Bell skittles South Africa to seal morale boost before Ashes

England claimed a 286-run victory in the one-off Test at Bloemfontein after rolling South Africa over for 64 in their second innings - their lowest total in women's Tests.

- Raf Nicholson

The success is England's first Test win in more than a decade - the last came against Australia at Perth in January 2014 - and Heather Knight's first as captain (she had previously presided over four draws and two defeats). Knight fell 10 runs short of a third Test century in the afternoon session, trapped lbw by Nonkululeko Mlaba, but this result will surely delight her just as much as reaching that personal milestone would have - especially with an Ashes Test at the MCG only six weeks away.

"We'll go to Australia with a lot of confidence and belief in what we do as a side," Knight said. "It was a really important tour for us, coming off the back of that disappointment at the World Cup. To come away from home, only lose one game, win both white-ball series and win a Test is a monumental effort."

South Africa had fought hard in the first two sessions to bowl England out for 236, but the evening session witnessed a staggering collapse.