South Africa win by seven wickets Very Trent Bridge in the end. Horrible batting performance from England in face of professional bowling and superb fielding followed by early hope-giving wickets before thoroughly professional partnership from proper batsmen to steer South Africa home to a comfortable seven-wicket victory with time to spare.
Over 19 - South Africa 119/3 (Kallis 47, Duminy 47) With one run needed to win, Kallis breaks his bat digging out a yorker. Ah well, have to call it a tie. Not really. Talented twelfthers Hashim Amla trots out with a bunch of new weapons, Kallis carefully selects a new bat and edges wide of slip for the single required for victory.
Over 18 - South Africa 115/3 (Kallis 46, Duminy 45) Kallis racing South Africa to the finish line now, assisted by some filth from Bopara. A legside full-toss is swatted for four before another clip off the pads brings two and a slap to deep point brings a single. Duminy works to leg for two and then taps to leg for a single.
Over 17 - South Africa 105/3 (Kallis 39, Duminy 42) Kallis biffs Broad over mid-on for four to hasten South Africa towards victory. Don't want this getting down to the final over. Weird things happen in final overs.
Over 16 - South Africa 99/3 (Kallis 34, Duminy 41) The Proteas are not exactly racing to victory, but they're getting there comfortably enough with three singles from the first five balls of Dernbach's over before Kallis drives to the vacant point boundary for four.
Over 15 - South Africa 92/3 (Kallis 29, Duminy 39) Heads in danger here. First Kieswetter's as Bairstow's throw from the deep lands in an old pitch end and rears up towards his head before cracking him on the shoulder, and then Kallis' as he charges Broad and manages to swat the resulting short ball off his grille to deep square-leg. Duminy cuts wide of third-man for two and then stops a yorker dead in his crease and is called through for a good single by Kallis.
Over 14 - South Africa 87/3 (Kallis 28, Duminy 35) Another major threat negotiated for South Africa with Swann now bowled out as well.
Over 13 - South Africa 84/3 (Kallis 28, Duminy 33) 'Lolz', as the kids don't say these days. Finn back for his final over as Broad goes for his final roll of the dice, and he dislodges the bails at the non-striker's end and watches Duminy cue-end the ball wide of the slips for four. Finn and Broad both want the umpire to signal dead ball as happened during the Tests. No dice. Finn dislodges the stumps again later in the over, and this time dead ball is signalled as Duminy guides it to third-man for a single. Would've been great fun if that delivery had sent all three stumps flying. Duminy cleverly plays exactly the same shot when the ball is repeated to ensure there is No Harm Done. Most importantly for South Africa, they've seen off Finn.
Over 12 - South Africa 76/3 (Kallis 26, Duminy 27) Lovely piece of bowling from Swann to start the over, deceiving Duminy as he gives the charge and is beaten in the flight. Back pad saves him. Couple of singles from the over before Duminy cats hard to deep cover for two runs. Bairstow throws down the stumps from the deep, and umpire Illingworth just checks Kallis has made his ground. He was past the stumps.
Over 11 - South Africa 72/3 (Kallis 25, Duminy 24) Lovely stuff from Duminy, reverse-sweeping Patel's first two deliveries to the third-man boundary for four. In fairness, having decided to play the shot, he could hardly have got an easier ball to hit as Patel starts with a loopy full-toss. Those early boundaries mean South Africa can just knock it around for singles for the rest of the over, which they do.
Over 10 - South Africa 61/3 (Kallis 24, Duminy 14) Optimistic lbw shout against Duminy from Swann (not spinning, missing leg) before a deft flick off the pads past short fine-leg brings three to set South Africa on their way to a seven-run over. The sort of over that will ease them to victory without much fuss.
Over 9 - South Africa 54/3 (Kallis 22, Duminy 9) Excellent over from Broad. He's got the field up - slip in, no offside boundary sweeper - and concedes just a single to Duminy before arcing a beauty past Kallis' outside edge.
Over 8 - South Africa 53/3 (Kallis 22, Duminy 8) Good first over from Swann. Just three singles from it and a big appeal for leg-before against Kallis, who had got across his stumps and outside the line. Would've hit middle, but matters not. As for the Protea spinners earlier, there's turn there.
Over 7 - South Africa 50/3 (Kallis 21, Duminy 6) I was wondering whether Broad would bowl Finn out or bring on Swann. He's brough on Bopara. He is the Golden Arm at the moment. Starts with a horrible wide from round the wicket to the left-handed Duminy and Kieswetter does magnificently to gather it in. Four runs saved there, but nothing anyone can do to prevent the boundary when Kallis effortlessly places a cut shot between the two scouts in the deep on the offside when Bopara offers width. An over-correction next ball allows Kallis to flick the ball past short fine-leg for four more and this is not what England were after from Bopara.
