61st over: South Africa 164-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 87 Amla 73) Tim Bresnan finally comes into the attack with 18 minutes to go to lunch. The possible logic, suggested by Nasser Hussain, is that England wanted to wait just a bit longer to give the ball more chance to reverse. Smith tucks another single off the hip. He is 13 away from scoring a hundred in his 100th Test. A few others have done it - Ricky Ponting scored two, against Smith's South Africa - but it would still be a stunning achievement. "Saturday Story turns today," writes Paul King, the executive producer of Sky's brilliant cricket coverage. Look at the history of 'overseas' players to play for England from Ranji to Trott - worth a watch if you're not out 'refueling' at lunch. It is indeed; the trailer this morning looked excellent. I might send a flunky to Pret so I can watch it. 60th over: South Africa 162-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 86 Amla 72) Swann is back on, having changed ends. A quiet over brings a couple of singles. England haven't done too much wrong this morning, in truth. They are just bowling to two very good batsmen on a flat deck. "Interesting Sean Clayton's issue with not enough people having seen James Bond by Sean Connery," says Storm Ferguson. Living in South Africa I've long accepted being called Stum, but the best ever was being addressed as Dawn. A trifle off-putting to a bass voiced male but hysterically funny to my daughter, so Sean should easily be able to live with Seen. Oh, and its great seeing your vaunted attack suffering a tad. 59th over: South Africa 160-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 85 Amla 71) These are Graeme Smith's Test scores in England. Once he gets in ... "Afternoon, handsome," writes Miss Maway Simon Richard O'Hagan. You can imagine the number of times I have my surname mispronounced, let alone incorrectly spelled. Which is understandable, given that even I think it is a bit odd. But my wife used to suffer all sorts of mis-spellings of her maiden name which, given that it was Garden, gives me little hope for humanity. 58th over: South Africa 158-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 84 Amla 70) "Afternoon Rob, another couple of people relying on your OBO here in Dubrovnik," says Ralph Waumsley. Waiting in an Irish pub for some Aussies to finish watching some domestic rugby union before we overpower everyone and put the cricket on. Highlight of the day so far: Middle aged lady in a head scarf walks in with companion who looks like a fat version of The Dude from The Big Lebowski. She takes three steps in, takes a look around and then emits a disdainful 'Doesn't look very Irish to me' in a thick Lancastrian accent. The Dude grunts and they make a swift exit. So just to clarify: you're waiting to watch cricket in an Irish pub in Dubrovnik and The Dude is courting Daphne from Frasier's Mum? God bless the internet. 57th over: South Africa 155-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 83 Amla 68) Bopara comes on for Swann, ahead of Tim Bresnan, who has only bowled six of the 57 overs in this innings. Smith throws the bat at a very wide delivery, edging it in the air but wide of backward point for another boundary. Nowt dry about this min-session. England are hemorrhaging runs just now; 40 in the last five overs. "Discussing the pronunciation of Sean as 'seen'," says Kieran Walsh. I think it is fine for the poster to have pronounced as 'shawn' but the eponymous hero from the South Yorkshire rifles really should decide whether it is Seen Bean or Shawn Bourne. He can't have both it both ways. 56th over: South Africa 150-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 79 Amla 67) Four more to Smith, flipped through square leg off Broad. He is motoring, although he is fortunate when another whip flies in the air between the two men at short forward square leg and short midwicket. It scoots away for four more. Smith reached his fifty from 160 deliveries; since then he has scored 28 from 16. "Am I the only person sanding a floor whilst following OBO today?" asks Matt Delargy. I suspect you're the only one following the OBO while doing so, although coincidentally I'm sanding the Guardian floor while writing it. We're encouraged to multitask these days. 55th over: South Africa 141-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 71 Amla 66) Ten from Swann's over. That means he has conceded 21 from his last two overs, having conceded 21 from 16 before that. Smith is playing him with much more confidence now. He walks down the track to work the second ball wide of midwicket for four, a very good stroke, and a similar stroke brings two more later in the over. The next ball is tickled fine for another boundary and suddenly Smith, who was stuck in the forties for ages this morning, has zoomed into the seventies. On Sky, Shane Warne says he would like Swann to bowl slightly slower and slightly wider to Smith. "My parents (obviously) thought it would be hilarious to spell my name with two S's, ensuring that my name would be hissed rather than spoken for the rest of my life," says Ssagala. "My precious 5-year old niece once asked me if the extra S stood for "Superman." My ego wouldn't let me deny it. 54th over: South Africa 131-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 61, Amla 66) Broad goes around the wicket to Smith, who drives his first ball emphatically through extra cover for four. England's yakka is getting harder by the over. "Almost everyone back home in Oz finds my name impossible to pronounce from its written form - the worst teacher effort was 'Ermanon'," says Eamonn Maloney. Predictive text's guess is Ergonom, but that at least has the excuse of not being human. 