CRIKET: England duly lost the third Test, just as they were always going to do once the fifth and final day resumed under a cloudless sky.

There was some resistance from the lower order that took play just beyond the mid point of the day, with a merry little slog from the last man, Steve Harmison, that brought him his highest Test score and, bizarrely, made him the top scorer of the innings.

But Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje had worked their way patiently through the remaining wickets before Makhaya Ntini finished things off after Harmison and Matthew Hoggard had held them up for almost an hour after lunch by adding 51.

All out for 304, the margin of defeat was 196, the fourth largest in terms of runs suffered by England in 128 matches between the teams.

The result, the first defeat in 13 games since Sri Lanka won in Colombo in December 2003, has already removed the prospect of an unbeaten 2005. For South Africa it was a welcome return to winning ways after seven unproductive Tests since they beat New Zealand last March.

England must now travel to the high veldt, with the extra problem of altitude, for the final two back-to-back Tests in Johannesburg and Centurion, the first starting on Thursday next.

South Africa will be buoyant, whereas England have much to put right if they are to remain competitive: once a side gathers momentum in a five-match series it is sometimes hard to halt. Principal among the worries are the batting form of the captain Michael Vaughan, Harmison's bowling, and the fitness of Andrew Flintoff, each a figure vital to England's success.

Flintoff's side strain is hard to assess. The noises from the England management are generally optimistic, with an intercostal injury ruled out, and as a result Vaughan is adamant he will be fit to bowl at the Wanderers.

Quite how he can be so certain at this stage is unclear. A muscle tear of any sort will not heal overnight, and to prove his fitness Flintoff must surely be expected to bowl at full pace by Tuesday, to judge any reaction, and again on the day before the match.

For Vaughan and Harmison, there will be time now to try and discover the rhythm of batting and bowling. It is not nine months since Vaughan was ranked the world's leading batsman, and barely a couple since Harmison was top bowler. Both are shadows at present.