Andrew Miller

Nobody can question that Strauss's role has been all-consuming, but now is not the time to rest

Graeme Swann was England's standout player in this series, troubling South Africa's batsmen with dip, turn and determination even on unhelpful surfaces, while Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad all played valuable roles in England'

Morne Morkel routed England's lower-order in a spell of 3 for 0 in six deliveries, before JP Duminy extracted the battling Paul Collingwood for a brave but futile 71, as South Africa levelled the series

England's bowlers claimed three vital wickets in a gripping first hour of the third morning at Johannesburg before AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher responded with an urgent sixth-wicket stand of 89

Graeme Smith's second century in as many innings hoisted South Africa into a position of utter authority on the second day of the fourth and final Test at the Wanderers, but England's fading hopes in the contest were boosted by a massive thunderstorm

England's hopes of emerging from South Africa with a memorable series win were dealt a devastating blow on a breathless first day at Johannesburg, as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel combined with ruthless intent a helpful but not unplayable surface

Andrew Miller previews the fourth and final Test between England and South Africa at Johannesburg

Dale Steyn believes that the departure of Makhaya Ntini from South Africa's Test team has been the making of his new new-ball partner, Morne Morkel

Dale Steyn can't quite believe that South Africa are 1-0 down going into the final match of their series against England, after the manner in which they dominated both drawn Tests at Centurion and Cape Town

South Africa moved two steps closer to squaring the series on the fifth and final morning of the third Test in Cape Town, as James Anderson and Jonathan Trott were prised from the crease

For England, despite the Ashes successes, the overriding feeling as the 2000s drew to a close was one of a gnawing emptiness

Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook completed the first leg of England's survival bid in the third Test at Newlands, successfully negotiating a typically hostile new-ball onslaught from Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn

Graeme Smith loves nothing better than to grind England into the dust, and on the hottest day of the tour so far, he produced an innings of intensity and drive to set up the prospect of a series-squaring victory in the third Test at Newlands

Alastair Cook reproduced the calm obduracy of his Durban century to steady England with a vital unbeaten 65, and Ian Bell demonstrated a new-found resilience

England's year began with the Moores-Pietersen spat and the 51 all out and went on to take in the Ashes win and a marked improvement in ODI cricket

Jacques Kallis has proven, time and again, that he is South Africa's man for a crisis

England's cricketers needed just 18 overs on the final morning at Durban to wrap up a thumping innings-and-98-run victory in the second Test

A sensational collapse of six wickets for 23 in 71 balls left South Africa clinging to the wreckage of their second innings at Kingsmead

Alastair Cook produced a performance of limitless concentration and increasing authority to post his tenth Test century in his 50th appearance

Andrew Strauss took a leaf out of Dale Steyn's batting textbook, and launched England's innings in the same aggressive manner with which South Africa's No. 10 had closed that of his own team