Over 6 - South Africa 40/3 (Kallis 13, Duminy 5) Kallis bizarrely denied a leg-bye after trying to clip the ball off his hip only for Richard Illingworth to decide there was no shot offered (there really was) but he profits by deftly guiding the next ball wide of slip but fine of Bairstow at third-man. Still, a decent powerplay for England. And one they needed to retain any hope of finishing on the right side of this result.
Over 5 - South Africa 34/3 (Kallis 8, Dumny 4) Excellent cricket here. Proper cricket. Tight judgement from Duminy to leave a Finn nip-backer outside off before a similar delivery beats the inside edge. Broad brings in an extra slip - fair enough, wickets remain England's only hope here - and Duminy promptly drives a 91mph outswinger through the gap created at cover for four. Three slips in T20 cricket; testament to both the quality of Finn's bowling and the inadequacy of England's score. Finn actually concluded that over with a seven-two offside field. Not sure I've ever seen that in a T20 game.
Over 4 - South Africa 29/3 (Kallis 7) The door slightly ajar for England now. JP Duminy joins Kallis, but it's Ontong and all-rounders after that...
WICKET! De Villiers c Kieswetter b Dernbach Huge wicket for England at the end of a horrible over from Dernbach. Three boundaries off it - the third cut to the point boundary after the back-of-the-hand slower ball goes horribly wrong - before De Villiers nicks a full ball through to Kieswetter. Slightly ambitious shot against a delivery that merited respect and at a time when such risk-taking was not needed.
Over 3 - South Africa 14/2 (Kallis 2, De Villiers 2) Bit Trent Bridge this. Profligate England batting display followed by a couple of predictable early wickets against a topsy-turvy South Africa batting line-up. Now, though, England need to separate a couple of proper players. They couldn't do it at Trent Bridge.
WICKET! Du Plessis lbw b Finn 4 Kallis nicks Finn just short of Hales at first slip, before Du Plessis' woes continue as he plays all round a full, straight ball to fall palpably lbw.
Over 2 - South Africa 13/1 (Kallis 1, Du Plessis 4) Faf du Plessis is the new man, striding to the crease with Boparian form but getting his first T20I runs with a pair of legside clips that each bring two runs.
WICKET! Levi c Swann b Dernbach 8 Levi flashes at one outside off and steers it to the sole slip where Swann takes a smart head-height catch.
Over 1 - South Africa 8/0 (Levi 8, Kallis 0) South Africa opener Richard Levi is what might kindly be described as an uncomplicated hitter. He's not Hashim Amla, put it that way. After a couple of range-finding swings and misses against Finn, he baseballs a couple of boundaries. If he bats for six or seven overs, South Africa will win. And if he doesn't, South Africa will win.
Positives Highest T20I scores for both Broad and Swann in that eighth-wicket partnership of 33 that added a veneer of slightly-less-rubbishness to the scoreline.
England 118/7 South Africa require 119 to win at 5.95 runs per over. Poor effort from England, with another flurry of self-inflicted dismissals. Steyn, Botha and Peterson were all superb for South Africa, though, while I can't recall a single error or missed chance from the Proteas in the field.
Over 20 - England 118/7 (Broad 18, Swann 18) Clever from Swann, wandering across his stumps to flip the first ball of Steyn's concluding over past short fine-leg for four. With mid-off up, Steyn had rather given away what he'd be bowling there and Swann outwitted him. A rare win for England so far today. The next ball's a yorker, and Swann digs it out for a single. Broad backs away to the next ball and Steyn follows him with an excellent bouncer that has the England captain concerned only with self-preservation as he ducks out of the way. Another attempted yorker gives up just a single, Swann adds another and England scramble a bye from the last ball of a pretty dreadful innings.
Over 19 - England 110/7 (Broad 17, Swann 12) This pair performing with the style, grace and mainly the desperation of a single man at ten to two in a provincial nightclub. Nine runs from the over, though, which is more successful than the single man would probably be.
Over 18 - England 101/7 (Broad 14, Swann 6) Better over for England, with both Swann and Broad succeeding in swatting boundaries and scoring runs off five of Peterson's six deliveries. More like it. Bit late.
