England bowler Toby Roland-Jones has completed a five-wicket haul on Test debut, but Temba Bavuma had already steered South Africa well past the follow-on mark to 175 all out on day three of the third Test at The Oval.
Vernon Philander was pronounced fit on Saturday to come in down at No.11, having recovered from a stomach upset which left him on an intravenous drip the previous evening in hospital.
But South Africa moved past the follow-on mark of 153 without him, during a ninth-wicket stand of 47 runs between Bavuma (52) and Morne Morkel.
It left England with a lead of 178. In five overs of batting before rain brought an early lunch, they added 20 runs without loss.
They weren't convincing, however, as openers Keaton Jennings (10no) and Alastair Cook (6no) found the going tough under increasingly cloudy skies.
The tourists had resumed on a perilous 8-126, having been 7-61 on Friday after Roland-Jones' memorable four-wicket burst which accounted for South Africa's top order. He finished with 5-57.
Bavuma remained defiant then and resumed to bring up his half-century in three hours.
He had just one minor scare on 40, when Ben Stokes almost pulled off a brilliant catch at gully, flinging himself to his left to intercept a skewed drive off Stuart Broad - with the total on 148.
Stokes could not quite cling on and, in Broad's next over, South Africa were safely within 200 runs of England's total after a Bavuma cover-drive for four.
It was not until Morkel faced James Anderson (3-25) for the first time that England broke the stubborn partnership, the tall left-hander edging to slip off the back foot to finally bring Philander to the crease.
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