South Africa all out for 64 as England seal dominant Test win

South Africa v England, one-off Test (day three of four)

England 395-9 dec (Sciver-Brunt 128, Bouchier 126) & 236 (Knight 90; Mlaba 6-67)

South Africa 281: Wolvaardt 65; Bell 4-49 & 64 (Bell 4-27)

England won by 286 runs

Scorecard

England secured a first Test win since 2014 with a crushing 286-run win over South Africa in Bloemfontein.

Set an improbable 351 to win, the Proteas crumbled to 64 all out, which is their lowest total in women's Tests.

Seamer Lauren Bell was the standout for England, taking 4-27, while spinner Sophie Ecclestone finished with 2-7.

England started the day with a lead of 145 and were bowled out for 281 shortly before tea, with captain Heather Knight providing the backbone of the innings with a composed 90.

Faced with a tricky 20-minute spell before the interval, Bell took the key scalp of Laura Wolvaardt for four and fellow seamer Lauren Filer trapped Anneke Bosch in front for the same score.

But the turning point came after the break when England appealed for a catch at short leg off Annerie Dercksen, with the on-field umpire initially unmoved.

But the decision was then overturned after a consultation with the third umpire, despite the fact the decision review system (DRS) is not in place for the match.

South Africa were visibly unhappy with the decision and from there, they crumbled by losing their final seven wickets for just 42 runs with Marizanne Kapp's 21 the only contribution.

The dismal batting effort overshadowed the brilliant bowling effort of spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who took 6-67 to finish with 10 in the match.

The victory ensures England should head to January's Ashes with plenty of confidence having also won both preceding white-ball series on this tour.

While the margin of victory was eventually very comfortable for England, the lack of DRS cast an unfortunate shadow over the match in general.

The preceding white-ball series both had the system in place for the first time in women's bilateral internationals in South Africa but because of the costs involved, Cricket South Africa said they were prioritising its use in the shorter formats only. , external

There are always going to be mistakes made by human error but it meant that those decisions were amplified further in Bloemfontein, including an appeal for lbw against Tammy Beaumont from the second ball of the match which looked plumb and Wolvaardt's fury at being given out the same way but having hit the ball.

On day three, it was Dercksen's wicket which led to widespread confusion and lack of clarity around what exactly the third umpire could overrule, and what they could not.

There was no doubt about the fact Beaumont had taken the catch cleanly at short leg off Bell's bowling because it popped up straight to her at chest height, but umpires Kerrin Klaaste and Lauren Agenbag - both officiating in their first Tests - had a discussion after England's convincing appeal.

There was also no UltraEdge to determine whether Dercksen had hit it, though the slow motion replay made it look likely and therefore it was probably the correct decision yet it was the inconsistency of the process that was questioned.

Dercksen's wicket left the score 22-3 and led to a visibly-annoyed South Africa's capitulation.