JOHANNESBURG (AP) Stuart Broad sent England surging toward a series victory in South Africa with a devastating spell of five quick wickets on Saturday, blasting the Proteas out for 83 in their second innings and leaving their era as the No. 1-ranked team all but officially over.
Broad ripped through five of South Africa's top six, including AB de Villiers for a duck and Hashim Amla for five, and England was set for victory in the third test for a winning 2-0 series lead in the four-match contest.
England needed just 74 runs to win at the Wanderers and more than two days to get them and end an 11-year wait for a test series win over South Africa. Broad took England galloping toward history by leaving South Africa's second innings in tatters in the space of 10 overs after lunch on the third day. He also wrapped up the innings to finish with 6-17.
Before lunch, the match incredibly was in the balance. South Africa even felt it had a chance of pushing for a win and finding a way back into the series.
South Africa had bowled England out for 323 - with its own burst of five wickets for 85 runs - to keep England's first-innings lead to just 10. Joe Root was out early in the day for 110 for England, and Kagiso Rabada took that important wicket in a career-best 5-78 for the South African quick.
South Africa then ground its way to 16-0 at the end of the first session for a lead of six. The game was effectively all level.
Just 12 overs later, England had South Africa 35-5 and down and out, with the series loss that would knock it off No. 1 in the rankings seemingly a matter of time. The home team ultimately made its lowest score at the Wanderers since 1956 and lowest score at home since returning to international cricket in 1991.
Broad wrought his havoc under heavy skies and in gloom that required floodlights in Johannesburg, conditions that offered help to the bowlers but still shouldn't have led to total collapse.
The quick bowler started with Dean Elgar (15) caught behind, then followed that with Stiaan Van Zyl (11), De Villiers (0), Amla (5) and Temba Bavuma (0), with those four wickets coming in four successive Broad overs.
Van Zyl was caught by Ben Stokes at gully while De Villiers went to an inside edge to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, as England exploded in delight at that crucial wicket. Broad got brilliant help from fielder James Taylor at short leg with a stunning low catch off a sweet Amla clip off his legs.
Amla's disbelief that Taylor held the catch reflected South Africa's complete shock.
Broad crashed one into Bavuma's stumps with the batsman deciding to leave what he thought was a short ball. Broad's run sent South Africa from 23-0 to 35-5.
Taylor took a second sublime catch with a diving effort to get rid of Dane Vilas and give Steven Finn a wicket. Ben Stokes bowled Chris Morris and had Rabada caught behind just before tea as England's intensity proved far too much for the Proteas.
Broad wrapped it up with Faf du Plessis caught and bowled for 14, and England's moment wasn't far away.
The extent of the achievement for the tourists was that they were heading for only their second series win on South African soil since the Proteas' readmission to tests 25 years ago. Over the last decade, only Australia has won test series in South Africa.
