England escape yet again thanks to grit and Onions

After another astonishing rearguard action in the third cricket Test in South Africa, it is being suggested that the lack of grit on Britain's roads is down to the fact that England's cricketers ate most of it before they went on tour.

For the second time in the series England escaped with a draw after their last batsman Graham Onions survived the very final over of the match with South Africa one wicket away from victory. He might be in the team to bowl, but it is Onions' ability to fend off the final few balls with the bat that means England are leading the series 1-0 rather than losing it 2-1.

It was the third time in six months that England's last pair have saved a game. Before Onions' heroics in South Africa, James Anderson and Monty Panesar somehow kept the Australians at bay for 10 overs in the first Ashes Test in Cardiff last summer, giving England the chance to go on and win the series.

But it was Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell further up the order who provided the real heroics on this occasion. When they came together before lunch England looked doomed with the score on 160-5 and well over two sessions to play. Their victory target of 466 was an impossibility so all they could do was try and survive as long as possible.

The pair dropped anchor in a manner that made Geoff Boycott look like Adam Gilchrist. In their epic four hours stand they managed just 112 runs in 57 overs as the South African bowlers grew ever more desperate. It was an exercise of immense self-control as neither batsman allowed themselves to play a single rash shot. Collingwood managed just 40 runs off 188 balls at a rate of one run every five balls, while Bell scored 78 off 213 balls.

The runs may not have flowed but it was an absorbing spectacle that harked back to a different era of Test cricket. And Collingwood also survived one of the most hostile spells of fast bowling ever witnessed when he withstood everything that Dale Steyn could throw at him in an entralling duel after lunch.

But eventually both batsmen fell with the finishing line in sight . And after a flurry of wickets it seemed as though South Africa would emerge victorious as Onions strode to the crease with almost three overs left. But after seeing out the final 17 balls he and Graeme Swann celebrated as if they had just won the Test, while South Africa looked as though the world had fallen in. ·