53rd over: South Africa 126-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 56, Amla 66) Smith works Swann through square leg for three to reach a defiant, tone-setting fifty from 160 balls. It's the slowest of his Test career, and one of the more important. He will want plenty more than fifty, and he knows how to get them in this country. Only Don Bradman averages more in Tests in England. He hammers a sweep behind square for four two balls later. Eleven from the over. When people say to me, 'Are you sure?' I like to reply, 'Yes, I am: Kieron Shaw'," says Kieron Shaw. It was hilarious when I was 9 years old. I assumed I would eventually grow out of it. I still haven't grown out of it. I don't think I will ever grow out of it. It's just too irresistible when somebody tosses up the opportunity... It tends to go down badly on dates, though, I've noticed. It's not just that it suggests to husband-and-father-material hunters a manifest lack of the required gravitas. It doesn't even get the more liberated types into bed for a quick session of the old whistle-and-pop. So nobody wins. Not me; not women; certainly not comedy. In retrospect, actually, maybe the women are winning in this situation. 52nd over: South Africa 115-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 48, Amla 63) Amla eases another gorgeous drive to the extra-cover boundary, this time off the front foot. It's not banterlicious fate-tempting to say he looks nailed on for a century. He is playing with formidable class and certainty. "I'm still amazed at my advanced age at the number of people who think that 'Sean' is pronounced 'seen'," says Sean Kilgannon. Have they never heard of James Bond? 51st over: South Africa 111-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 48, Amla 59) Swann beats Smith with a wonderful delivery that dips onto off stump and then turns sharply. The next ball, fairly short, prompts an ugly, panicky sweep at fresh air from Smith. This is a brilliant contest. Smith is surviving on sheer will. He has 48 from 159 balls now. "No one ever mispronounces 'Tony' or 'pony' or 'sony', but my name is constantly pronounced Donnay, Downey, Dooney and (once) Dong," says Matt Dony. When I explained to someone on the phone 'Like pony, but with a D', I got a letter to Mr Ponyd. 50th over: South Africa 110-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 48, Amla 58) Stuart Broad replaces Jimmy Anderson, who bowled an excellent spell of 6-2-11-0. Amla drives pleasantly through the covers for a couple. He is, in his own quiet way, playing an outstanding innings. He gets a single off the penultimate ball, a rotation of the strike that will irk Swann at the other end. "Morning, Snuth," says Sean Clayton. If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true. "Likewise, the replacement of the "i" with a "y" in "Smyth" or "Smythe" is also often considered an affectation but may have originally occurred because of the difficulty of reading blackletter text, where "Smith" might look like "Snuth" or "Simth" ." 49th over: South Africa 107-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 48, Amla 55) Did anyone see Bumble and the Inspiral Carpets on Cricket AM this morning? How was it? Smith crunches Swann towards midwicket, where Trott does really well to stop the ball and keep Smith on strike. Smith gets in a bit of a mess with the last delivery and survives a biggish LBW shout. It was too high. That's an excellent maiden over. "This is top-class Test cricket," says Mike Atherton on Sky. Damn straight. 48th over: South Africa 107-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 48, Amla 55) A maiden from the accurate Anderson to Amla. We've had 21 runs from 11 overs this morning; England will be pleased with their control of the run-rate, if not the apparent immovability of Smith and particularly Amla. "My sympathies Rob," says Jan Wessels. I was Djan Weasels to the never-heard-of-Keplers during my stay in the UK. 47th over: South Africa 107-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 48, Amla 55) Smith survives a huge shout for LBW from a Swann slider. It was close but it was only just kissing the leg stump so England were right not to review. England need to give Swann a few others at Smith, who is playing him nowhere near as comfortably as Amla. "I can't see how Smyth can be Irish since there's no y in their alphabet," says John Orford. Your name would be Mac a'Ghobhainn, son of a smith, and probably rendered as McGowan or McGovern. There's no hope Rob, you're a crusty Tory, unfit for such as read the Guadrian. Outed before midday. Dumb luck. 46th over: South Africa 106-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 48, Amla 54) "I see your Abu Dhabi and raise you Bangkok train station sat with upwards of 10 Buddhist monks in a coffee shop," says Jimmy Tyldesley. Hoping for a wicket and a reliable sleeper train down to Phuket. Either, or. 45th over: South Africa 104-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 46, Amla 54) Amla misses a couple of sweeps at Swann, the second of which deflects away for two leg byes. He is getting a long way across to Swann so is invariably outside off stump at the point of contact if the ball does hit the pad. Another delivery keeps low towards the end of the over; that's becoming a recurring theme. This is excellent stuff, an unyielding arm-wrestle of a session. "Come now Rob, surely your surname isn't all bad?" says Ryan Dunne, whose surname is hopefully never mispronounced. If it was me, I'd have been tempted to be very selfish at team sports, so, when the scary PE teacher said 'there's no my in Smyth!!' one could respond 'Er, actually sir, I'll think you'll find there is'. 