Ben Stokes was at the heart of a stunning, series-levelling second Test win for England, while Ben Foakes and James Anderson were among the other star performers as we dish out our player ratings from Emirates Old Trafford...
Zak Crawley - 7
38
Progress. Not many can have been reassured watching Crawley bat this summer - his average before the Emirates Old Trafford Test was 16.40 in 10 innings - but Michael Atherton was after the England opener ground his way to 17 from 77 balls on the second evening to halt a potential full-blown batting collapse from the home side.
"A brilliantly intelligent innings," was how James Anderson described a knock in which Crawley showed he had the stubbornness to go with his stroke-making. It was just a shame that after looking more fluent the following morning he fell to a cracking delivery from South Africa speedster Anrich Norte.
A score of 38 won't silence all the doubters but the manner of it may have hushed some of them.
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Alex Lees - 4
4
There appears little appetite from within the England camp to switch their openers - managing director Rob Key insisted as much during a third-day chinwag with Sky Sports, saying Crawley and Lees will get a long run at it - but Lees may be starting to sweat.
His top score in 18 Test innings remains 67 and his best in three knocks in this series is 35, although it would be harsh to slate him for his score of four at Emirates Old Trafford. He snicked an absolute beauty from Lungi Ngidi behind. These things happen.
Due to England's fine bowling, and South Africa's largely below-par batting, Lees did not get a second opportunity in Manchester. He'll get another at The Kia Oval in September, no doubt, and he may have to start seizing these chances sooner or later with Daniel Bell-Drummond, for one, stating a case in county cricket.
Ollie Pope - 5
23
A quiet game all told for the England No 3, not that it mattered in the end, with the hosts so dominant. Pope struck four boundaries on the second evening before he was done for pace by Nortje, inside-edging onto his stumps.
Either side of that, he was alert in the field. A terrific one-handed catch at short-leg in South Africa's first innings did not lead to a dismissal, with Ollie Robinson overstepping, but a smart take at slip left the Proteas seven down in their second dig as England raced to victory on the third afternoon.
Pope will now hope to score heavily next month at The Kia Oval, his home ground and one he absolutely adores.
Joe Root - 4
9, 0-16
Root's game was even quieter than Pope's. His 17 minutes at the crease only marginally longer than his interview with Athers the day before the match.
Root let out an audible "oh no" as he edged Kagiso Rabada to slip, was pouched by Sarel Erwee after a number of juggles and bagged a third single-digit dismissal in a row.
Obviously there is no need to panic. After batting like a god for the best part of two years, there was always going to be a leaner patch at some point. And it might be no bad thing for England to win without Root starring, something they have found extremely difficult over the last few years.
Jonny Bairstow - 7
49
Bairstow's busy 49 from 63 balls won't go down as one of his best knocks of what has been a quite spellbinding summer, but boy was it important. He strode to the crease with England having tripped to 43-3 in reply to South Africa's 151 all out. By the time he left it, his team were in a much healthier spot.
Bairstow played dashingly and Crawley doggedly as they shared a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket to halt some of the momentum the South Africa bowlers had built up. Like Crawley, Bairstow was prised out by the ferocious Nortje but their partnership had laid the foundations for Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes (more on them in a minute) to combine for a match-winning alliance.
Ben Stokes - 9.5
103, 2-17 & 2-30
The days before the Test were all about Stokes and then so was the game itself. A week that began with Stokes revealing he feared he may never play again, following his break from the game last year for mental health reasons and that he continues to take anxiety medication, ended with him celebrating a victory he had inspired with bat, ball and sheer bloody-mindedness.
He chipped in with two wickets in South Africa's first innings - one, admittedly, from a filthy long hop - before hitting a sublimely-paced century, a far cry from the skittish cameos he had played earlier in the summer, and sharing a 173-run stand with Foakes.
Stokes was then the chief reason England won on day three. His double strike of the determined Rassie van der Dussen and Keegan Petersen after tea, during a lung-busting 14-over spell, exposed the tail, which James Anderson and Ollie Robinson then ripped through in the space of 31 balls.
Stokes' Amazon Prime documentary was released on Friday. 24 hours later, he remained the headliner. Once again, the hero and heartbeat of this England side. Anderson summed it up quite neatly when he said of his skipper, "he is an absolute machine and leads by example. Imagine if he had a body that actually functioned properly!"
Ben Foakes - 9
113no, seven catches
The theme of Stokes' innings had been his tone-setting cocktail of smart but aggressive batting, and it was mirrored in every way by Foakes at the opposite end as he stunted South Africa's attack on the way to a sublime 113 not out to help give England an unassailable lead.
It marked Foakes' first Test century since his 107 on debut against Sri Lanka four years ago, the 29-year-old later citing the injection of confidence from both Stokes and Brendon McCullum amid his efforts to find some long-sought-after consistency at the crease.
For Foakes to maintain his command beyond the dismissal of Stokes proved a key factor in preventing any momentum shift South Africa might have sensed upon breaking the partnership. And behind the stumps, he was clinical and quick-handed in the face of difficult seam movement off the pitch as he finished with seven dismissals.
"How tight he is behind the stumps is a massive plus for us as a team and gives the bowlers confidence," said Stokes. "An amazing game for him and one he should never forget."
Stuart Broad - 7
21, 3-37 & 1-24
Others might grab the headlines, but it was Broad who set England on their way on the opening day when he dismissed Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen to find himself 2-8 at one point. Come Saturday, he claimed the vital wicket of Aiden Markram after having been denied by a no-ball moments earlier.
Much has been said lately about Broad's future in this England Test team, but this week's victory over South Africa served as a reminder of what he still has to offer and how important he remains to be, both with the ball and as a figurehead in McCullum's locker room.
Ollie Robinson - 8
17, 1-48 & 4-43
As far as Test returns go, Ollie Robinson's three days in Manchester could not have gone much better.
Making his first appearance since January's final Ashes Test, he joined James Anderson in wreaking havoc with seam movement on the opening day to put England in complete control, even if he was made to wait for his wicket after an unfortunate no-ball had denied him earlier in the morning.
His line was immaculate across the contest, his control unwavering and his speeds as quick and as consistent as we have seen from him in an England shirt. For Stokes to entrust him with the new ball spoke volumes about the starring role many believe he can play in this team.
"He was on the best none-for in the first innings I've ever seen," said Stokes. "He's had some tough times, but he's turned up here and showed the hard work has been worth it. We know we've got a quality, quality bowler on our hands."
Jack Leach - 6
11, 1-11 & 0-26
While England's seamers ran riot, Leach probed as a reliable obstruction to any South African attempt to play on the front foot in a bid to get back in the game.
In a performance that might well have fallen under the radar, the spinner collected 13 maidens with an economy of 1.74 across the second innings. He also had a glorious, albeit wayward, reverse-sweep for four in his batting cameo alongside Foakes as England cruised towards their declaration.
James Anderson - 9
DNB, 3-32 & 3-30
Characteristically devastating.
It became something of a waiting game for England on the third and final day as they closed in on new ball territory with Anderson lurking. They got it, they handed it to him, and they let Jimmy begin to close the curtain as he dismantled Simon Harmer's stumps with a beauty to kick-start a swift tail-end collapse. He had started things earlier that morning with a ripper to remove skipper Elgar's off stump.
Even now, Anderson never ceases to delight or enamour with his swing artistry, which the visitors simply could not live with. Few can.
Watch day one of the third LV= Insurance Test between England and South Africa, from The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket from Thursday, September 8. Build-up starts at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am.