REUTERS - England won the third Test today (20) but made heavy weather of wrapping up South Africa's tail on the last day at St. George’s Park to go 2-1 up in the series after a dominant innings and 53-run victory.

England needed four wickets to win in their 500th overseas Test but had to overcome late resistance and feisty 71 from Keshav Maharaj and 39 from debutant Dane Paterson before completing the task 10 minutes before lunch.

They bowled South Africa out for 237 in their second innings for a commanding victory after forcing the follow-on when the home side were 209 all out in their first innings in reply to a mammoth 499 for nine declared.

Maharaj and Paterson put on a ground Test record partnership of 99 for the last wicket as they frustrated the England bowlers.

But it was only a matter of time before England completed their first away victory by an innings since success in Sydney in 2011.

It took just three balls for England to claim their first victim as Stuart Broad forced Vernon Philander (14) to play an inside edge onto his pad that popped up for Ollie Pope to take his sixth catch of the match.

Mark Wood's first ball after replacing Broad saw him force Kagiso Rabada into a leading edge which flew up to mid-on where Broad took an easy catch.

Rabada, who will miss the last Test because of suspension, scored 16 off 24 balls.

Dom Bess' first over saw him skid a ball on to bowl Anrich Nortje (5), leaving Paterson to join Maharaj for a late cameo that proved the home sides best partnership of a poor Test performance.

Maharaj was eventually run out but not before smashing his way to a second Test 50.

Root bowled 10 successive overs as he went in search for a first Test five-wicket haul having taken four overnight but without success.

He even tried his luck with the new ball but Maharaj hit him for three successive fours and then two sixes in an over before the England Skipper took himself off.

England

1st innings 499 for 9 declared

South Africa

1st innings 209

2nd innings

P. Malan lbw b Root 12

D. Elgar b Wood 15

Z. Hamza c Buttler b Wood 02

F. du Plessis c Pope b Root 36

H. van der Dussen c Pope b Root 10

Q. de Kock c Wood b Root 03

V. Philander c Pope b Broad 13

K. Maharaj run out 71

K. Rabada c Broad b Wood 16

A. Nortje b Bess 05

D. Paterson not out 39

Extras: (b12, lb1, nb1, w1) 15

Total (all out, 88.5 overs) 237

Fall: 1-18, 2-22, 3-44, 4-66, 5-74, 6-83, 7-102, 8-128, 9-138

Bowling: Broad 10-5-14-1 (1nb), Curran 6-0-46-0, Wood 16.5-6-32-3 (1w), Bess 22-11-36-1, Stokes 5-2-9-0, Root 29-13-87-4