England frustrated by bad light

England were frustrated by the weather in their attempts to complete a record ninth consecutive Test win today.

Michael Vaughan's side were just two wickets away from completing a remarkable victory over South Africa in the second Test at Durban when bad light stopped play, making a draw the likely outcome.

England had staged a remarkable fightback to get themselves into a winning position after conceding a first-innings deficit of 193.

South Africa, who had been set a target of 378, were 290 for eight when the umpires offered batsmen AB de Villiers and Makhaya Ntini the light.

England had gone into the final day needing nine wickets to win their 12th Test in 13 matches.

They were frustrated by a fifth-wicket stand of 69 between Jacques Rudolph and Martin van Jaarsveld and a seventh-wicket partnership of 85 between de Villiers and Shaun Pollock.

Umpires Simon Taufel and Darrell Hair were due to make an inspection to see whether play could resume 15 minutes after leaving the field.