England v South Africa fourth Test: Moeen Ali takes five as England seal 3-1 series win

Fourth Test scoreboard

England win by 177 runs

England 1st inns: 362 (108.3 overs. Bairstow 99, Stokes 58, Root 52, Cook 46, Westley 29, Malan 18, Jennings 17, Moeen Ali 14; Rabada 4-91, Maharaj 2-58, Olivier 2-91, Morkel 2-92)

South Africa 1st inns: 226 (72.1 overs. Bavuma 46, Amla 30, du Plessis 27, Kuhn 24, de Kock 24, Rabada 23; Anderson 4-38, Broad 3-46, Moeen Ali 2-57, Roland-Jones 1-41)

England 2nd inns: 243 (69.1 overs. Moeen Ali 75*, Root 49, Stokes 23, Jennings 18; Morkel 4-41, Olivier 3-38, Rabada 2-50, Maharaj 1-92)

South Africa 2nd inns: 202 (62.5 overs. Amla 83, du Plessis 61, Maharaj 14*, Bavuma 12; Moeen Ali 5-69, Anderson 3-16, Broad 1-24, Roland-Jones 1-52)

Day four report

Moeen Ali was the enforcer again as England surged to a four-day victory over South Africa at Old Trafford and delivered a 3-1 success in new captain Joe Root's maiden series.

Moeen (five for 69), who kick-started England's campaign with a 10-wicket haul at Lord's and then finished the Oval Test in the blink of an eye with a hat-trick, this time ended proceedings with a mere two wickets in two balls as James Anderson (three for 16) also chipped in appropriately to consign the tourists to defeat by 177 runs.

The off-spinner's intervention was badly needed as Hashim Amla (83) and Faf du Plessis (61) hinted briefly at significant resistance, and even sowed fleeting doubts about the inevitability of a home win as they got worryingly comfortable in a fourth-wicket stand of 123.

Moeen struck first, with the help of DRS, when he had Amla lbw with an off-break which just missed the inside-edge and was headed towards middle and leg-stump - despite umpire Kumar Dharmasena's initial not-out verdict.

When Moeen then bagged Quinton de Kock and Theunis de Bruyn in a spell of three wickets for five runs, this fourth Investec Test was once again surely up for the tourists - and so it proved as the last seven fell for only 39 runs in under 13 overs on the way to 202 all out, in pursuit of a highly unlikely ground-record chase of 380.

CLICK HERE FOR DAVE TICKNER'S DAY FOUR RECAP

Before lunch, Stuart Broad and Anderson - starting out from his own end of course in Manchester these days - produced exemplary new-ball spells which might easily have brought much more than a solitary wicket each.

But Amla and Du Plessis then refused to go quietly as England barely even hinted at a breakthrough, and South Africa's number three constructed a seamless 100-ball 50 in a little over two hours.

He offered no chances, and there was just one glimpse of an opportunity at the other end when Du Plessis' off-drive on 40 was perilously close to Toby Roland-Jones' fingertips in his follow-through.

On the ground he once called home as Lancashire's, Du Plessis completed his 75-ball half-century with his seventh four past midwicket off Moeen.

But when the off-spinner made such short work of the next two batsmen, De Kock caught low at second slip trying to drive and De Bruyn snaffled at first on the back-foot defence two balls later, it seemed the South Africa captain was playing a lone hand.

He abdicated that role in the third over after tea, going after Anderson but only edging tamely behind.

Anderson, from the Statham End rather than his own, also soon had Kagiso Rabada driving on the up to cover - before Moeen made the shortest work of numbers 10 and 11 Morne Morkel and Duanne Olivier, in successive balls.

South Africa had endured a troubled early passage as Broad and Anderson beat the bat with alarming regularity after England lost their last two wickets quickly to be bowled out for 243.

Broad resumed his hot streak, having seen off the last three men in the first innings, when he served up an outstanding delivery from round the wicket to account for Dean Elgar caught-behind in just the fourth over.

It was soon all too much for Heino Kuhn too, in his last act of a tough tour which had brought him 113 runs in eight attempts by the time he edged low to first slip to go for 11 this time.

Then just as it seemed Temba Bavuma and Amla might close out the morning, first-change Roland-Jones inflicted another hammer blow when he had the former caught-behind after Root took responsibility to chance a review which overturned an initial not-out verdict.

Morkel had finished with a deserved four for 41 after taking the last two England wickets - which fell in under three overs.

