England vs South Africa, 3rd Test at London, , Aug 16 2012 - Match Result

5.40pm: South Africa are presented with the Basil d'Oliveira Trophy, as the snappers take tomorrow's page 72 (front page in Johannesburg) pictures. They are then presented with the ICC Test mace by Dave Richardson. For some reason, possibly to do with the Olympics, they're humming a very out-of-tune version of Chariots of Fire. Anyway, they can do what they like, they're No. 1 in the world! Thanks for all your comments, this has been the last Test of the English summer but Gnasher, Alex and I will be guiding you through the limited-overs series to come, starting on Friday. England are No. 1 in ODIs ... can you guess who's right behind them? Cheerio

5.20pm: Vernon Philander is named Man of the Match: "We just tried to stay calm and get the ball in the right areas and they nicked it, so yeah. It came through all the hard work and all the games I've played in the past and I've now delivered on the big stage. I enjoyed Somerset, the wickets were a bit more green and bouncy at the start of the season but it's been a good experience for me."

Matt Prior is England's Man of the Series: "It almost hurts more to have got that close. The wicket at Lord's plays pretty good all five days, Broady played beautifully, Jonny Bairstow too, we just wanted to have a go. It's strange for your emotions [being out off a no-ball], you go through a whole load of disappointment and then excitement and think maybe it's going to be my day. But it wasn't to be. Well bowled Vernon and congratulations to South Africa, they've been brilliant all series. We haven't been up to our standards in the field, that's something we pride ourselves on but catches win matches and we have to go back to the drawing board."

South Africa's Man of the Series is Hashim Amla: "Thankfully we had enough runs on the board. It's been a great game and a fantastic advert for Test cricket. It's always good to get runs at the start of the series [scoring 300 at The Oval] and to do so again at the end here. The wicket was good to bat on, fortunately we scrapped to get a good total and we're just thankful to get over the line. [Asked about the rankings] I'm only the second best batsman in my team, so it's a good situation to be in!"

England captain, Andrew Strauss: "It was an outstanding Test match, first class cricket by both team and captivating for the crowd. We weren't favourites to win but the spirit shown was great. But South Africa have shown they were the better side and deserved their victory. Swann, Trott, Broad, Bairstow and Prior were brilliant, they all played their part. We gave everything over the course of the series but it wasn't good enough. [Jonny Bairstow] played extremely well and I'm delighted that he got that first score under his belt. We've had some tough times, when you're No. 1 people want to gun you down. It will be hard to hand over that mace to South Africa but we'll come back hard. There have been certain areas in series where we have been a little bit under par and those are the small margins that make the difference. With Bairstow and Taylor, there's a lot of talent coming through. [Can you take England back to No. 1?] I hope so."

Graeme Smith, South Africa's captain: "It's been a top Test match, the wicket played its part. Both teams played with freedom, England had nothing to lose and put us under pressure but we're just glad we came through. You have those nervous moment but you've got to stay focused, we knew that the new ball was going to be tough to bat against and Vernon got it perfect. We were able to build partnerships in the series and get scores on the board, that allowed our bowlers a bit more freedom to attack. To deal with the pressure of playing England in England and to have won the series is a great feeling. This [bowling attack], with Jacques as well, is a pleasure to captain." Smith's shirt has "miss u Bouch" written on it in pen. "This was going to be [Boucher's] 150th Test match and we wanted to let him know we were thinking about him. We need to have a strong enough base that when the wind blows we can handle ourselves, we need to have bowlers who can come in and perform at this level. Australia next is going to be a big challenge for us and there are a few teams out there that are good enough to compete at the top."

5pm: The kings are dead, long live the kings! A dramatic, pulsating, sweat-drenched Test has ended with a 51-run win for South Africa, sealing the series 2-0 and plucking the No. 1 ranking from England's cold, dead hands. They fought hard until the bitter end, battling all the way down the order, pride the only thing left before their fall from the top, but South Africa have earned victory, earned their advantage in the series and deserve their spoils. England's year-long reign has been nothing if not eventful but this is their sixth defeat in their last 11 Tests; Gary Kirsten, meanwhile, becomes the first coach to lead two Test nations to No. 1 in the world. South Africa are also the first team to win a Test series in England since, er, South Africa, in 2008. Graeme Smith seems to like it here. Perhaps England should ask if they can swap him for Kevin Pietersen?

With seven wickets and 96 runs in the game, I would think Vernon Philander should be Man of the Match - he was masterful. We'll get the presentations shortly. For the next few minutes, South Africans can bask in finally getting themselves over the line (and not a c-word in sight), while England fans can bask in no longer having to deal with the pressure of being top dogs for a while.

Majestic stuff from Philander. Finn to the wicket - can Vernon claim his five-for?

"A pair of balls will do it for SA, wouldn't it?!" Are you talking about deliveries or character, CricFan?

Philander to snake in menacingly from the Nursery End. He started all this last night ... can he finish it now?

"I know it is starting to get to be a cliche, but no T20 match can produce this kind of slow, nerve-racking tense build-up." Vinnie, you are not wrong

So, close but no cigar for Tahir. That means Steyn with the new ball from the other end. Hold on to your Panamas ...

But Anderson won't have to face the new ball yet, as Tahir will continue

"If this isn't a sign from the Gods, I don't know what is..." squeals Cris, hopefully

Seems as if maybe Prior and Anderson didn't actually complete that run earlier in the over. If this gets down to one to win, we''ll attempt to clarify that