Concerns remain

Even though England are favourites to wrap up the series 3-1, they still have some issues to sort in the batting department. England's top order is still not settled with the team management finding it hard to zero in one player to partner Alastair Cook at the top of the order. With Keaton Jennings enduring another failure and Dawid Malan failing to fire, England will not be pleased with the Ashes set to be played at the end of the year. Our correspondent Rob Johnston has more here.

South Africa also have problem aplenty with their batsmen failing to fire. The absence of AB de Villiers hasn't helped matters and with the mercurial batsman's Test future still unclear, former allrounder Shaun Pollock has called for the star batsman to return to the Test side.

Build up

England extended their dominance over South Africa on the third day by fetching a lead of 360 runs on a surface that seems to get increasingly difficult for the batsmen. Even though South Africa kept striking at regular intervals, Joe Root stood out once again with a well composed 49 beforeallrounderMoeen Ali blazed through to a half-century that came at a strike rate of more than 100. His partnership with Toby-Roland Jones caused a dent in South Africa's spirits and Moeen isn't finished yet.

With rain bringing an early finish to the day's play, the left-hander will look to add more misery on the visitors with Stuart Broad and James Anderson for company. For South Africa, it's all about ensuring they don't allow the target to cross the psychological barrier of 400 runs. The game has certainly appeared to slip away from them considering the amount of turn and bounce the spinners are getting from the surface but with the series at stake, their big guns will have to step up. Welcome to the live blog of the fourth day's play at Old Trafford. Tweet in your opinions to @Narbavi to get them featured on the blog.

D5AVpBjwrV