Broad slapped a catch to cover, and last man Anderson fenced one into the hands of short-leg, each hastening the opportunity to get stuck in with the ball instead and leaving Moeen unbeaten on 75 - having added eight of England's runs from an overnight 224 for eight.

At that point, Moeen had lived up to his preferred billing as a "batsman who bowls a bit".

With his series wicket tally up to 25 a few hours later, his description of his own talents sounded more misleading than ever.

Day four reaction

England captain Joe Root: "I am really pleased with the way the series has gone. Credit to South Africa, they put us under pressure a number of times throughout but the way our guys have responded has been exceptional. Great start.

"We have had to overcome a number of different challenges, but the way we have played as a unit, especially the last two games, we have been brilliant.

"We have got a lot of hard work to do in the future but it was a great series.

"It has been a fantastic team performance and that's what it takes to win a series like this, everybody contributing and that's what we have had this time around."

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis: "England were well deserved winners of this series, they were consistently the better team. Three months in England has been a tough time for us," he said.

"At times we showed some real good fight but consistently England were just coming up with answers.

"The quality of the English bowling attacking was superb this series, they were relentless. As a batting unit we felt we could never get on top of them and from a runs point of view we felt we didn't do ourselves any justice."

Man of the Series Moeen Ali on being England's 'second spinner': "It has been good, it definitely took some pressure off me, especially the first game, and I feel like I got into a good rhythm after that," he said.

"I have done a lot of work and I have had a lot of consistency this series."

Day three report

Moeen Ali took the game away from South Africa and put England on the brink of a series victory with a thrilling counter-attack on the third evening of the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

Having taken a 136-run lead on first innings, England slipped to 153-7 in their second innings at which point the Proteas were as short as 9/2 for a famous series-levelling victory.

Moeen then went on the attack, though, being particularly brutal on left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who had made life tough for England's other left-handers bowling into copious rough outside the off stump.

There were eight fours and three sixes - including one hit straight down the ground that brought up Moeen's 50 and was caught on the England balcony by Jonny Bairstow - and by the time rain forced an early close Moeen had reached 67 not out from 59 balls and with the total on 224-8 the lead had reached 360.

South Africa are now out to 10/1 for victory, with England red-hot 2/9 jollies to take the series 3-1. With two days still to play, there would seemingly need to be plenty of rain to bring the draw back into play from its current 6/1.

CLICK HERE FOR DAVE TICKNER'S DAY THREE RECAP

England will still end the series with serious questions over three of their top six, however, after the final chance to cement places for the West Indies series and potentially the Ashes beyond came and went.

Out-of-form opener Keaton Jennings and, below him, Tom Westley and Dawid Malan at numbers three and five in their second Tests, had all gone cheaply in an innings propped up initially by the ultra-consistent Joe Root - who fell short of his second half-century of the match by only a single.

Jennings mustered 18, rounding out his series average at 15.88 in eight innings, while Westley and Malan's respective nine and six followed innings of 29 and 18 first time round here.

England have just three Tests against the West Indies in which to settle on their line-up for this winter's Ashes squad, and it is entirely reasonable to say they can be no clearer yet about the staffing of much of their top and middle order.

In the immediate term, they can be reassured by a match position from which - weather permitting - they still have an obvious chance to close out a 3-1 series success.

It was Stuart Broad (three for 46) who ended the South Africa innings on 226 when he, rather than the man the crowd craved, made the final breakthrough - therefore denying his pace partner James Anderson a maiden five-wicket haul at his home venue.

The feat would have had extra resonance for England's all-time leading wicket-taker, of course, having had the pavilion end renamed in his honour before the start of this match.

It took England 22 deliveries to take the 10th wicket, for the addition of six runs, when number 11 Olivier mishooked Broad for a steepling catch to Jonny Bairstow - after which it was over to Alastair Cook and Jennings to try to augment the home advantage.

The microscope was on Jennings especially, and he would have gone for nought had Dean Elgar - at a slightly advanced third slip - held a sharp chance away to his left off Kagiso Rabada.

Cook instead fell first, aiming to drive Morne Morkel but skewing a regulation catch to gully and departing to the same bowler for the 12th time in Tests.

Westley went in an all-Essex mirror-image repeat of Cook's dismissal, again off Morkel who was gaining belated reward for his fine bowling throughout the match.

Jennings did not last long after lunch, going after a short ball from Rabada but getting only a cramped edge to slip.

