Skipper Graeme Smith scored his second hundred in three matches and Justin Kemp hammered a spectacular 80 off 50 balls as South Africa beat England by seven runs in an enthralling fifth one-dayer on Wednesday.
That gave the home side three wins in a row and a 3-1 lead with only two matches remaining.
Smith, who made his maiden one-day hundred in the third match of the series, batted through the 50 overs to end on 115 not out and put on a lightning 117 with Kemp as the home side amassed 311 for seven after opting to bat.
England clung on despite a slow start, with Michael Vaughan making 70 and South African-born Kevin Pietersen a fine knock of 100 not out off 69 balls but they fell just short, closing on 304 for eight.
Pietersen had the consolation of pulling a six off the last ball from Andre Nel to reach three figures.
The right-handed Kemp, though, left the winner, delighting the crowd with seven massive sixes and four fours, his best score in one-dayers.
South Africa's total was the highest one-day international score ever made at East London, while England recorded their best total against South Africa although the boundary ropes had been brought in after heavy rain affected the outfield.
If Kemp provided the fireworks, Smith was the anchor, putting on 90 with Jacques Kallis -- who hit five fours off one over from Kabir Ali -- for the second wicket and 62 with Ashwell Prince for the fourth before Kemp's dramatic arrival.
England fast bowler Darren Gough finished with a hat-trick of sorts, when he removed Kemp in the 49th over, bowled Mark Boucher for a golden duck and removed the bails to run Shaun Pollock out next ball.
Gough took three for 52 while Matthew Hoggard bowled nine overs for 74 without taking a wicket.
England, in reply, were still hoping as they reached 214 for four with 10 overs remaining, needing to score at 10 an over to win and with fast bowler Shaun Pollock bowled out.
But Vikram Solanki was run out after a mix-up with Pietersen and Kallis removed Paul Collingwood lbw and yorked Ashley Giles to expose the tail with 57 still needed off last five overs.
Pietersen, batting with sore hamstring and who made an unbeaten century in the second one-dayer, needed to produce a miracle finish to match Kemp's and Ali chipped in with a straight six off Kallis.
They still had an outside chance with 36 needed off three overs but they failed to find a boundary off the next two, leaving them 23 to win off the last. Ali was then run out and Pietersen could not provide the three sixes off the last three balls. He hit four sixes and seven fours in all.
The start was delayed by an hour following overnight rain, with patches of the infield covered in sand and sawdust.
South Africa
G.Smith not out 115
A.de Villiers c Jones b Gough 2
J.Kallis c sub (Bell) b Ali 49
H.Gibbs c Pietersen b Ali 8
A.Prince run out (Hoggard) 34
J.Kemp b Gough 80
M.Boucher b Gough 0
S.Pollock run out (Trescothick) 2
N.Boje not out 10
Extras (lb-3 nb-4 w-4) 11
Total (for seven wickets, 50 overs) 311
Fall of wickets: 1-10 2-100 3-119 4-181 5-298 6-298 7-300
Did not bat: M.Ntini, A.Nel
Bowling: Gough 10-0-52-3 (nb-1 w-1), Hoggard 9-0-74-0 (nb-1 w-1), Ali 9-0-66-2 (nb-1 w-1), Collingwood 10-0-53-0 (nb-1), Trescothick 3-0-17-0, Giles 9-0-46-0 (w-1)
England
M.Trescothick c Kemp b Pollock 4
G.Jones c Gibbs b Nel 37
M.Vaughan c Prince b Boje 70
A.Strauss run out (Boucher) 20
K.Pietersen not out 100
V.Solanki run out (De Villiers) 19
P.Collingwood lbw b Kallis 4
A.Giles b Kallis 15
K.Ali run out (Rudolph) 20
D.Gough not out 1
Extras (b-1 lb-5 nb-2 w-6) 14
Total (for eight wickets, 50 overs) 304
Fall of wickets: 1-22 2-61 3-117 4-179 5-224 6-236 7-254 8-290
Did not bat: M.Hoggard
Bowling: Pollock 10-1-35-1 (w-1), Ntini 10-0-61-0 (nb-1 w-2), Kallis 10-0-62-2 (nb-1), Nel 10-0-69-1 (w-2), Boje 8-1-54-1, Smith 2-0-17-0 (w-1)
Result: South Africa won by seven runs
First match: England won by 26 runs (Duckworth/Lewis method)
Second match: Match tied
Third match: South Africa won by three wickets
Fourth match: South Africa won by 108 runs
Sixth match: Feb 11, Durban
Seventh match: Feb 13, Centurion
