, earning him a little clap from his bowler. Shaun Pollock on TMS thinks it should have been an aerial wide. Drinks break.

"Mark, for all those suffering from pressing F5 too regularly or longing for the automatic page refresh (and assuming they are using IE7) tell them to get themselves to www.ie7pro.com and download the add-on. It lets you set an automatic refresh interval for each page amongst many other tweaks. Think of all the claims of RSI you are saving the Health Service from dealing with in the future..."
Mark, at work in Brackley, in the TMS inbox
[Other internet browsers are of course available - MM]

1428 - SA 113-4 (35 overs)
Anderson is the king of the swingers at the moment, beating de Villiers (henceafter referred to as ABDV for the sake of brevity) with a juicy outswinger before ABDV steers a four through gully.

1423 - SA 109-4 (34 overs)
Prince has to fend off one that falls safely between short leg and short fine leg. Harmy's on fire here, the next ball beats Prince completely through the gate. The left-hander has just signed to play for Nottinghamshire after the end of this Test (as he's not in the SA ODI squad), if you haven't heard. Maiden over.

1419 - SA 109-4 (33 overs)
New batsman AB de Villiers is off the mark straight away with a cover-driven four.

1413 - SA 103-3 (32 overs)
Harmy adjusts the field for the hat-trick ball - four slips, two gullies, short legs and even Monty at leg slip! But new batsman Ashwell Prince defends safely and Harmy has to be content with a double wicket maiden.

1405 - SA 103-1 (31 overs)
Anderson replaces Flintoff, spearing his first ball in to the left-handed Smith and he gets an inside edge onto his boot but it trickles away safely. Smith steers away another single, then Amla tips-and-runs a quick single, Harmy throws at the stumps and misses (he'd have been out if it had hit), it's not backed up and they run a couple of overthrows. Flintoff trots back on the field at the end of the over - Aggers thinks he might have a bad toe.

"I know the slips like to take their lead from where the keeper stands, but Ambrose clearly stands too far back - a sort of deep backward keeper position. A few didn't carry at Edgbaston last week too. Surely one of our more experienced slip fielders could just pick up the little fellow and plonk him down a yard or so in front of his position?"
Adrian, Kent, in the TMS inbox

1401 - SA 100-1 (30 overs)
Captain Capey shuffles his bowlers as Harmy gets another go, this time from the Pavilion End. His first ball provokes a loud lbw shout against Smith, but it pitched a fraction outside leg stump - a great decision by ump Steve Davis. Smith guides a single to Broad on the mid-wicket boundary, and Amla straight-drives another four to bring up the hundred as Tuffers on TMS reveals he was turned away from his Maths O-Level exam for wearing tartan trousers...

"Hi Mark, really enjoying the commentary as usual. I'm just mid-way through my lunch, but discovered I had no spoon to eat my yogurt with... in an attempt to miss as little cricket as possible I have taped some nearby tea-stirrers together at my desk so I can continue to read live text. The lengths some of us go to at work!"
Lawts in Wiltshire in the TMS inbox

"Quick, go and get the sightscreen from Edgbaston!"
Stephen Bridge, Bolton, in the TMS inbox

1356 - SA 95-1 (29 overs)
It's still Broad, after those three boundaries in his last over. Flintoff leaves the field, Harmison returns so Walters stays on for the time being. Harmy does a few ostentatious "look at me, skipper, please let me bowl" warm-up exercises in the deep as a very handsome cover drive brings Amla another four. He then blasts another one through the off side - he now has 30, and 28 of those 30 have come in fours.

"Sushi and solitude is surely not a good warm-up for a fast bowler? (John, 1221) Rare steak served on a bed of splintered wickets would be more fitting"
Robert Walker in the TMS inbox

1351 - SA 87-1 (28 overs)
Smith finally scores his first runs since lunch when he forward-prods Flintoff, non-striker Amla has to react quickly to let the ball pass between his legs and that's four.

