A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.
| 1-1a | South Africa 41/0 off 14 | South Africa |
| 1-1b | South Africa 42/0 off 13 | South Africa |
| 1-2a | South Africa 47/1 off 13 | South Africa |
| 1-2b | South Africa 33/2 off 12 | England |
| 1-3a | South Africa 38/0 off 17 | South Africa |
| 1-3b | South Africa 61/2 off 18 | England |
| 2-1a | South Africa 33/0 off 15 | draw |
| 2-1b | South Africa 41/1 off 13 | draw |
| 2-2a | South Africa 39/2 off 11.5 | England |
| 2-2b | South Africa 44/2 off 12.3 | England |
| 2-3 | England 48/0 off 18 | England |
| 3-1 | England 32/1 off 12.2 | South Africa |
| 3-2a | England 44/1 off 16.4 | South Africa |
| 3-2b | England 59/2 off 16 | South Africa |
| 3-3a | England 63/0 off 14 | England |
| 3-3b | England 58/0 off 14 | England |
| 3-3c | England 47/1 off 14 | England |
| 4-1a | England 45/2 off 15 | South Africa |
| 4-1b | England 29/3 off 6.4 | South Africa |
| South Africa 5/0 off 2.3 | ||
| 4-2 | South Africa 34/0 off 14.3 | South Africa |
| 5-1a | South Africa 51/0 off 13.5 | South Africa |
| 5-1b | South Africa 33/1 off 7.1 | South Africa |
| 5-2a | South Africa 59/2 off 13.5 | South Africa |
| 5-2b | South Africa 57/4 off 13.1 | England |
| 5-3a | South Africa 19/2 off 2.4 | South Africa |
| 5-3b | England 114/4 off 24 | South Africa |
| 5-3c | England 16/0 off 9 | draw |
Final update here. The match was drawn, with South Africa winning the mini-session count 15-9
Lunch, Day 1: South Africa lead the mini-session count 2-0
And they lead it despite England bowling quite well really. They have swung the ball, seamed the ball, beaten the South Africans on the inside edge, beaten the South Africans outside edge, had edges go to ground, had an edge caught off a dead ball, and not taken a wicket.
And now it looks like normal coverage continues.
South Africa have run very well. Smith and Petersen have taken a lot of quick singles, hitting the ball softly to mid off or cover. This has given them some real momentum, despite them not ever really getting on top of the bowling yet.
Stumps, Day 1: South Africa lead the mini-session count 4-2
It was a day of missed opportunities for both sides. England looked threatening with the ball, and managed to almost take a number of wickets. South Africa survived the early onslaught, but then lost a couple of key wickets. They rebuilt, only to lose a couple more wickets at the end of the day.
Overall it was a good day of test cricket. Alviro Peterson has almost made up for missing out at the Oval. Jacques Rudolph will be happy. He's finally managed to get involved in a game. South Africa are in the lead, but are definitely not in control yet.
Lunch, Day 2: South Africa lead the mini-session count 4-2
South Africa made the most conservative of starts. Their first run didn't come until the 7th over. However they managed to survive the first hour, and finally scored some runs. The breakthrough for England came from an unlikely source, Kevin Pietersen. It allowed us the joy of having Pietersen bowling to Petersen.
Stumps, Day 2: England lead the mini-session count 5-4.
I counted the whole session as one mini-session, as there were only a couple of overs after drinks before the rain and bad light conspired together to end the day's play.
While England are leading the mini-session count, South Africa are probably slightly ahead in the match. Runs on the board mean more at Leeds than most places. When teams scores 300 in Headingley they win 80%. There are always exceptions, like this one, but England are not likely to have Don Bradman come out and slay 173* in the final innings.
The first session tomorrow will be a fascinating session. How will the English batsmen handle Philander? The little bit of rain that got onto the pitch might cause it to misbehave slightly, and he is a genius when the pitch is helpful. We've potentially got an interesting match on our hands here.
Lunch, Day 3: The mini-session count is tied up at 5-5.
The South African bowlers did enough to keep the English batsmen in check, and Philander managed to get a straight one to get rid of Cook.
There is still a lot of room for extra twists and turns in this match.
Stumps, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 8-7
What an innings from Pietersen. England are in the lead now, but the draw is probably winning the race.
The thought is still there though, one cloudy morning in Headingley and everything can change.
South Africa maintained their discipline, kept bowling to the plan, and it was working until Taylor and Pietersen came together. Their partnership was 147, of which 99 were contributed by Pietersen. During this series Pietersen has moved past Denis Compton's total number of runs scored in England, and it was an innings that Compton would have been proud of. Rather than allowing the bowlers to dominate, he set about the process of making them uncomfortable by scoring runs as quickly as was sensible.
He was dropped on 52, and just like Amla in the first match, he has made South Africa pay. How much it costs them will be interesting to see overnight.
Stumps, Day 5: South Africa win the mini-session count 15-9
This match was ruined by rain. There was a chance of a stunning finale in store, but almost 90 overs were lost to the weather. Despite South Africa being so far ahead in the mini-session count, England probably had their noses slightly ahead in the match, and may well have won it if there had been an extra day. Again it makes me wonder if it would be a good idea to have reserve days in test matches.
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