South Africa close in on fourth-Test win over England

South Africa are just seven wickets away from winning the fourth and final Test after England lost three men early in their chase of 382.

Having been put in to bat late on day four, the tourists lost Alastair Cook (5), Alex Hales (1) and Nick Compton (6) before the close, leaving Joe Root (19) and James Taylor (19) at the crease with England 52-3, still trailing by 330 runs.

Earlier in the day, South Africa pushed their lead towards 400 as Hashim Amla came agonisingly close to successive centuries in Centurion.

Amla (96) and Temba Bavuma (78 not out) built on South Africa's day-three lead of 175 before rain forced the hosts – seeking to salvage some pride having already lost the four-match series – to declare.

By that point, James Anderson (3-47) had moved within one wicket of Kapil Dev in the all-time list of Test wicket-takers with the early dismissals of Stephen Cook (25) and AB de Villiers (0), the seamer moving onto 433.

Morne Morkel (1-12) and Kagiso Rabada (2-15) furthered South Africa's command before stumps by removing England's top three, but the threat of more inclement weather on the final day could yet spoil the Proteas' hopes of victory.

South Africa resumed on 42-1 but Anderson dismissed Stephen Cook with just seven more runs added, the debutant reaching at a wider delivery to give Jonny Bairstow a simple catch.

De Villiers quickly followed – trapped lbw by Anderson as the captain went for a pair and his third duck in a row.

JP Duminy scored 29 before falling to Ben Stokes (1-36) but England's progress slowly ground to a halt thanks to the the watchful Amla and willing understudy Bavuma, who mounted a 117-run fifth-wicket stand.

Amla, whose patient 50 came off 119 balls, went to tea just four runs away from his 25th Test century, but his concentration escaped him upon the resumption as he fell to Stuart Broad (1-33), the right-hander paying the price for chasing a wide delivery.

South Africa added another 25 runs prior to the rain's arrival, which drew the declaration from De Villiers with a lead of 381.

Hales' troubles continued as he nicked Rabada behind before Compton fell the same way, with Morkel taking a superb return catch to remove Alastair Cook in between those two dismissals.

Root survived an lbw review after a Dane Piedt (0-7) delivery struck him on the pads, and England will likely need further fortune in the form of assistance from the weather in order to hold South Africa winless in the series.