South Africa v England: third Test, day three – live!

26th over: South Africa 72-4 (Nortje 1, van der Dussen 0) Bess whistles through a maiden to Nortje, with scarcely a thought for people trying to write OBOs.

“Looking forward to a great day,” wrote Leo a couple of wickets ago. “Meanwhile… ‘not even Jerusalem dampens the excitement’? [08:02] So what do we really think of the Barmy Army? Did I also detect a slight world-weariness creeping into the OBO yesterday as whoever was writing suggested he or she was somewhat unbeguiled by the continued carryings-on of the Crazy Corps? Has what started so many years ago as a slightly self-deprecatory unit of hard-core England supporters willing to brave the rigours of sometimes challenging foreign travel developed into something that, instead, now rather prominently displays elements of the Great British psyche perhaps better kept at home? And, if so, what can be done?

“Last night I had a dream… that, as an antidote, we Guardian Readers started to consider organising a small rival force of travelling supporters that will go out of their way to show another side of the English character. A group that will aim to ingratiate themselves with the host nation, cheering rather than denigrating the opposition at every opportunity, backing wholeheartedly the umpires’ adjudications, and taking care to compliment the ground staff on preparing such superb wickets! Who knows, taking the lead from the delightful Japanese World Cup fans a couple of years ago, this newly Regenerated Regiment could even stick around to help clean up the stadium after the day’s play. Come on, Guardian Readers! Why not?! After, of course, each of us has dutifully subscribed and contributed to the paper proper, let us join together to form our own brand of more ‘woke’ and enlightened supportership, We could do it! Come on! Let’s hear it for The Guardian’s own Smarmy Army.”

25th over: South Africa 72-4 (Nortje 1, van der Dussen 0) The nightwatchman is in danger of ending up not out here. Nortje almost falls to Wood, fending close to the inevitable Pope at short leg, but then plays a wily tuck that gets him off the mark, and, more importantly, up the other end. Wood has the unlikely figures of 7-4-7-0. He has been far more threatening than Bess, but the pitch is on Bess’s side, and so are the gods.

“On the pop quiz question [22nd over],” says Alex Bramble, “it has to be the stylistically contrasting David Ivon Gower and Alastair Nathan Cook.” We have a winner. “And,” he goes on, “I’m struggling to contain my enthusiasm about Pope; I haven’t felt this excited since, well, Joe Root, and Iron Bell before that (and yes it looks like Pope deserves such exalted comparisons!).” It does.

24th over: South Africa 71-4 (Nortje 0, van der Dussen 0) Faf had actually started well, dancing down the track to off-drive Bess for four, then repeating the trick next ball. But Bess stuck at it and got lucky. Poor old South Africa – they’re making England’s youngest players look like world-beaters.

Another one! Another big one! Faf du Plessis tucks Bess round the corner, where the unstoppable Pope pops up to take a simpler catch at square short leg. Dom Bess has FOUR FOR 22. The world has gone completely mad.

23rd over: South Africa 63-3 (Nortje 0, du Plessis 0) Another maiden from Wood, who seems to be adding parsimony to his arsenal. If he could just stay fit, he might well be England’s Mitchell Johnson.

“I know this is so yesterday,” says James Gladstone, “but what kept me awake here in Chiangmai last night was ‘what the hell is a former redhead’, and subsequently – could there ever be or have been an XI of redheads given we’ve got potentially 3 already…?” I shudder to think what you’ve started.

22nd over: South Africa 63-3 (Nortje 0, du Plessis 0) Root had just moved Pope to silly point, so full credit for that and time for the doubters to be silenced. What a match Pope is having. Yesterday, aged 22, he became the youngest right-hander to make a hundred for England since Colin Cowdrey in 1954. In the past 66 years, two left-handers were even younger – can you name them?

An inside edge, a pop off the pad, a dive forwards from silly point – and England have the wicket they most wanted.

21st over: South Africa 61-2 (Elgar 33, Nortje 0) Wood’s pace again bothers Elgar, who flaps at a short one. The ball loops up and would be caught if there were two leg slips. Can’t blame Root for that.

20th over: South Africa 60-2 (Elgar 32, Nortje 0) It’s Dom Bess at the other end, so no Stuart Broad for now. He too opens with a maiden, but there are no alarms for the nightwatchman Nortje.

19th over: South Africa 60-2 (Elgar 32, Nortje 0) Wood does it again, third ball, and twice hurries Elgar into crabby deflections with a crooked bat. As first overs of the day go, that’s superb. But already the commentators are chuntering about a missing catcher, at second slip. Root did well on one side, with a short leg and a leg slip, but something in him keeps on wanting to overdo the caution. Maybe it’s the years he spent watching Alastair Cook setting the field.

It’s Mark Wood (hooray) and he opens with a jaffa – angled into the left-handed Elgar, and jagging past him. Not even Jerusalem can dampen the excitement.

“What times we live in,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Looking forward avidly to a day’s Test coverage. Thanks, in advance, for the great commentary, Tim.” Steady on. That could be like saying thanks, in advance, for the great captaincy, Joe.

Not only are England in charge, but the weather is better than forecast and the day seems to be starting on time. Something must be about to go horribly wrong, and Abhijato Sensarma is onto it. “The England Test side is easily one of the most volatile sporting outfits in the world. They oscillate from positions of comfort and advantage to ones of disarray and disadvantage, often within the same session. Yesterday was their best day in Test cricket for quite some time – the experienced players kept a cool head, while the young ones showed adequate style on their way to substance. The media is printing positive headlines for this team after a long time. If they do not follow it up with classical confusion, rusty bowling, and average fielding to surrender their advantage today, would the world even make sense anymore?”

Morning everyone. England’s cricketers have just woken up to face an unfamiliar challenge: how do you follow a perfect day? Yesterday they had one fresh-faced 22-year-old making a masterly hundred, and then another grabbing two top-order wickets. England finished the day 439 ahead, with Dom Bess lording it at one end and Mark Wood delivering thunderbolts at the other. The good news for South Africa is that their task is simple enough: all they have to do is dig themselves out of a deep hole.

One piece of evidence is on their side. So far in the third Test, not a single wicket has fallen before lunch. England should be able to change that curious fact with their tails up and a nightwatchman to bowl at – although, the last time he found himself doing this job, Anrich Nortje made a handy fortje.

Dean Elgar has been his usual craggy self with 32 not out, and the pitch is slow, verging on dead for the seamers once the ball goes soft. So there may yet be a twist, but, for the moment, England are right on top.

Joe Root even got away with impersonating the rather dopey captain he used to be – keeping Sam Curran on too long, bringing Wood on too late, and being so slow to surround the bat that you wondered if he’d misread the scoreboard and thought he had 299 to play with, not 499. As it is, South Africa need 300 to avoid the follow-on, and they’ve got one-fifth of the way there, at the cost of one-fifth of the wickets. So that element of the match is nicely poised.

The weather forecast, alas, is gloomy, with every hour of the day being given a 50-to-60-per-cent chance of rain. But still, the glass is almost half full. See you at 10am Port Elizabeth time, 8am GMT, for the next episode in an absorbing series.