After a disappointing match in Centurion, South Africa came back strongly in the second MTN one-day international at Newlands on Friday, to beat England by a comprehensive 112 runs, with eight and a half overs to spare.

South Africa, who won the toss, made a record-equalling total of 354 for six, with AB de Villiers scoring his maiden century against England. His final total of 121 came off just 85 balls.

But De Villiers was able to bat with freedom, thanks to a superb opening partnership of 107 between Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.

Smith was out for 54, while Amla, who shared a second wicket stand of 94 with De Villiers, made 86. Alviro Petersen also weighed in with a half century, and altogether it was a vastly improved batting performance by a very committed South African team.

Chasing a formidable total of 355 to win, England got off to an explosive start. Andrew Strauss and Luke Wright showed their intent, climbing into Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell, but Parnell - back in the side after recovering from an ankle injury - showed his value to the team when he had Wright caught at deep mid wicket by Ryan McLaren for 24.

England lost two more wickets in the first 10 overs, with Morne Morkel -also newly back in the side after being dropped because of a run of poor form - dismissing Strauss, caught by Boucher for 24, and Trott brilliantly caught by Graeme Smith off Parnell for nine.

Another former South African, Kevin Pietersen, joined forces with the in-form Paul Collingwood, and while the two former England captains were together, it appeared that England were still in with a shout. They put on 84 togethe, before JP Duminy managed to break the partnership when Pietersen tried to sweep him, only to see his wicket shattered. Pietersen made 45.

Duminy struck again in his next over when the dangerous Eoin Morgan was caught by sub Johan Botha without scoring, and the South Africans began to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, Matthew Prior and Collingwood gave them more cause for concern with a sixth wicket stand of 64, which ended when Smith caught Prior off Morkel for 16.

However, while Collingwood was still there, England still had a chance. He flayed Parnell for 18 runs off the first over of the batting power play, but Parnell got his revenge in his next over, when Collingwood tried for his fourth six, only to be caught by a back-pedalling Amla.

The remaining wickets collapsed quickly and England were all out for 242 in the 42nd over.

A delighted Smith said South Africa had played with an intensity that had been lacking at Centurion.

"Everyone played their role really well tonight, especially with the bat. I think 350 was terrific. And I think we bowled very well."

He said the inclusion of Wayne Parnell and Morne Morkel gave South Africa more bowling options.

"They're two very different bowlers," he said.

"Morne has got pace and bounce, and he bowled really well. Wayne also bowled very well, and the conditions meant that he had a lot of swing."

Strauss refused to blame England's defeat on losing the toss, saying that would detract from how well South Africa had played.

"South Africa took the game to us early on," he said. "I think AB (De Villiers) played superbly.

"Chasing a target of more than 300 was always going to be difficult, and we just weren't able to build partnerships. We lost too many wickets at regular intervals, and although the run rate looked OK at one stage, it kept getting further away."

The teams are now level on one-all, with two matches to play. The fourth match will be played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.

The teams:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Alviro Peterson, Mark Boucher, Ryan McLaren, Roelof vd Merwe, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell.

England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Luke Wright, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson.