``I have learnt a lot from Atherton over the years and when I got out there I decided to take on his anchor role. I made a conscious decision to try to bat all day.

``It was pretty intense stuff. They are a top side and they come at you. Both teams are pretty desperate to win.''

Hussain said he did not think he had batted so long for so few runs. ``It was quite out of character. Usually I would expect to have got a hundred after all that. But this is a grafting wicket. Only one man on either side, Mark Butcher, has played with any real fluency.

``It's a cliche but that was an innings for the team. Getting a hundred is not nearly as important for me as seeing England win.''

Hussain believes that the first hour's play this morning may well decide the outcome. ``We will try to get every run but we are not looking beyond that. We made that mistake in Trinidad and Courtney Walsh and Carl Hooper did the damage. So no looking too far ahead this time.''

Hussain paid tribute to Shaun Pollock who, he said, ``has bowled magnificently throughout the series. He has gone past the edge so many times''.

Pollock conceded that South Africa had probably taken too few wickets yesterday.

He said: ``We must just put that behind us. Hussain played well but it will be our goal to try to prevent him reaching his hundred. The first session with the new ball could set the seal.

``The end of the series and a long tour is in sight and perhaps that will help to motivate us.''

Yorkshire have announced that about 6,000 tickets have been sold for today's play, leaving some 10,000 available on the gate.