After being put into bat the South African cricketers have ended the first day of the second test against England at Headingly on 262 for 5.
Opener Alviro Petersen punished England for dropping him early on by scoring his fourth test century, fionishing the day unbeaten on 124.
The England bowler Stephen Finn had one of his wickets cancelled out by a dead ball call from the umpire.
Finn's long-standing problem of clipping the stumps at the non-striker's end with his knee in his follow-through cost him.
He did it three times in the morning and on the fourth occasion, when Graeme Smith edged to Andrew Strauss at slip while on six, the ball was ruled out.
Match referee Jeff Crowe said later that the batsmen had complained that Finn's actions were a distraction.
The rules stipulate that a dead ball can be called if a batsman is distracted by noise or movement while waiting to receive the ball.
South Africa, who won the first test by a crushing innings and 12 run margin, will leapfrog England at the top of the world rankings with a series victory