1347 - SA 83-1 (27 overs)
Amla square-drives Broad for four, then wristily flicks him through square leg for another boundary. Another fierce square cut for four is the best shot of the lot, leaving Captain Capey (whose lack of continual Vaughanesque tinkering with the field has been noted) looking around for inspiration. Another edge - and again it falls short of the slips. 12th man Stewart Walters, (born in Australia but on the Surrey staff), is on the field for Harmy.

1342 - DROPPED CATCH - SA 71-1 (26 overs)
More misery for England as Amla cuts, it flies towards Cook at third slip and this time he gets both hands to the ball but can't hang on, and it goes for four. An excellent over from Flintoff is sadly unrewarded.

1337 - SA 66-1 (25 overs)
Amla has to duck a couple of bouncers from Broad, but he manages a single and Smith's bat is beaten for the seventh time this innings - most uncharacteristic. "Come on boys, come on", calls out an unidentified fielder, possibly Tiny Tim.

1333 - SA 65-1 (24 overs)
Flintoff goes round the wicket to Smith, slanting it away from the SA skipper, who is then frustrated by someone moving behind the bowler's arm. A maiden, though - Fred has 1-15 from seven overs.

"Does anyone else think that KP has been working on getting rid of his South African accent? Hearing him in interview this week made me think that he was definitely trying to sound more English"
Tom, Bristol, in the TMS inbox
[You mean he won't talk about the pitch being "hord and forst" like Tony Greig does? MM]

1329 - SA 65-1 (23 overs)
Broad to continue, and Smith wafts at his first ball outside off stump. CMJ on TMS notes that Smith has made more mistakes in this innings than he did in the whole of his match-winning knock at Edgbaston. He nudges a leg-bye off his pad.

"With all this talk of Harmy's recall, what does the future hold for Matthew Hoggard? England's sixth highest wicket taker of all time, still only 31, and seemingly dispensed with for the near future... I personally would like to see Mr H recalled, but this seems unlikely as the present favoured few are Harmy, Broad, Anderson, Tremlett, and Pattinson (!)"
Ben Tompkins in the TMS inbox

1322: Covers are off, the players are back out and we're nearly under way.

"Hey Mark, I am disgusted by the criticism of the legend that is Devon Malcolm from some of your readers. Dev was an absolute hero. To celebrate this fact, we went to Edgbaston last Saturday with special commemorative outfits - Devon Malcolm masks and specially-made 'You guys are history' t-shirts"
Matt in the TMS inbox

"Saw Devon Malcolm's magic replayed online last night and noticed Joey Benjamin in the background. Are we the country with the highest number of one-cap wonders?"
Charlie Vaughan-Griffith, London, in the TMS inbox
FEATURE: Malcolm's greatest spell, by Pranav Soneji - including archive video

1256: Covers are coming off, but as they've already decided to take lunch, I'm going to grab a quick sandwich before they resume at about 1325.

1250: More covers are brought on, the entire square is covered now. One of my bosses has asked me to point out that the auto-update we tested out last week (when Ben was on live text duty) was just that - a test - to make sure it was ready for the Olympics, and will gradually be rolled out to other sports, including cricket. In the meantime, we still have the "popup" scorebox.

1246: Simon Mann on TMS thinks they may take an early lunch - and indeed they will.

1241 - SA 60-1 (21 overs)
New batsman Hashim Amla, beard safely secured under the chin-strap of his helmet, looks on from the non-striker's end as a checked cover-drive allows Smith to plunder another four from Broad.

"So to be clear, there's no live scorecard, and we still have to press F5 to refresh the page, are we heading back to the dark ages?"
Adrian, glad no one can see his computer, Liverpool, in the TMS inbox['Fraid so - MM]

1231 - SA 55-0 (19 overs)
Broad is finding a good line and length against McKenzie, who's in two minds whether to leave or play. One delivery even hits the bottom of his bat as he tries to withdraw it. He dabs away a single, and the Proteas' half-century then comes up as Smith off-drives for two. The SA skipper then beats the infield with a firmly cover-driven four.

