This could and should have been a good, even grand day for England. A rollicking start as Mike Atherton and Mark Butcher reduced the South African bowling to a disjointed shambles with a century opening stand, and a period of inactivity in the middle session as the bowling steadied and Hansie Cronje regained the control he lost, was followed by Michael Vaughan's steadfastness in a potentially profitable half-century partnership with Alec Stewart in his most garrulous batting form.
It was a chance to invest in the future, as England had done on the first day in Durban. Instead, with the sun beginning to set over Table Mountain and the shadows of the floodlights lengthened across the turf, it went sufficiently wrong to send the South Africans to the dressing-room with a spring in their step and England to ponder whether recklessness had not taken an undue hold over discretion after they had won the toss.
England will resume today on 215 for five, knowing that contributions now from the rookies Vaughan, Chris Adams and Andy Flintoff are paramount if the England bowlers are going to have the luxury of a decent total to bowl at. Vaughan, back in the side at the expense of Darren Maddy (England's only change from the last Test), already has 40 to his name and has batted for 152 minutes.
Adams survived the six balls he had to face before the close when he was required to come to the crease after the downfall of Stewart and the nightwatchman Andy Caddick to Allan Donald and the second new ball, which is still only 12 overs old.
As well as he played for 83 minutes, Stewart's dismissal was not a clever piece of cricket. Stewart is an adrenaline player, relying on eye and instinct and as such failures have to be accepted in order to glory in the successes.
Certainly Atherton believes he has never seen Stewart bat better than in the second innings at the Wanderers and in the only innings in Durban. And yesterday he raised England's batting from a stagnant state with his habitual blend of hooks, cuts, back-foot forcing and driving. But really he should have known better than to take on Donald with the day drawing to a close, the new ball to negotiate and tomorrow to play for.
Perhaps he was seduced by the sounds of Jerusalem being sung with gusto from the terraces (he's a patriotic fellow who responds to such stimuli) but his penultimate shot, a tennis swat over mid-on almost brought his downfall, and the next ball, with the warning unheeded, was top-edged precisely to Gary Kirsten at long leg, one of two fielders placed behind square for that purpose. The door was opened.
Stewart was not the first batsman to be suckered, for Donald has taken four of the five wickets to fall, and three of them - Atherton, Butcher and Stewart - have been caught by Kirsten in the deep.
Donald, in fairness, had raised his game like a true champion. At tea, while his team-mates put their feet up, the great fast bowler donned his blazer and returned to the outfield to join a select band from whom South Africa's cricketer of the century was to be named. The accolade went to Graeme Pollock but there is little doubt that Donald is their player of this century.
His opening spell was wayward and lacklustre, as it frequently is while he frets about his rhythm and wrist action. But later, as Atherton and Butcher were running ahead, he returned in partnership with Paul Adams and began the steadying process that saw only 26 runs from as many overs and the wickets of Atherton, hooking, for a brilliant 71, and Butcher, cutting, for 40.
Nasser Hussain too, found the going tough, and was eventually out to Adams for 15, although not before he had increased his unbeaten time at the crease - taking in his centuries in Port Elizabeth and Durban - to 1,022 minutes, which is almost certainly the longest sequence without being dismissed in Test history.
The opening partnership was a delight, particularly given that its highest contribution in the series so far had been seven. Atherton was the one who set the tone yesterday while Butcher was content to play second fiddle.
There was a slice of good - no, incredible - fortune for Atherton when, having made 15, he drove Donald head high straight to Jonty Rhodes (he had replaced Nantie Hayward in the side), who, beginning his celebratory run from point to bowler a little prematurely, dropped the chance. Thereafter, until his dismissal in the first over of Donald's second spell, he batted with immense skill, making the support bowling look substandard.
By then his partnership with Butcher had reached 115, the third time the pair have added three figures together against South Africa, after their 179 in the first Test at Edgbaston two years ago and the 145 they added at Trent Bridge three matches later. This is the 15th match since then and until yesterday England had not again approached such lofty heights.