Malan, who so impressed England's management on his Twenty20 international debut this summer, did not look the part this time.

He too was dropped, from an ugly and largely indescribable back-foot hack at Rabada which Temba Bavuma could not quite hold racing back from point, only to then go bat-and-pad to short-leg off Maharaj.

Ben Stokes has demonstrated more than once this summer that he can bat against type in the team cause and he was at it again, escaping on five when no one even appealed after he edged one behind off Morkel but digging in nonetheless in a hard-working fifth-wicket stand of 57 with Root.

Runs were increasingly hard to come by, and it was a further indication of a pitch with worryingly uneven bounce when Root was undone by a delivery from the impressive Olivier (3-38) which kept low and found its way on to the base of the stumps via the toe of the bat.

Stokes also went before tea - edging Olivier to slip - and Bairstow, who took 25 balls to register his 100th run after his first-innings 99, mis-pulled the same bowler to deep square-leg at the start of the evening session.

Elgar's second drop of the day, a bad one, reprieved Moeen - and the runs it cost put England further out of sight in the gathering gloom, their all-rounder completing his 50 and half-century stand with Toby Roland-Jones with his second six over long-on off Maharaj.

Day three reaction

Moeen Ali on his counter-attack: "I just felt the situation of the game, we needed a bit of momentum and it came off. I had a couple of chances but it was nice to play like that.

"I went in and I was thinking about defending and just backing my defence, and then after a couple (of chances) I felt sometimes you can be a bit of a sitting duck.

"The crowd was going and I thought 'I'm just going to go', and I backed myself and thankfully it paid off."

Moeen on Jonny Bairstow's 'crowd catch': "Jonny absolutely loves it. I saw in the background that (Joe) Rooty was taking the mick out of him."

Duanne Olivier on South Africa retaining hope: "If we can bowl them out for 380 or 390, I still believe it's possible.

"Obviously the wicket is difficult, but we can still believe we can do it. We've done it in the past."

Day two report

James Anderson displayed a neat sense of occasion and put England in charge against South Africa as his best Old Trafford Test bowling figures arrived when bowling from the end named in his honour.

Anderson excelled first as a number 11 batsman before returning to his day job as England's all-time leading wicket-taker, picking up four for 33 on day two of the fourth Investec Test.

He helped Jonny Bairstow to 99 as the pair added 50 for the last wicket in England's 362 all out. And it then took the experienced paceman only three deliveries from the James Anderson End to have Dean Elgar lbw for a duck.

After a quiet middle session in which the hosts managed two wickets, Anderson returned to take three more for six runs as South Africa stumbled towards 220 for nine at stumps and the brink of a series defeat. England are now 1/4 for victory, with South Africa right out at 12/1 to somehow manufacture the victory they need to square the series.

It was Bairstow who first lit up the Manchester crowd with some brilliant strokeplay as he made South Africa pay for a missed chance which would have ended England's innings on 312, had wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock held a regulation catch when he was on 53.

He went on to produce a masterclass of batting with the tail alongside Anderson - who could muster only four runs but kept out 15 deliveries while Bairstow came up with a series of increasingly inventive and powerful shots among his 14 fours and a six over long-off.

CLICK HERE FOR DAVE TICKNER'S DAY TWO RECAP

Destiny was Anderson's, though, on this occasion - and he was not about to disappoint his home crowd.

In his two overs before lunch, he quickly brought about the dismissal of Elgar - a centurion at The Oval only five days previously.

Then after Toby Roland-Jones had bagged Hashim Amla for the third time in succession, caught behind off an innocuous delivery down the leg side, and Moeen Ali equalled his best of 19 wickets in a series when Heino Kuhn edged low to slip in an often dour afternoon, it was back to Anderson after tea.

Amla's dismissal was also notable as a consolation 'century' for Bairstow, who claimed his 100th victim as England's Test wicketkeeper - but if he was still hoping to vie with Anderson for top billing, he was soon left behind by a revitalised man of the moment.

Temba Bavuma's vigil ended four short of 50 when he left one that snaked in just enough to lift the off-bail, and two balls later Anderson got rid of Faf du Plessis too - pushing forward but managing only an indeterminate edge back on to middle stump.

There was already variable bounce available, and Anderson would have had a third quick wicket had Keaton Jennings clung on to barely a half-chance diving one-handed to his left at third slip from a delivery that bounced and left a scoreless Theunis de Bruyn.

In the next over from Moeen, England would have got De Kock for just a single if Ben Stokes had clung on to another sharp one from an edged cut to slip.