44th over: South Africa 102-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 46, Amla 54) A couple of people below the line on Mike Selvey's match report are disputing that Anderson is the best swing bowler in the world. Is there really any dispute? Steyn is the best fast bowler in the world, and the best bowler in the world. He has a superb outswinger, but Anderson's control of swing is peerless. Anyway, Smith back cuts Anderson for four to bring up the hundred partnership, the ninth between this pair in Tests. I suppose for South Africa the plan is to reach 550 or so around lunchtime tomorrow, and then ask England to bat four and a bit sessions on a wearing pitch. 43rd over: South Africa 98-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 42, Amla 54) Smith muscles Swann through midwicket for four. England have started pretty well but they have very little to work with. "Might be a long day," says Gary Naylor. 42nd over: South Africa 93-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 37, Amla 54) Amla gets the first boundary of the day with a divine back-foot drive off Anderson. There will be few better shots all day. "I'm currently trying to find some way of watching it live from Abu Dhabi, but failing, so am relying on your relay of events - so don't worry, your existence is more than justified to me!" says Jennifer Hegarty. One down, the rest of humanity to go. 41st over: South Africa 89-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 37, Amla 50) There is plenty of turn for Swann. It's fairly slow but still more pronounced than you would expect in the seventh session of the match. Swann has started really well and is, deliberately or otherwise, varying the amount of turn from ball to ball. Amla pats a single to reach a serene, classy half-century from 110 balls. He really is a wonderful player. Smith, who is looking a little jittery, inside edges the last ball of the over not far wide of Cook at short leg. "Hello Dear," says John Starbuck. You can tell this is an OBO reader's message because it slavishly copies and builds on a previous one. We love nothing so much as a riff that everyone can join in with, so expect phishing emails of all type nice throughout the day. 40th over: South Africa 88-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 37, Amla 49) Amla works Anderson off his hip for a single. Anderson won't mind that, as it means he gets three balls at Graeme Smith. The first of those, again wide of off stump, beats a crooked defensive poke. England's seamers are going to bowl dry today. There's a bit of uneven bounce as well, which will become more pronounced as the game progresses and will interest Broad and Morkel in particular. "Rob, why is your Smith spelt with a y?" says Jan Wessels. Scared and confused from South Africa. I assume it's an Irish thing, although Barry Glendenning reckons it's a posh surname. Which is rich coming from Lord Glendenning. It's pronounced with a Y rather than Smith, although of course not everyone realises that, which led to much hilarity and self-loathing at school. This is fun. 39th over: South Africa 87-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 37, Amla 48) As expected, Graeme Swann opens the bowling at the Dingy Boozer End. He has a slip and short leg for Amla, and the second ball brings an optimistic shout for LBW when Amla offers no stroke. The ball turned sharply but nowhere near enough to have hit the stumps. "The quality of Guardian Soulmates is slipping..." says Matt Dony. Maybe Fiver readers have a chance, after all. 38th over: South Africa 86-1 (in reply to England's 385; Smith 37, Amla 47) It is a beautiful day at The Oval. Nasser Hussain and Sir Ian Botham concur that it feels like a batting day. There will be 98 overs today, to make up some time from yesterday. Jimmy Anderson, having demonstratively addressed the England huddle, will open the bowling. He starts by angling all six deliveries across Smith, one of which beats a nervous defensive push. It's a maiden. England bowled pretty straight to Smith yesterday, but now it seems they are, as Nasser puts it on Sky, keen to "take the leg side out of the game." Smith has scored only three of his 37 runs on the off side in this innings. That approach could make for a fascinating game of patience because Smith has the will and concentration to bat for long periods. The first email of the day comes from Maway Simon. Hello Dear. my name is miss maway simon, i saw your profile during my searching for soul mate i became interested to make friend with you.Some friends are remembered because of their smile.Some friends are remembered because of their style.But you are remembered because you are so nice to remember.please i will like to know more about you. Right, I'm off to live happily ever after. Bye! Preamble "Someone is in trouble, something bad is happening." It may be a bit early to come over all Mulholland Drive about England's position in this Test, yet there is a burgeoning sense that a match which was theirs to mould 24 hours ago may now be morphing into something unexpected. South Africa will resume on 86 for one, a deficit of 299. If they bat as they did yesterday, when the defence of Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla made water seem loose by comparison, England will have a long, hard day in the field. Much will depend on Graeme Swann, who has already got a couple of balls to rag, and of course whether the ball swings. Possibly not; it's a lovely day in south London. There is certainly no reason for England to panic. Today should be a compelling struggle for supremacy between the two best teams in the world. By 7pm tonight, there's every chance only one team will have realistic hopes of winning the match. This, you don't need me to tell you but I'm going to anyway because I'm trying to justify my goddamn existence here, is a huge day.