Having won the second one-day international following the washout in Johannesburg, England enter the third match of the series in good spirits - and boosted by the return to fitness of Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann
But after losing the toss on a Newlands wicket that has yielded 12 straight wins for the team batting first, England can only watch as Proteas skipper Graeme Smith rips into the bowling on a placid surface
And Smith is ably assisted by Hashim Amla at the other end, the opener manoeuvring the ball around the park as part of a century opening stand that puts South Africa firmly in charge
Luke Wright finally makes the breakthrough when Smith chops a delivery on to his off stump and is bowled for 54 in the 19th over with South Africa 107-1
England skipper Andrew Strauss can do little to prevent the tide of runs as South Africa's batsmen continue to prosper on a perfect pitch
AB de Villiers clearly fancies his chances of a big score and shares a stand of 94 with Amla before the opener is caught behind off Broad for 86 off 92 balls
Wright removes JP Duminy for six thanks to Eoin Morgan's catch on the square-leg boundary but new batsman Alviro Petersen maintains the attack
Tim Bresnan appeals unsuccessfully for an lbw decision against Petersen, who keeps the run-rate rattling along at a healthy tempo with an unbeaten 51 off 40 balls
But De Villiers is the star - he completes his fourth one-day international off just 75 balls, hitting 10 stylish boundaries, and goes on to score 121
England start their innings faced with the daunting prospect of chasing 355 after South Africa finish on 354-6, their joint-highest score at the spectacular Newlands ground
England lose Luke Wright for 24 and then skipper Strauss to Morne Morkel (above) for the same score and England are 58-2 at the end of the ninth over
England are in deep trouble after the in-form Jonathan Trott, playing in his home town, is out for a duck in the next over following a stunning slip catch from Smith off the recalled Wayne Parnell
Kevin Pietersen looks in rotten nick, but somehow manages to amass 45 runs before he gloves a ball from part-time spinner JP Duminy onto his stumps. Eoin Morgan falls for a duck soon after
Paul Collingwood's rich vein of form continues as he follows his match-winning century in Centurion with 86 from 82 balls. However, England are bundled out for 242 and South Africa win by 112 runs to square the series
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