1225 - SA 47-0 (18 overs)
Freddie finds the edge again... but for the second or third time today, the ball bounces in front of the slips (Colly in this instance, at second slip). Are they standing close enough? Another maiden, but still no wickets for England.

1221 - SA 47-0 (17 overs)
Harmison's off and we get our first sight of Stuart Broad - might he have a little point to make after being left out at Edgbaston? He even gets McKenzie to play and miss at a couple, and there's not many bowlers who can say they've done that. Maiden over.

"I was in a sushi restaurant in Tower Hill last night with my better half. It was quiet, only one other couple in there and low and behold I look up to see Steve Harmison with his back to us on the next table, all by himself. I gave it 15 minutes in case he had mates arriving, sadly not, so I had so had a quick chat - lovely guy. Told him it was great to see him back in the team and wished him all the best. Cue my fiancee: 'Oh I'm so embarrassed, can we go please!' I guess he was focusing for his comeback - and I ruined it!"
John in the TMS inbox

1217 - SA 47-0 (16 overs)
Freddie has a quick word with Captain KP (or should that be Captain Capey? Sounds like a more modern version of Captain Caveman) - and he moves round the wicket to the increasingly assured Smith. When Smith finally gets an edge, it flies just agonisingly wide of Cook at third slip and they run two - but it appeared to bounce just in front of him.

"Maybe Cook should rethink wearing sunglasses at 11am on a pretty gloomy day"
Nick Richards, Brighton, in the TMS inbox

1213 - SA 45-0 (15 overs)
Smith pulls Harmy through mid-wicket, and the fast outfield gives the pursuing Anderson no chance. Another Harmy bouncer, another pull, and another four. Is Harmy reverting to type here? A single takes Smith to 26.

1209 - SA 36-0 (14 overs)
After a brief drinks break, Flintoff tosses the ball from hand to hand before charging in to Smith, and fielding smartly off his own bowling to prevent a single. But Smith and McKenzie push and nudge three singles off the over - it's now raining quite hard outside our windows here in Shepherd's Bush.

1202 - SA 33-0 (13 overs)
More economy from Harmy, just a single from Smith, and we're already an hour into National KP Day.

1157 - SA 32-0 (12 overs)
First change of bowling as Jimmy is replaced by Andrew Flintoff (someone else who gets a big round of applause whenever he features in the game). But Smith looks increasingly confident as he thumps another four through wide mid-on, and pinches the strike with a single off the last ball.

"Mark, can you explain what your gaffer [1045] actually does? My image has always been of you locked away in a cupboard-sized office, lonesomely bashing away on your keyboard. Perhaps Ms Thompson is the person who cheerily pops in to say 'Keep up the good work' before getting on with more important stuff?"
David Russell, Nottingham, in the TMS inbox
[We're in a largeish office rather than a cupboard, but Ms Thompson keeps me and my match report "wing-man" in line (checking we don't libel anyone for a start), puts the photo gallery together, cuts the index pictures for the live text, looks after all the various indexes across many different platforms, and is also the point of contact for any BBC colleagues, either here or at the ground. But she's quite cheery too - MM]

1152 - SA 27-0 (11 overs)
Harmy looks on course for a fourth maiden in six overs until he fires one in back-of-a-length and McKenzie jabs it through mid-wicket for four. Another, looser, delivery is helped on its way to fine leg for four.

"Early indications show that KP has opted for a 4-4-2 fielding structure with rush wicketkeeper. He will also fine any member of the squad that doesn't refer to him as King Kevin and flog any person caught mimicking a South African accent"
Marc in Exeter in the TMS in-boks

1149 - SA 19-0 (10 overs)
Smith has a nibble outside off stump, but is beaten by Jimmy while Harmy glugs down a garishly-coloured drink from a bottle at fine leg. Another no-ball advances the score, and Jimmy goes round the wicket, but Smith cracks him through mid-wicket for four. The Montster gives chase, fails to stop the four, and his feet-first sliding tackle towards the boundary rope (as practised by a guy who I play cricket with called Alex Ince - it's not pretty or effective) nearly wipes out a photographer on the other side of the rope.

