Gutsy England set up a thriller

The all-rounder, whose ferocious spell of fast bowling yesterday brought the npower Third Test to life, had Mark Boucher dropped at slip by Paul Collingwood this morning.

That mistake prevented Flintoff from adding to last night's four successes - but it did not prove too costly with fellow pacemen Jimmy Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom taking two wickets apiece as South Africa ended their innings with a lead of 83.

England, 1-0 behind in the four-match series, had looked down and out before Flintoff inspired them with the ball.

It was just what they needed, and a perfect boost for the all-rounder who missed 18 months of Test cricket through injury and had a make or break fourth operation on his left ankle last October. "His spell yesterday was just what we were looking for," said chief selector Geoff Miller.

"We took our time with 'Fred' and tried to make sure he was completely right so when he came back he could do that.

"It would have been wrong to bring him back early and I think we got the timing just about spot-on.

"He's up for it, he's passionate about it, he loves to wear the England badge and he's just shown what he is capable of.

"We were obviously 200 runs light when we batted but the team have fought back really well and shown their character."

The match umpires, meanwhile, could not act on South Africa's request for one of the Edgbaston sightscreens to be raised.

The Proteas complained that their batsmen 'lost' Flintoff 's yorker-length deliveries from the Pavilion End.

However, according to regulations, screens cannot be changed once a Test has started.