Moeen spins England to 3-1 series win
Moeen Ali was in the thick of things again, this time with the ball, as he tore through South Africa's lineup with a five-wicket haul, giving England the series by a 3-1 margin on the fourth day of the fourth and final Test in Manchester.
Chasing an improbable 380, South Africa lost wickets in a heap on either side of a sparkling 123-run stand between Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, the captain, to collapse to 202, giving the host a 177-run win on Monday and its first home series win against their opponents since 1998.
England, resuming on 224 for 8 extended its score to 243, and didn't have to wait too long before its pacers made inroads into the South African top-order. Three of the top four batsmen were removed in the morning session itself, leaving South Africa battling at 40 for 3 when the teams walked out for lunch.
Dean Elgar was the first to fall for five, when Stuart Broad had him feathering an edge to the keeper. Heihno Kuhn struggled in the middle through his 11-run stay before James Anderson, bowling from the newly named James Anderson end, dismissed him. Temba Bavuma looked more gritty but was given out caught behind on review off Toby Roland-Jones in what was the last ball of the morning.
Amla and du Plessis then joined forces, scoring fine half-centuries, with little visible discomfort on the wearing surface. The duo added runs at a good nick and even looked untroubled by Moeen, who scored a gutsy 66-ball 75 not out in England's second innings.
But in a space of 11 balls shortly before the tea break, Moeen struck thrice to decisively swing the game in the host's favour. Amla was adjudged out lbw for 83 on review by a ripping off-break. Moeen then went on to dismiss Quinton de Kock and Theunis de Bruyn cheaply.
Anderson, who claimed four wickets in South Africa's first innings, then ended Faf's fight at 61, before removing Rabada cheaply. Moeen, by then the leading wicket-taker for the series, extended his tally to 25 by removing the final two batsmen. He also scored 252 runs in the series at an average of 36.