"Harmison is at home (ie not on tour) and has been bowling well in county cricket. What happens if he gets his bowling head on in this Test and takes 7-for in one innings and 6-for in the other, winning the match for England? Would they then have to select him for the winter tour?
John Furnham in the TMS inbox

1143 - SA 14-0 (9 overs)
Harmy finds McKenzie's edge, but it doesn't quite carry to Colly at third slip. Another tight over.

1139 - SA 14-0 (8 overs)
McKenzie and Smith exchange singles, the latter off a no-ball, and McKenzie takes a single off the final ball of Anderson's over as some umbrellas go up around the ground.

"Harmison's recall is not disimilar to Devon Malcolm's in 1994, everyone thought he was finished as a Test cricketer but he was brought back on a fast bowler friendly wicket and famously got 9-fer. Problem was that lumbered us with another two years of him in the team bowling his usual rubbish! I hope Harmison has a nightmare to avoid a repeat of this"
Jamie Brown in the TMS inbox
[I can recommend a feature on the BBC Sport website from earlier this week, in which Pranav Soneji looks back at Devon's feat, including the archive video footage - MM]
FEATURE: Malcolm's greatest spell, by Pranav Soneji

1135 - SA 10-0 (7 overs)
Smith fends Harmy off towards Bell at short leg - it's been a good, hostile spell from the Durham quick. Smith works one off his hip for a single to Monty at long leg - and the Oval crowd have finally noticed the Montster and given him his regulation cheer. Monty misfields when McKenzie plays a similar leg-glance, but it's just one run again.

"Clearly the captaincy has affected KP's game. Losing the toss is a clear indication of how the pressures have overwhelmed our finest batsman. Time for a change"
David Collicutt, Hermosa Beach, USA, in the TMS inbox

1130 - SA 8-0 (6 overs)
Aggers is still worried about those clouds, Anderson raps Smith on the pad but there's only a half-hearted shout, whereas Tuffers reveals he was in Malaga last week and saw Carlos Tevez in a pair of white Speedos. "He looks better in a Manchester United shirt", Tuffers politely says. Smith pushes a single into the off side.

"Mark - what a week it has been. I was at Edgbaston last Friday (dressed in my ZZ Top video inspired outfit) to see my man Colly perform heroics. And then we had Vaughany's tears on Sunday, KP's ego on Monday, the return of Harmy on Wednesday, and now, today, I got splashed by a car as I walked to the office - soaked. I am hoping for a performance by the boys today to calm my frayed nerves and help me dry off!"
Gina in Gloucestershire in the TMS inbox

1126 - SA 7-0 (5 overs)
McKenzie and Harmy wave some people away from the edge of the sightscreen, while Aggers has noticed some dark clouds in the distance. Aggers asked Sidey yesterday "are you injured or knackered?" and Sidey said "both" - so now we know. McKenzie is the model of defence, and sees off a maiden over.

"I'm rather hoping KP captains in a similar style to Ricky Ponting. Leading from the front with runs, and not the best thinker (out-captained by Vaughan in 2005) but will learn as he goes. I can't seem him being as tactically adept as Vaughan"
Andrew, at work, in the TMS inbox
[He'd give his eye teeth for anything like the quality of side to captain that Ponting has had for most of his reign - MM]

1121 - SA 7-0 (4 overs)
Ryan Sidebottom (dropped or injured? No-one's really said definitively) shares a cup of tea and a joke with bowling coach Ottis Gibson in the England dressing-room as McKenzie rotates the strike with a single, while Smith is denied by a smart stop by Bell at square leg.

1117 - SA 6-0 (3 overs)
Smith nudges a single to Monty Panesar at fine leg, and the crowd are noticeably quiet - normally they cheer any time Monty touches the ball. Harmy gets a bit of lift against the right-handed McKenzie, who's off the mark with an off-driven three.

