Scorecard

Michael Vaughan scored a career-best 83 and put on a 100-run stand with Andrew Flintoff as England, chasing 199 to win, beat South Africa by four wickets with 11 overs to spare in Tuesday's triangular series one-dayer.

Flintoff (54 off 40 balls) and Vaughan rebuilt the innings after the home side, desperately short of specialist batting, slumped to 30 for three.

Vaughan then put on a run-a-ball 64 with all rounder Rikki Clarke to see England to the brink of victory.

Earlier quick bowler James Anderson took four for 38, including three wickets for one run in nine balls, as the South Africans struggled to 198 for nine after opting to bat during the day-nighter at Edgbaston.

Anderson, smashed out of the attack after conceding four boundaries in the opening over of the match, returned to remove Mark Boucher (13), Jacques Rudolph (16) and Shaun Pollock (0).

Flintoff also dismissed Graeme Smith (45) and took three catches, the first a spectacular effort to remove danger-man Jacques Kallis (15).

Both sides had already qualified for Saturday's final, Zimbabwe missing out.

Match Highlights

South Africa Innings:

* Smith hammered 19 off the first over. He pushed an Anderson full toss through point first ball, then sent a half-volley to the same boundary next ball. He added fours to square leg and over wide mid-on. Anderson taken off, 2-0-24-0.

* Herschelle Gibbs (2) miss-hit a wide Darren Gough delivery to Clarke at cover. 28-1, 5.1 overs.

* Kallis brought up the 50 with a classic back-foot drive off Gough through point. 55-1, 10 overs.

* Two wickets fell in three balls. Smith pulled Flintoff straight to Anthony McGrath who spilled it to his left, but somehow caught it between his legs as he fell. 65-2, 11.5 overs.

* Kallis, on 15 and driving at Richard Johnson, caught right-handed by Flintoff diving right in the slip cordon. 67-3, 12.1 overs.

* Andrew Hall (3) trapped lbw by Johnson, 74-4, 14.1 overs. Boucher reached 2,000 ODI runs with a beautiful square cut for four off Johnson. 95-4, 20 overs.

* Anderson back. Boucher, driving on 13, was caught shin-high at slip by Marcus Trescothick, 99-5. Rudolph, on 16, sliced a drive to McGrath at cover off Anderson, 104-6. Pollock, driving, caught at second slip for 0, 104-7, 24.3. Anderson starts of second spell 3-2-1-3. 117-7, 30 overs.

* 162-7, 40 overs. Martin van Jaarsveld (45) and Paul Adams put on 71 for the 8th wicket. Van Jaarsveld lbw to McGrath, 175-8, Andre Nel caught at slip by Flintoff off Anderson, 177-9. 198-9, 50 overs, Paul Adams 33 not out.

England Innings:

* Trescothick hit two boundaries off the first Pollock over, the first an inside edge off an attempted cut.

* Vikram Solanki (2), attempting a pull off a Makhaya Ntini delivery, skied the ball to Nel mid-on off the splice. 11-1, 3.5 overs.

* Trescothick (8), pushing forward, edged to Hall at slip. 11-2, 4.3 overs.

* Kallis bowled McGrath (11), neither going back or forward, with his first ball, 30-3. Flintoff drove his first ball through extra cover for four, Vaughan forcing through point, Kallis 1-13 off first over. 43-3, 10 overs.

* Vaughan, perfectly in position, drove Kallis through extra cover. 50 up, 11.1 overs.

* Flintoff pulled Kallis for six. 65-3, 15 overs. Vaughan square-cut Nel for a blistering four. Nel and Flintoff exchanged words, Flintoff flat-batting four past the bowler. 50 stand off 51 balls.

* Substitute fielder Nicky Boje injured a leg and carried off and taken to hospital. 90-3, 20 overs. 12 off an Adams over, Flintoff hoiking a full toss over mid-on. Flintoff 50 off 36 balls, 118-3, 25 overs.

* Vaughan reached his first 50 of the series with his 10th four, driving Hall through cover. 100 stand off 103 balls before Flintoff hooked Ntini straight to fine leg, 54 off 40 balls, 130-4.

* Clarke, hit by Nel in the midriff, drove him through point, hooked for six and pulled through midwicket. 14 off over. 153-4, 30 overs.

* Vaughan and Clarke put on 50 in 52 balls and 64 off 64. Vaughan lbw to Hall, offering no stroke, 83, 194-5, Clarke lbw for a 34-ball 37, 198-6. England 199-4, 39 overs.