South Africa set the standard

Andre Nel and Ashwell Prince celebrate Michael Vaughan's departure

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South Africa excelled with the ball once more as England’s hopes of regaining a foothold in the npower Test series ebbed away on the first day of the third Test at Edgbaston.

Beaten by 10 wickets in the previous encounter at Headingley Carengie, England went into this match knowing anything less than victory would end their chances of winning the series.

But the tourists showed no sign of a slip in standards as they bowled England out for just 231 after Michael Vaughan had elected to bat first on a surface that contained noticeably few demons throughout an absorbing day’s cricket.

Andre Nel pressed his claims for a permanent place in the South Africa side with three key wickets, Jacques Kallis matched that feat, and there were also two victims for Makhaya Ntini before two eminently avoidable run-outs in the space of two balls brought the England innings to a swift conclusion.

Though Alastair Cook made 76, Ian Bell 50 and Andrew Flintoff a largely restrained 36 as England’s priorities shifted towards damage limitation, England found themselves all out on the first day of a Test for the second time in as many weeks.

South Africa reached 38 for the loss of Graeme Smith in the 11 overs possible before the close, and one suspects England will need to build on that breakthrough early tomorrow morning if they are to have any chance of bowling a formidable Proteas batting line-up out cheaply.

As well as South Africa bowled and fielded, that England lost 10 wickets in little more than 54 overs owed much to their failure to contend with the moving ball, as well as some muddled thinking from the tail.

It also wasted much of the good work done by Cook and Andrew Strauss, who denied South Africa any success for the first hour and a half of play in compiling an opening stand of 68.

Though scoring was far from fluent and both batsmen played and missed occasionally, Cook capitalised on the plentiful short balls that came his way, while Strauss accumulated steadily off his legs.

Alastair Cook drives through the off side in his determined innings of 76 at Edgbaston

The fifty partnership arrived in 110 balls, and they appeared to be laying the platform for a sizeable first-innings total before Strauss departed for 20 in unusual fashion.

Jumping back in his crease as he tucked Nel - bowling around the wicket - off his hips, the left-hander stood on the base of middle stump and saw the South Africans celebrating as he set off in search of a single.

Michael Vaughan, in need of runs after a barren series, fell first ball to Nel, caught behind via a faint outside edge as he pushed forward at a full-length delivery that did little more than hold its line.

Though Cook continued to prosper - mainly off the back foot through the leg side - Kallis strengthened South Africa’s advantage by having Kevin Pietersen caught by Ashwell Prince at point courtesy of a debatable bat-pad decision as he attempted to work the ball through midwicket.

Cook continued in much the same fashion after lunch, having gone to an 88-ball fifty containing eight fours, while Bell was fortunate to see a sliced drive off Morne Morkel fly safely between gully and backward point early in his innings.

A back-foot forcing shot off Nel suggested Cook was willing to expand his repertoire, only for the left-hander to fall to an indeterminate prod moments later.

Nel, his former colleague at Essex, was delighted to see Kallis cling on to a sharp chance diving to his left at second slip, sparking the wild celebrations for which the pace bowler has become famous.

It left South Africa firmly in the ascendancy, although Bell showed signs of finding his touch with exquisite off-side boundaries off front and back foot during one unusually expensive over from Nel.

Paul Collingwood - on his return to the side after being dropped for the defeat at Headingley - needed 16 balls to get off the mark with a off-driven four, but it proved to be his only scoring shot as he became Kallis’ second victim.

Last man Monty Panesar is run out as England are bowled out for 231 in the final session of the day

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Aiming to hit a full-length delivery from outside off stump through the leg side, he succeeded merely in edging to Smith - passed fit following back trouble - at first slip.

Bell reached 50 off 94 balls, hitting nine boundaries in the process, yet fell in the pentimate over before tea, drawn forward by Ntini and caught behind via a faint outside edge.

As they did during their ultimately futile bid to stave off defeat at Headingley, Flintoff and Tim Ambrose batted stoically in adding 39 for the seventh wicket in almost 20 overs.

Signs of aggression were few and far between as South Africa applied the brakes, and Kallis was rewarded for another disciplined spell when Ambrose, playing away from his body with a notable lack of foot movement, played on for 22.

Sidebottom showed little inclination to get in line before he fenced at Ntini and provided wicketkeeper Mark Boucher with another catch, low to his left, but the arrival of James Anderson at the crease prompted Flintoff to change his gameplan.

He pulled Ntini over square-leg for six before drilling a ferocious straight drive past the bowler’s head next ball, yet his attempt to pinch a single later in the over saw Anderson run out by Prince’s direct hit as he ran in from cover.

While Monty Panesar’s attempt to get Flintoff on strike for the first ball of the next over was laudible, the choice of a second run to Hashim Amla at fine-leg was wildly optimistic at best.

It left South Africa three quarters of an hour to negotiate before the close, but England at least enjoyed some success with the ball when Flintoff had Smith taken by Strauss at first slip with only his second delivery.