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Barely a day after they named him in the squad for the crucial final Test against England, South Africa’s selectors have withdrawn Imran Tahir, the uncapped legspinner, owing to issues over his eligibility for the country.

Tahir, who was born in Lahore, qualified for South Africa on April 1, 2009 as he is married to a local woman and a Cricket South Africa spokesman said his withdrawal was due to issues with his residency paperwork. “His permanent residence papers have not come through yet, so we will just have to put him on hold until they do,” he said.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson, the two England bowlers at the centre of the recent ball-tampering controversy, have steadfastly defended their actions during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

TV pictures showed Broad standing on the ball while Anderson was seen picking at the leather which led South Africa to “raise concerns” about the condition of the ball. However, the home side didn’t take their complaint forward to official levels which prompted Andrew Strauss to call it “malicious” and England coach Andy Flower said if they’d had a problem it should have been raised in the formal way.

The South African presence in the Indian coaching bench has gained further weight after it was revealed that Eric Simons, the former South Africa coach, was appointed bowling consultant for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.

The duration of his appointment is not yet certain but Simons will join the Indian squad sometime next week, ahead of the first Test starting in Chittagong on January 17. “Yes, he [Simons] would be joining the squad from the Bangladesh Test series as consultant,” a top BCCI official confirmed to Cricinfo. A comment from Simons was still awaited.

Coach Andy Flower hailed Paul Collingwood’s “bulldog spirit” after his role in England’s latest great escape at Newlands, saying that it typified the fight of the team. Collingwood added 112 in 57 overs with Ian Bell for the sixth wicket, but England still needed Graham Onions to block out the final over – in a repeat of his heroics from Centurion – to secure the thrilling draw.

Wayne Parnell is in line for his Test debut in South Africa’s must-win final Test against England at the Wanderers next Thursday, after being named in a 15-man squad that also includes the 30-year-old former Pakistan A legspinner, Imran Tahir.

After the agonising failure to claim England’s final wicket in the third Test at Cape Town, South Africa travel to Johannesburg trailing 1-0 in the series, and so have chosen to cover all options at a venue where spin can be effective, but which also promises to assist the seamers after weeks of damp weather.

Ian Bell produced the innings of his life and Paul Collingwood battled for four-and-a-half hours in another masterclass of crease occupation, but England’s ultimate match-saver was once again their No. 11, Graham Onions, who reprised his heroics in the first Test at Centurion by seeing off the final six deliveries of the match, bowled by Morne Morkel, to ensure that England will go to Johannesburg for next week’s fourth and final Test with a 1-0 lead in the series and a chance to emulate the achievement of Michael Vaughan’s men on their last tour of South Africa in 2004-05.

For 36.2 overs and 101 runs, history appeared to be within England’s grasp, but the loss of three key wickets in the final hour of the fourth day at Newlands left South Africa firm favourites to complete a comfortable series-squaring victory in the third Test. By the end of a riveting session, England were floundering on 132 for 3, with Jonathan Trott and the nightwatchman James Anderson digging in for all they were worth. England’s victory target of 466, or 334 in 90 remaining overs with seven wickets still in hand, seemed a long, long way away.

As speculation grows over whether Makhaya Ntini’s future lies with a county in England, the South African fast bowler has said he believed his Test career was not finished.

“I believe I have more Test cricket ahead of me,” Ntini said. “I am going to concentrate on getting back into the Test team.” A spokesperson for the fast bowler also told SAPA that Ntini had not signed a Kolpak contract.

Ntini, the first black cricketer to play for his country, was dropped for the ongoing Cape Town Test against England and there were reports linking him to Middlesex, a move that would have effectively ended his national prospects.

Graeme Smith loves nothing better than to grind England into the dust, and on the hottest day of the tour so far, he produced an innings of intensity and drive to set up the prospect of a series-squaring victory in the third Test at Newlands. By the close he was still powering along, unbeaten on 162 from 243 balls, as South Africa amassed a hefty second-innings total of 312 for 2, and an overall lead of 330. With two days remaining and the weather set fair, England will require a similar show of mental and technical strength to avoid slumping to their fourth defeat in four post-Apartheid visits to Cape Town.

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn hauled South Africa right back into contention in the third Test at Newlands, and the series as a whole, claiming six wickets between them on an extraordinary day that began with a clatter of South African wickets and ended with England’s lower order fighting to avoid a first-innings deficit. Despite clear-blue skies that implied a perfect day for batting, 11 wickets fell in 83.4 overs, including seven in the morning session alone, four of which fell in 17 balls to bring South Africa’s innings to a swift and undignified end.