Over 17 - England 88/7 (Broad 6, Swann 1) Steyn toys with Broad and Swann like a cat absent-mindedly pinning a mouse by its tail with one claw while calmly grooming itself and plotting where to leave the corpse once it grows weary of its prey's struggles. Two singles from the over.
Over 16 - England 86/7 (Broad 5, Swann 0) Just three runs from that over. And a wicket. Broad and Swann now charged with the task of getting whatever they can from the last four overs.
WICKET! Patel c Kallis b Peterson 4 Another pitiful wicket falls to spin as Patel slices Peterson to long-off where Kallis takes a smart low catch running in and to his right.
Over 15 - England 83/6 (Patel 3, Broad 3) I'll be honest, it's not going well. Two runs for Broad off Botha's final over, and the off-spinner ends with two for 19 from his four overs. England's playing of spin here would be rather alarming if there were a major tournament coming up on the sub-continent.
Over 14 - England 81/6 (Patel 3, Broad 1) Just four singles to go with the wicket from that over. Big task now for England's skipper Stuart Broad and Patel just to get England up to something respectable. Even a run-a-ball 120 looks a way off at the moment.
WICKET! Bairstow c Botha b Morkel 15 And another one gone. Bairstow chips Morkel straight to Botha at long-on. Tame dismissal really; must've known the man was there and made no real effort to clear him.
Over 13 - England 77/5 (Bairstow 14, Patel 1) Samit Patel the new batsman. Superb over from Peterson: three singles and that wicket of Buttler.
WICKET! Buttler b Peterson 6 Lovely bowling from Peterson. A slow, loopy deliver that draws Buttler out of his crease but not to the pitch of the ball, which spins sharply past the bat and rearranges the furniture. South Africa all over England here.
Over 12 - England 74/4 (Bairstow 13, Buttler 5) Moment of levity here as Bairstow and Kallis accidentally collide at the non-striker's end. Only one winner there as Bairstow bounces off the big man and hits the deck. Some good scampering from both batsmen brings seven runs from the over. Both are quick. Quicker than Jacques, so call it 1-1. Plus Jonny's hair is all his own.
Over 11 - England 67/4 (Bairstow 10, Buttler 1) Well, it's a big chance now for two of England's bright young things to show their quality as Jos Buttler joins Bairstow in the middle.
WICKET! Morgan b Botha 10 Huge wicket for South Africa. England bang in trouble now as Morgan attempts to pull a ball that's far too full for the shot and succeeds only in dragging the ball into his stumps.
Over 10 - England 64/3 (Morgan 10, Bairstow 8) Kallis into the attack with a tidy opening over. Bairstow mildly dischuffed after picking a slower-ball bouncer - not easy - but then thrashing it straight to Tsotsobe at long-leg and getting just a single. Good scampering brings Bairstow two to third-man from the last ball of the over, but England look a few short of par at the halfway stage of their dig.
Over 9 - England 59/3 (Morgan 9, Bairstow 7) Bairstow threads a glorious cover-drive to the boundary and then plays a reverse-Morgan. That is a right-handed reverse sweep. What with the Slazenger bat, flash of ginger hair below the helmet and high-quality execution, for a confused second I thought Morgan had played a reverse reverse-sweep. Which would just be plain nutty. Two runs for that, and nine in total off Botha's second over.
Over 8 - England 50/3 (Morgan 7, Bairstow 0) Jonny Bairstow blocks the last couple of deliveries. Steyn: 2-0-3-1. He's quite good at this.
WICKET! Bopara c Botha b Steyn 6 Good move this from De Villiers, bringing his best bowler on to bowl at England's best batsman. And he also gets to bowl at Bopara, who he's had on toast throughout the one-day series. There's a slip in place, and that's precisely where Bopara edges the ball with the tentative uncertainty we've become accustomed to over the last 10 days. No footwork, just a forlorn hanging of the bat with inevitable consequences.
Over 7 - England 47/2 (Bopara 5, Morgan 6) Eoin Morgan the new batsman. Lots resting on him in this KP-less side. After a single for each batsman, Morgan thrashes a cover-drive past the ring fielder and away for four. Class.
WICKET! Kieswetter lbw b Botha 25 Big wicket for South Africa with the first ball after the powerplay as Botha gets some eye-catching turn to hit Kieswetter in front of off stump as he looks to work the ball into the legside. Got too far across did Kieswetter and, even with the amount of turn, that was still going to hit the inside of leg stump.