"Welcome back Mitchers - hopefully you can break the run of recent poor results, you are the KP to Dirsy's Vaughan"
Michael Johnson, Sheffield, in the TMS inbox
[Dirs fans can watch out for plenty of text commentary from Ben during the Olympics, when he and Caroline Cheese will be your guides to everything from the 100m to the Greco-Roman wrestling - MM]

1112 - SA 2-0 (2 overs)
James Anderson takes the second over, and it's the first run off the bat as Smith nudges a single to fine leg. McKenzie resumes his "leave anything you don't have to play at" routine from the last few Tests, although he does uncharacteristically try to pull the last ball from outside off stump (but misses).

1108: There's blood on the tracks at The Oval - keeper Tim Ambrose was caught a nasty blow in the mouth off the last ball of Harmy's over as they ran that bye. He looks a bit like Dracula, with blood hanging down from the edge of his mouth. A lengthy stoppage while Tiny Tim is treated by physio Kirk Russell. Let that be a lesson as to why keepers should wear gumshields...

1105 - DROPPED CATCH - SA 1-0 (1 over)
Harmison, looking more clean-shaven than normal, sends in a short-pitched delivery first ball, Smith cuts and is dropped by Cook at gully in front of his face! Off the first ball of the match, not a great portent for the KP era! The new skipper is already holding his hands to his head. Harmy then nearly cuts Smith in half and he gets a painful inside edge into the crown jewels. Smith is prostrate, no doubt wincing, while Harmy smirks. He then plays and misses at the final ball and they run a bye, but a good, aggressive first over from Harmy. SA are 1-0 - they should really be 0-1, Young Master Cook...

1058: Aggers has never seen as many photographers on duty as KP leads his boys out. And the huddle's gone! (Unless they had one inside the dressing-room). Good times! Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie opening up for the Proteas as normal - let's get ready to rumble!

1056: One legacy of the Vaughan era that hasn't changed - "Jerusalem" is still belting out over the PA. Will they still have the pointless pre-match "huddle"? I hope not...

"If it's national KP day [see 1020], should we all be made to eat salt and vinegar discos (which oddly you only seem to see at motorway service stations nowadays - why is that?)"
Stuart, bored, at work, Nottingham, in the TMS inbox
[Are you sure that's "Stuart, bored, from Nottingham" and not "Stuart Broad from Nottingham"? MM]

1045: Here are the full teams:

England: Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen (capt), Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Tim Ambrose (wk), Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.

South Africa: Neil McKenzie, Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini.

Umpires are Australia's Steve Davis and Pakistan's Aleem Dar. Third umpire on the TV replays is ex-Yorkshire and Hampshire seamer Peter Hartley, reserve umpire (ready with the replacement balls when South Africa reach 200-1 and England decide they want the ball changed) is Richard Illingworth. I'm joined today by Jamie Lillywhite on match report duties, while our "gaffer" is Anna Thompson.

1034: TOSS NEWS: South Africa win the toss and will bat first. They're unchanged. KP wants his players to play "with pride and passion, playing every day as though it's their last Test match".

Well, when I was out in New Zealand in March, everyone seemed to think Harmison was a busted flush as far as international cricket was concerned - is he in the last chance saloon if he's all over the place in this game?

1025: While we wait for the toss, I can tell you that barring any last-minute "Glenn McGrath slipping on a cricket ball while playing touch rugby at Edgbaston"-style injuries, England announced yesterday they would be recalling Stuart Broad and Steve Harmison in place of Vaughan and Ryan Sidebottom - while we expect South Africa to be unchanged.

1020: Morning, everyone - we've finally arrived at what a colleague of mine (who's at The Oval today on a day off, as a fan) has described as "National KP Day".

For those of you who've been on Mars for the last week, Michael Vaughan resigned as England captain on Sunday, with Kevin Pietersen appointed as his replacement. KP will also lead the one-day series, after Paul Collingwood (who is still serving an ODI suspension for slow over-rates) stepped down too.

You can read BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew's thoughts - as well as those of my colleague Oliver Brett - on the TMS Blog.
Test Match Special blog