England vs South Africa LIVE: Cricket score and third Test result as England seal series victory

The umpires went out onto the pitch one more time to see if the match could start immediately but they needn’t have bothered as the rain has started to come down once again.

With the time needed to dry the outfield, remove the covers and get the game started - if it were to actually stop raining - then play wouldn’t be able to start before 6pm.

Instead the officials have called it a day without a ball being bowled.

Ollie Robinson has revealed how embracing life as a “gym freak” helped put his England career back on track.

Robinson made his first Test appearance in seven months at Emirates Old Trafford, helping to wrap up an innings victory over South Africa with match figures of five for 91.

The 6ft 5in seamer was all smiles as he put the finishing touch to the three-day finish in Manchester, clean bowling Lungi Ngidi in comprehensive fashion, but it took plenty of hard work and some frank conversations to reach that point.

Despite a fine record in his first year with England – he now has 44 wickets in 10 appearances at a slender average of 20.93 – Robinson’s fitness was publicly called out by bowling coach Jon Lewis during the final match of last winter’s Ashes. His was not a lone voice, instead reflecting concerns among the management about the player’s general conditioning and tendency to flag over the course of games.

Richard Thompson hopes his arrival as England and Wales Cricket Board chair acts as a “reset moment” even if he anticipates more testing times in the sport’s push for greater equality.

Thompson officially started as the ECB’s figurehead on Thursday but has little time to bed into his new position, having inherited a multitude of issues on several fronts which have to be addressed.

Chief among them is the racism scandal that has engulfed cricket in the past couple of years, but while challenges remain, Thompson outlined his vision to make the sport the “most inclusive” in the country.

The Afternoon session is a washout as well as the rain has come back. Tea has been taken and the wait goes on.

Sky Sports’ coverage has been showing highlights of previous England vs South Africa test matches. They started in the early 2000s and have now caught up to this series.

There has been no play at all today.

Just like that, the rain has returned and the covers are being brought back out.

The umpires have been out to inspect the pitch, they’ve taken a look, assessed the underfoot conditions and have gone back into the pavilion.

No word yet on what they’ve decided.

South Africa’s captain Dean Elgar compared this week’s Test match to a World Cup final as both teams look to secure a series victory at The Oval.

The umpires have been out, inspected the pitch and gone back in.

Nothing else is happening but the rope is back circling the outfield. The rain has stopped but it is getting darker.

There is one cover left on the square to take off and there’ll be another inspection at 4pm. No idea why the game can’t get started right now, but hey ho.

England are banking on Ben Stokes to take a starring role at next month’s Twenty20 World Cup after dropping a “gutted” Jason Roy and reshuffling their batting order.

England were willing to gamble on a host of fitness concerns – with Mark Wood and Chris Woakes both included in the 15-strong squad for Australia despite missing the entire domestic season through injury – but Roy paid the price for an extended lean streak.

He struggled throughout white-ball series against India and South Africa and a laboured performance for Oval Invincibles during The Hundred, where he made three ducks in six innings and averaged 8.5, effectively sealed his fate.

Director of cricket Rob Key, who chaired selection, revealed that Jonny Bairstow would move up to open alongside captain Jos Buttler, allowing star all-rounder Stokes to jump to number four.

Bairstow has since been withdrawn from the squad through injury with Alex Hales brought in to replace him.

Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of England’s third Test with South Africa and the upcoming T20 World Cup after suffering an injury while playing golf.

Bairstow has been England’s stand-out player under the new Test regime of coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, racking up runs against New Zealand and India at the start of the summer, and was due to play in the deciding Test against the South Africans at the Oval next week.

The batsman was also expected to play a key role at the World Cup in Australia, which begins on 16 October, and was named in the England squad on Friday morning at around the time the incident occurred.

The 32-year-old slipped and suffered a leg injury which will require surgery and is expected to keep him out until 2023.