South Africa closed day three of the first Test with a 71-run lead after Graeme Swann's knock of 85 helped England make 356.
Spinner Harris claims five-wicket haul but hosts fail to finish off the tail
First Test Match
Centurion - Day three
South Africa 418 (J H Kallis 120, J P Duminy 56, G P Swann 5-110) & 9-1 v England 356 (G P Swann 85, P D Collingwood 50, P L Harris 5-123)
The opening Test in Centurion is still firmly in the balance after Graeme Swann led a lower-order fightback by England against South Africa.
The Proteas reached the close on 9-1 in their second innings having secured a 62-run lead by bowling out their opponents for 356 at SuperSport Park.
Spinner Paul Harris claimed 5-123 but the deficit would have been much greater had it not been for a swashbuckling 85 from Swann.
Things had looked a lot bleaker at the tea interval, England lurching to 238-7 in reply to the home side's sizeable score of 418.
Hard work
Having made serene progress to reach 88-1 on the second evening, the tourists suddenly found life much tougher on a pitch with indifferent bounce.
The dry nature of the surface also allowed Harris to prosper, the slow left-armer working his way through the middle order after Makhaya Ntini provided the vital early breakthrough.
The paceman, playing in his 100th Test, benefited from a mullygrubber to Andrew Strauss (46) that flattened the left-hander's off stump.
Jonathan Trott, who helped put on 73 for the second wicket with his captain, became becalmed, adding just 10 runs to his overnight total of 18. Eventually a rash decision to advance down the pitch to his good friend Harris saw him clean bowled.
Kevin Pietersen stood firm through to lunch before an inside edge ended what seemed a promising innings on 40, an ambitious drive deflecting back onto his leg stump.
The decision to pick six batsmen failed to come off when Ian Bell - preferred instead of an extra bowling option - shouldered arms to be cleaned up by Harris for five.
The spinner was soon celebrating again when Matt Prior swept him to Friedel de Wet out at deep square leg having laboured for four runs from 34 balls.
When Paul Collingwood - the one batter that looked capable of knocking Harris out of the attack - perished to a ball that turned sharply, Jacques Kallis taking a simple catch at slip off an outside edge, England were seven down and in deep trouble.
Their recovery, though, was down to some enterprising strokeplay from Swann, who was given a little help by his friends to add 131 runs for the final three wickets.
The Nottinghamshire all-rounder, fresh from a five-wicket haul with the ball in South Africa's first innings, managed the highest score by an England number nine in 38 years, smacking 10 fours and two sixes in his breezy 81-ball knock.
Ninth-wicket alliance
After Stuart Broad fell foul of the review system to go lbw for 17, James Anderson made 29, including a first ever six in Test cricket courtesy of a well-timed sweep off Harris, to help add 106 for the ninth wicket.
The Proteas only had themselves to blame for letting slip their advantage, their seam trio bowling far too short with the second new ball.
Eventually they found a way to break the alliance, Anderson chipping a catch to Morne Morkel off Ntini, before Swann was last man out, a cleanly-hit slog-sweep straight out to a relieved Graeme Smith.
Harris claimed the final scalp to secure his five-wicket haul. He was soon back out in the middle, though, when thrust into nightwatchman duty following the early loss of Ashwell Prince, who chopped on off Anderson without troubling the scorers.
The late scalp was a further boost for England at the end of a topsy-turvy day that leaves all three results still possible with two days to play.
