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Moeen Ali says England's bowlers must attack South Africa at Centurion

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Moeen Ali admits he's struggled with the bat lately but was happy to finally to contribute with a half-century.

Moeen Ali says England's bowlers will have to attack on day four at Centurion if they are to wrestle back control of the fourth Test against South Africa.

The tourists may have already secured the series with a 2-0 lead, but they are facing a battle to avoid defeat in the final Test.

With three days complete, South Africa are 42-1 in their second innings, holding a lead of 175 runs.

However, Ali is trying to remain positive, saying: "We're disappointed at the moment but we know there are two important days coming up and we have to be ready.

"We are still going to be positive and try to get something out of this game.

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"We're a side that have got bowlers who can win us a game, as we saw last week at the Wanderers. Hopefully we can do that again.

"We have to attack them when they come into bat and try bowl them out as quickly as we can.

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"We've got two of the best bowlers I've ever played with. We saw at the Wanderers what Broady [Stuart Broad] can do and we obviously know what Jimmy [Anderson] can do."

We're a side that have got bowlers who can win us a game, as we saw last week at the Wanderers.
Moeen Ali

And Moeen says the wicket is starting to become more inconsistent through wear and tear.

"There's a lot of cracks in it," he said. "For someone like Ben Stokes, that's probably not going to play on his mind too much. He'll just play how he plays, but for some batters it might.

"You just have to deal with it and do your best. Obviously, it's going to be tough. There's a bit of up and down movement and a bit of spin as well.

"But that's actually good for us going into the first session looking to get the wickets we need."

South Africa's huge advantage is largely down to Kagiso Rabada who took 7-112 in England's first innings.

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Kagiso Rabada claimed a Test-best 7-112 before South Africa improved their lead over England to 175 on day three.

The 20-year-old seamer said: "My action is feeling good now, it's very smooth, so it felt like I wasn't forcing anything.

"I think I'm at my best when I am bowling a lot. I tried to take it ball-by-ball and hit good areas and if you do that things happen."

Kagiso Rabada celebrates the dismissal of Joe Root
Image: Kagiso Rabada celebrates the dismissal of Joe Root

As for his side's commanding position, he added: "It's a very good position for us and from what I hear it's not going to be easy batting last on this wicket.

"The wicket is a little bit up and down, if you get the ball in the right area you can be successful. If you bowl fuller you can get your reward."

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