Instead, the next breakthrough came again via Anderson - De Bruyn edging a drive to second slip.

Keshav Maharaj, who had just a single when Bairstow put down a thin edge off Moeen, passed the follow-on by hitting the off-spinner for a six over long-on to ease South Africa's worries a little before falling plumb lbw to one that turned and hit him on the back foot.

After De Kock then edged Stuart Broad behind, and Ben Stokes pulled off an astounding catch at gully off the same bowler to see off Kagiso Rabada from the last ball of the day, England were truly in control.

They had resumed with 260 for six on a sunny morning, and were especially well served by Bairstow - whose first 50 came from exactly 100 balls and the next 49 from just 45.

He and Roland-Jones had a torrid time initially against Rabada, who claimed four for 91, and Morne Morkel.

Nightwatchman Roland-Jones poked a mistimed drive on the up straight into the hands of point off Rabada, and Moeen fell to the same bowler, edging low to second slip on the back foot - before the deserving Morkel picked up his second wicket by bowling Broad off-stump.

Bairstow's stand with Anderson must have been highly frustrating for South Africa, after De Kock put down England's mainstay and prevented Rabada ending the innings with a five-wicket haul.

Bairstow had 94 when Anderson narrowly survived the tourists' DRS gambit for lbw, after missing a reverse sweep at Maharaj.

But the England wicketkeeper was still one run short of three figures when he missed a sweep of his own and was lbw to the slow left-armer despite his attempt to overturn the decision on review.

His was a pretty good day, even so, but nothing on Anderson's.

Day two reaction

James Anderson on bowling so well from 'his' end: "I felt like I couldn't bowl badly, certainly this morning.

"It feels very strange still to hear it being announced (as the James Anderson End) - but I'm thrilled with it, and to get those wickets as well.

"We obviously took a lot of momentum from our batting into the field, and there was a really good feeling around the group going out there that we could get early wickets in that 20 minutes before lunch.

"I just tried to plonk it in the right area, and luckily he (Dean Elgar) missed it."

Anderson on the potential for his first five-wicket haul at Old Trafford: "It'd be great.

"It'll be tough, because Stuart (Broad)'s got the ball in his hand - so we'll have to see if he lets me bowl at that end.

"But I just want us to get that last wicket. Whoever gets it, I don't care."

Anderson on Bairstow just missing out on a century: "I was very disappointed for Jonny not to get to three figures, but it was an absolutely crucial knock for us in that situation.

"I was gutted for him. I thought it was a tough decision - it looked outside the line to me, and could have gone either way really.

"It was a big effort from us both - and when someone gets towards a milestone, you really want them to get over the line."

Bairstow on his near-miss: "I've joined a pretty special club ... obviously I was pretty annoyed.

"I kicked myself quite a bit, because that's twice now I've got out in the 90s against South Africa.

"But if you look back on it and someone had said 'You're going to get 99 today' ... you'd take it without a doubt ... snap their hand off."

South Africa's Hashim Amla on Anderson's effort: "The wicket has deteriorated a little bit, but Jimmy bowled very well.

"Those dismissals have put us in a spot of bother.

"He asked a lot of questions of our batsmen - and when you ask those questions long enough sometimes you get that breakthrough.

"But Test cricket is a five-day game and there's a long way to go. Anything can still happen."

Day one report

Joe Root continued to shrug off the burdens of captaincy with yet another half-century in the fourth Investec Test but South Africa again exposed frailties in England's top order.

The even nature of the opening day is reflected in Sky Bet's revised prices, which are broadly similar to those at the start of the day, with England 4/5 favourites, the draw 5/2 and South Africa 100/30.

Root made 52 of the hosts' 260 for six day one at Emirates Old Trafford, inking his name into the annals as the third youngest batsman to pass 5,000 Test runs and equalling John Edrich's English record of 10 successive games with a half-century score.

The 26-year-old has clearly not suffered any dip in form since inheriting the blazer this summer but the failure of newer faces around him mean England routinely need more than mere fifties from him to make up for other shortcomings.

Ben Stokes added 58 vital runs before losing his stumps late on, but further up Keaton Jennings' troubled spell continued with a limp 17, Tom Westley was flattered by his 29 and Dawid Malan cut a hangdog figure after his third straight failure at this level.

There were three batting slots up for grabs at the start of the series, which England lead 2-1, and as it winds towards an end there are more questions than answers.