Over 6 - England 40/1 (Kieswetter 25, Bopara 2) Bopara painful to watch at the moment. After three dot balls he aims a slog across the line and cloths it towards mid-on for an apologetic single. A better-looking shot down to third-man brings Bopara a couple of runs, but it's a decent powerplay for South Africa who have kept the lid on despite - or maybe because of - some faintly crazed bat-swishing from Kieswetter and co.
Over 5 - England 36/1 (Kieswetter 24, Bopara 1) The outside edge is Kieswetter's friend at the moment. Not so much for Tsotsobe, though, as a desperate hack from the England keeper flies off the corner of the bat down to the third-man rope. Drop! Tough chance as Kieswetter's miscued pull is parried away by a leaping Johan Botha at mid-on. Would've been a special catch had he managed to cling on. Tsotsobe going the distance, though: two overs for 22.
Over 4 - England 28/1 (Kieswetter 17, Bopara 0) Good over from the world's most experienced T20 cricketer, Albie Morkel. Just four runs from the over, with Bopara offering no shot to his first delivery.
WICKET! Hales run out (Kallis) 11 Mix-up between the batsman after Kieswetter defends into the legside. Hales wants the single, Kieswetter doesn't, and the Notts man is halfway down before turning and trying to head back for home. He has no chance of beating Kallis' throw and is a foot or two short despite diving for his ground. Hales furious as he trudges off, and understandably so. Looked in good order, and there was a long single there had Kieswetter responded to the call straight away.
Over 3 - England 24/0 (Kieswetter 16, Hales 8) Lonwabo Tsotsobe into the attack. You sort of fancy that the left-arm-over angle might be to Kieswetter's liking given his fondness for freeing his arms and aiming over extra-cover. And sure enough, after a couple of sighters, Kieswetter creams one to the fence. That prompts De Villiers to take slip out and, with crushing inevitability, Kieswetter attempts to repeat his earlier shot and edges it right where the sizeable frame of Jacques Kallis had been standing moments earlier. Kieswetter can go the other way as well, though, and as Tsotsobe drops short the England keeper launches him high over midwicket for a large six. Both openers up and running now for England.
Over 2 - England 10/0 (Kieswetter 2, Hales 8) Excellent start for Dale Steyn, beginning his afternoon's work with four dot balls including a bouncer that whistles over Kieswetter's attempted hook and has De Villiers leaping to gather 20 yards behind the stumps. Follows that with a slower ball, but Kieswetter picks it and knocks it away for a single.
Over 1 - England 9/0 (Kieswetter 1, Hales 8) South Africa use the common T20 tactic of trying to get a cheap over of spin in at the start and make it a 19-over game. It so often works and is going well for Robin Peterson here until Alex Hales sweeps hard to square-leg and then steers a drive through the cover ring to end the over with successive boundaries.
Rankings The players are out in the middle. As is customary when these two sides meet, the top spot in ICC rankings is up for grabs. South Africa are the number one for at least a few hours; England are the world champions for at least a few weeks.
One1 cricket Anyone see that Pakistan v Australia game last night? Great fun. I think the Super Over - or One1 cricket as it should be branded - is very much the way forward. Never mind all that long-winded 20-overs-a-side guff beforehand. Just cut straight to the real quiz. Quick game's a good game. In the hands of the ICC, you could play a whole World Cup of One1 cricket in just a couple of months.
Team news England are unchanged from Trent Bridge if you can remember that far back. It essentially means Steven Finn and Graeme Swann are fit, and Ravi Bopara is reprieved. South Africa welcome back Jacques Kallis, and can afford to leave out Hashim Amla. His record is modest in this form of the game, but still an eyebrow-raising move given the summer he's having.
England C Kieswetter (wk), AD Hales, RS Bopara, EJG Morgan, JC Buttler, JM Bairstow, SR Patel, GP Swann, SCJ Broad (capt), ST Finn, JW Dernbach.
South Africa RE Levi, JH Kallis, F du Plessis, AB de Villiers (capt, wk), JP Duminy, JL Ontong, JA Morkel, J Botha, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, LL Tsotsobe.
The Toss Enough of that sub-Kay whimsy, we've had the toss. South Africa captain AB de Villiers wins the toss and chooses to bowl first. If this series is anything like the ODI series just gone, then chasing is the right way to go.
Welcome The third and final leg of South Africa's tour of England gets under way with today's first Twenty20 international at Durham. Nature's cruellest trick means we're currently enjoying the standard five-day September heatwave that follows a miserable summer - it's the meteorological equivalent of wheeling out a speedboat and Bowen saying 'here's what you could've won' at the end of Bullseye.
