Cook, Collingwood give England the edge

England 386 for 5 (Cook 118, Collingwood 91) lead South Africa 343 (Kallis 75, Smith 75) by 43 runs

Durban: Alastair Cook ground out a century as he and Paul Collingwood took England into a first innings lead on the third day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead on Monday.Opening batsman Cook made 118 and Collingwood 91 as England reached 386 for five at the close, a first innings lead of 43.A patient fourth wicket partnership of 142 between Cook and Collingwood put England in a strong position as South Africa's bowlers toiled under a hot sun in the best batting conditions of the match.

            It was slow going for the most part against disciplined bowling but Ian Bell gave the innings impetus after tea as he hurried to a stroke-filled half-century off 65 balls. Bell, who like Cook had been under pressure to make runs, finished the day on 55 not out.Tall fast bowler Morne Morkel was easily South Africa's best bowler, taking three for 69. Although his teammates plugged away on an easy- paced pitch, Morkel was the only bowler who consistently looked likely to take wickets.For the first time in the match, there was a full day's play under a cloudless sky, with 283 runs scored in 96.4 overs for the loss of four wickets.The left-handed Cook ended a poor run of form in which he failed to score more than 32 in his previous eight Test innings. He batted solidly to reach a half-century off 136 balls and his tenth Test century off 218 deliveries.