The James Anderson End was formally christened before play but any prospect of the home favourite immediately bowling from it disappeared when Root opted to bat first.

It cannot have been a straightforward decision after morning showers left plenty of moisture in the pitch but the absence of South African seamers Vernon Philander and Chris Morris, both missing with back injuries, may have become a factor.

If that was the case, Morne Morkel quickly put England on notice, rapping Alastair Cook on the pads and beating the outside edge in a fiery first over.

At the other end Kagiso Rabada came close to seeing off Jennings in just four balls, narrowly failing to gather a return catch after the opener contrived to loop a chance off bat and pad.

CLICK HERE FOR DAVE TICKNER'S DAY ONE RECAP

Danger temporarily averted, Jennings and Cook eked out 35 runs before the recalled Philander's stand-in, Duanne Olivier, struck. Not for the first time it was a meek dismissal for Jennings, a half-hearted push nestling safely in Quinton De Kock's gloves.

With 109 runs in seven innings, his prospects of reaching this month's West Indies series look increasingly slim.

Cook settled sufficiently as England reached 67 for one at lunch, though new man Westley endured some dicey moments.

Having made a strong impression on debut at the Kia Oval, he almost played on with a single to his name, slashed wildly over the cordon on 15 and was roundly beaten by Keshav Maharaj just before lunch.

South Africa enjoyed a more productive time in the afternoon session, driven forward by Rabada's infectious energy and Maharaj's craft.

Cook's resistance ended four short of 50, driving with unusual gusto at spinner Maharaj but insufficient application.

In the next 33 deliveries England scored no runs and lost Westley too, Rabada forcing the mistake and De Kock flinging himself to the right to pouch a superb catch. It was a fitting way to bring up a century of Test match dismissals and left England 92 for three, Root and Malan both scoreless at the crease.

The England captain did not have it easy, twice surviving loud lbw shouts from Rabada and squirting a thick edge wide of third slip immediately after a 12-minute delay caused by a spectator taking ill in the members' area behind the bowler's arm.

But while he dug in for tea, Malan self-combusted, waving loosely at Morkel and feeding Faf du Plessis at slip. After score of one and 10 on debut, his 18 here represented a third failure and he thumped the turf in dismay on his way back.

De Kock looked to have erred badly when he allowed Root a life on 40, curiously declining to move when an edge sailed comfortably past him, but it cost his side just 12 runs.

Those additional runs were enough for Root to bring up both of his new landmarks, being older only than Sachin Tendulkar and Cook to the 5,000 mark, but a major innings eluded him as he wandered down and across the wicket to Olivier, inviting lbw.

Stokes had put on 43 alongside Root and did the heavy lifting in a stand of 65 as he and Jonny Bairstow battled the second new ball.

The latter partnership was threatening to put a downer on the fielding side's efforts until Rabada summoned one last effort and parted Stokes' stumps with a rapid yorker.

Day one reaction

England assistant coach Paul Farbrace: "I thought it's been a really tough day for the batters.

"It looks as though it's a wicket where the bowlers are always in it. I think they bowled really well today; Morne Morkel was outstanding, (Keshav) Maharaj has bowled with real control which has allowed them to rotate their seamers around, he's done a great job.

"From our point of view I thought we fought really well, we've battled well. We've shown we really are learning to play on a wicket that has done a bit."

Farbrace on Joe Root: "He just looks a quality player, he just looks as though every innings he's getting better and better.

"He plays brilliantly, he's the heartbeat of our team and he just shows his quality. It's a great record for him to have and hopefully there's thousands more to come."

Farbrace on day two: "We've got to get ourselves at least another 100. Ideally you always want 400 in the first innings of a Test match, if we can get ourselves 350-plus I think we'll be reasonably happy because it has been tough."

Farbrace on Haseeb Hameed's presence in the England dressing room: "If you're in the England team there is always, and should always be, someone knocking on the door for your place, whether they're here at the ground breathing down your neck or doing it in the championship.

"This was just another opportunity to keep (Hameed) in the fold and make him realise he's very much part of the future of the England cricket team.

"We'll be keeping a close eye on his championship game (against Hampshire) on Sunday and we want him to make runs. Hopefully he'll be pushing contention to get back into the team at some point."

South Africa seamer Duanne Olivier on his side's day: "We really bowled well today, it's not like they ran away with the game at any stage.

"They batted well at the end, Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, but it felt like even stevens today and that wicket at the end maybe sent it our way a little bit."