Victory guarantees South Africa will stay second in Test Championship

South Africa's win in the second npower Test Match against England means that it is guaranteed to hold on to second place in the ICC Test Championship when the ratings are updated at the end of the series.

If the series finishes as it stands, 1-0 to the visitors, South Africa's rating will remain on 119 while a 4-0 series victory will boost its rating to 123 - only six behind leaders Australia.

England can no longer overhaul South Africa in the official table and will need to at least tie the series to improve its rating. A 1-0 series defeat would see England's rating remain on 101 but a 4-0 defeat will see its rating fall as low as 97, only three ahead of India in fifth.

If England can turn the series around and emerge victorious - either 2-1 or 3-1 - it will be enough to boost its rating above New Zealand's, pushing Michael Vaughan's team into third place in the table.

Full scenarios for England v South Africa npower Test series:

England South Africa

Current rating: 101 119

Possible series outcomes:

England wins by 2 Tests (3-1) 108 111

England wins by 1 Test (2-1) 106 113

Series drawn (1-1, 2-2) 104 116

South Africa wins by 1 Test (2-1) 101 119

South Africa wins by 2 Tests (3-1) 100 120

South Africa wins by 3 Tests (3-0) 98 122

South Africa wins by 4 Tests (4-0) 97 123

ICC media contacts: