8.30pm: England captain, Alastair Cook: "We just didn't play very well, in all three aspects. All credit to the way Amla played, his innings showed us how to play. When we batted we were up with the run rate but we never got our partnerships going. Amla played beautifully, it's frustrating for a captain. It's frustrating to drop catches, we're training really hard but they're not sticking. There's no reason why they're going down. We thought it was gettable but we needed someone to stay in and get big runs. It hasn't happened today and it's frustrating but we've got three games to come. They're playing some good cricket, we've got to look within ourselves to do it, players have got to stand up and be counted to turn it around."
South Africa captain, AB de Villiers: "Yeah, very happy, though still think there's a few areas we can work on. I enjoyed the South Africa support out there today. There's still stuff we can work on to get better, Hashim's on fire at the moment, he's breaking all sorts of records and hopefully that can continue well into the future. We were just trying different combinations, left-hand, right-hand combinations against the spinners, we change things [with the order] according to the situation. The wicket played well, we thought it might break up a bit more but the spinners did well. We lost wickets at quick intervals in the middle, fielding wasn't perfect, so lots to work on. We're proud [of being No. 1] but there are lost of ODIs played and we're working towards winning a World Cup and staying No. 1."
Hashim Amla is named Man of the Match: "Things are falling into place but an element of fortune has to go your way as well and I just try to stick to the basics. The one-day game has its different characteristics and you can play a few more flair shots. The wicket was tough early on and it was tough to score off the spinners, the pace was down but we got our partnerships going. I didn't think I would be achieving this, it's just an honour. I'm enjoying the game and the team results have been fantastic and that takes precedence. My circus moment [in the field] just tweaked my back but I'll rest it and hopefully be okay for The Oval."
Right, that's your lot for tonight (and not even a drop of rain to lubricate things). Gnasher and I will be back for the third one-dayer on Friday - we hope you will be too. Cheerio
8.20pm: It was never in doubt, even when Steven Finn and Samit Patel were slogging from the hip. Victory means South Africa take a 1-0 lead in the series, as well as leap-frog England to take No. 1 spot in the ODI rankings. A first ODI defeat of 2012 means England actually slip to third, behind India, though there are still three matches in the series to play. Hashim Amla, for it was he, laid the foundations - and what mighty foundations they were - on a pitch that was far more difficult to score on than he made it look; England lost wickets at regular intervals and in the end lost by a wide margin. Gnasher's report is waiting to pored over and I'll be back with the presentations shortly.
SR Patel c †de Villiers b Morkel 45 (75m 51b 3x4 2x6) SR: 88.23
England need 84 from the last ten. Fancy it?
END OF OVER:40 | 20 Runs | ENG: 204/9 (84 runs required from 60 balls, RR: 5.10, RRR: 8.40)
- Samit Patel44 (49b)
- Steven Finn13 (6b)
- Robin Peterson9-0-51-2
- Morne Morkel5-0-26-1
The Finnisher is on strike
END OF OVER:39 | 13 Runs | ENG: 184/9 (104 runs required from 11 overs, RR: 4.71, RRR: 9.45)
- Steven Finn12 (5b)
- Samit Patel25 (44b)
- Morne Morkel5-0-26-1
- Robin Peterson8-0-31-2
On comes Morne Morkel to stomp all over the tail
END OF OVER:38 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 171/9 (117 runs required from 12 overs, RR: 4.50, RRR: 9.75)
- Samit Patel24 (43b)
- Steven Finn0 (0b)
- Robin Peterson8-0-31-2
- Wayne Parnell7-1-30-2
The script is on the wall for England
JM Anderson run out 5 (14m 13b 0x4 0x6) SR: 38.46
