LONDON, 3 August 2003 — South Africa were eight wickets away from an innings victory at stumps on the third day of the second Test at Lord’s here yesterday after piling on the misery for hapless England.

At the close, England were 129 for two in their second innings, needing another 381 runs to make the Proteas’ bat again after South Africa made a Test best 682 for six declared.

Mark Butcher was 33 not out and Nasser Hussain 36 not out with the home side already having lost both openers — skipper Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick.

South Africa’s total surpassed their previous record 622 for nine declared against Australia at Durban in 1969-70.

Captain Graeme Smith’s 259 was the centrepiece of the tourists’ commanding score with four bowlers — Darren Gough, Stephen Harmison, Andrew Flintoff and Ashley Giles — all conceding over 100 runs.

Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher further demoralised England with a 51-ball 68.

He swept left-arm spinner Giles for six on to the top tier of the grandstand and smashed 12 fours before he was bowled by paceman James Anderson.

The only disappointment for the Proteas on a sun-drenched day, ideal for batting, was that Boeta Dippenaar fell eight runs short of what would have been his second Test hundred when he holed out against Giles. England’s first wicket went down in a manner that summed up their match.

Michael Vaughan, in his first Test as England captain, made 25, edged medium-pacer Andrew Hall off the bottom of the bat to Shaun Pollock, who dropped the diving two-handed chance at first slip.

The ball went for four while Vaughan had to send for a new bat. But two balls later he sparred outside off-stump and this time Pollock took the simpler, waist-high chance. When former South African captain Pollock dropped the England skipper it cost them four runs — when England’s ex-captain Hussain dropped South Africa captain Smith on eight Thursday it eventually cost England 251 runs.

England floored four catches in all during South Africa’s innings, none of them hard by Test standards.

By contrast, England lost their second wicket yesterday to a brilliant catch.

Left-handed opener Marcus Trescothick (23) miscued a pull off fast bowler Makhaya Ntini and Paul Adams, running back from square leg, took a diving catch as the ball went over his shoulder.

Trescothick’s shot was a needless risk given England’s position and left England struggling at 60 for two.

But with paceman Dewald Pretorius off the field Saturday because of a thigh strain, Butcher and Hussain survived until the end.

Earlier Smith’s innings was the second-highest individual score in a Lord’s Test behind Graham Gooch’s 333 for England against India in 1990.

Smith took his tally for the series to 621 from just three innings — equalling Dudley Nourse’s 56-year-old record for the most runs by a South African in a Test series against England. The left-hander became only the the fourth batsman in history to make double hundreds in successive Tests, after his South African record 277 in the drawn series opener at Edgbaston.

England’s pace bowlers repeatedly fed Smith’s strength off his legs and did not Test him enough outside off-stump.

But Anderson, 21, eventually succeeded when he made Smith play on.

Run machine Smith was at the crease for nearly 10 hours, facing 370 balls including 34 fours, South Africa 516 for three.

It was a damaging innings in more ways than one.

On 247, he went down the wicket to Giles. The ball brushed his front pad and hit Stewart behind the stumps in the face as the stumping chance evaporated.

Jaffer Keeps India ‘A’ Unbeaten

In Birmingham, England, Wasim Jaffer smashed a wonderful double century as India ‘A’ salvaged a draw in their four day match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston yesterday. The result also meant that India finished their 11-match tour unbeaten.

After being forced to follow-on having made just 181 in reply to the home side’s first innings 527, the tourists were staring defeat in the face at the start of play.

But Jaffer, who went on to make 218, and skipper Shiv Sunder Das put on 151 for the first wicket before Jaffer then enjoyed a 147 second wicket stand with Sridharan Sriram.

Das, who was top scorer for India in the first innings with 51, made 65 in the second innings but was dismissed by Kenyan leg spinner Collins Obuya.