England held up by rain and Amla.

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RAIN and a fine innings by Hashim Amla slowed England's progress on the third day of the fourth and final Test against South Africa at the Oval yesterday.Amla made 71 not out as South Africa reached 110 for two in their second innings, still 12 behind England's first innings total.

No play was possible between lunch and tea after only 17.5 overs were played before the lunch break.Amla was the mainstay of the South African innings, reaching a half-century off 64 balls with ten crisply-struck boundaries.When rain stopped play eight minutes before the scheduled lunch break he had faced 86 balls and hit 14 fours.In gloomy conditions, overnight batsmen Neil McKenzie and Amla made steady progress in the face of some wayward bowling from the returning Steve Harmison and James Anderson in the England attack. They took the total from the overnight 37 for one to 82, before the first bowling change of the day brought success.Stuart Broad's return to the side was a successful one as he replaced Anderson and bowled McKenzie off an inside edge with only his fourth delivery for 29.Andrew Flintoff came on for Harmison and was punched through the covers off the back foot as Amla reached his fifty in style. But the No.3 then had a lucky escape on 58 when an attempted drive against Flintoff flew off an inside edge.Wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose flung himself six feet to his left but could not hold onto a difficult chance.New captain Kevin Pietersen's 14th Test hundred on Saturday helped England into a position of dominance as they seek a consolation victory in a campaign they trail 2-0.

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