Jonny Bairstow batted England out of trouble after James Anderson and Stuart Broad delivered with the ball as the hosts made a strong start to the second Test against South Africa.
The Proteas posted 151 all out at Old Trafford, with Anderson and Broad taking three wickets each, as South Africa's innings victory at Lord's last time out was quickly forgotten.
England moved to 111-3 at the close in reply after an unbroken stand of 68 for the fourth wicket between Bairstow and Zak Crawley.
Bairstow's 38 not out from 45 balls was not quite a full-blown return to 'Bazball', but his positivity was refreshing as Crawley lived up to his name at the other end, trundling to 17 important runs from 77 deliveries.
At the start of the day, Anderson made a breakthrough in the fifth over after finding early movement off the pitch, having Sarel Erwee caught behind off an inside edge.
Broad soon sent South Africa captain Dean Elgar on his way as Bairstow took a sharp low catch, before the same bowler accounted for Keegan Petersen, snaffled by Joe Root at first slip.
Captain Ben Stokes snagged a fortunate fourth wicket when Aiden Markram mistimed a pull and a top edge was pouched by Ben Foakes, and the skipper had Rassie van der Dussen trapped lbw before lunch as South Africa went in on 77-5, in big trouble.
Anderson pinned Simon Harmer in front, and it was two wickets in two balls as the Lancashire paceman, on his home ground, struck in the same way to remove Keshav Maharaj.
When Broad teased an edge out of Kyle Verreynne, South Africa were 108-8, and Ollie Robinson and Jack Leach picked up a wicket apiece to end lower-order resistance, with Kagiso Rabada the last man out for a team-best 36. Petersen and Verreynne were the only other South African batters to reach 20, both out for 21.
England lost Alex Lees (4), Ollie Pope (23) and Joe Root (9) as Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Rabada made early inroads, reducing the hosts to 43-3; however, Bairstow and Crawley saw them through to the close without any further setback, building a platform for day two.
Happy hunting ground
Heading into this match, England had lost only one of their nine Tests against South Africa at Old Trafford (W4, D4), a three-wicket loss in July 1955. They defeated the Proteas by 177 runs in their most recent such meeting (August 2017).
Leeward Islands Hurricanes on the verge of victory over Guyana Harpy Eagles at Providence
Tournament leaders the Guyana Harpy Eagles are on the verge of a crushing defeat at the hands of the Leeward Islands Volcanoes in their final round game at Providence.
Kemol Savory and Veerasammy both scored half-centuries to help the Harpy Eagles, who started day three 48-1 trailing by 77 runs, post 267 in 79 overs in their second innings.
Savory finished 66* off 157 balls while Permaul made 65. Earlier, Kevlon Anderson and Kevin Sinclair both made 31.
Rakheem Cornwall finished with 4-58 off 22 overs for the Hurricanes.
Chasing just 143 for victory, the Hurricanes ended day three 81-1 with Kieran Powell on 47 and Keacy Carty on 17.
The Harpy Eagles entered the round with a 10.2-point lead over the Windward Islands Volcanoes, who are currently in the driver’s seat against the Barbados Pride at Queen’s Park Oval.
Windwards Volcanoes restrict Barbados Pride to 28-3 at stumps on day three chasing 236 for victory at Queen’s Park Oval
The Windward Islands Volcanoes will enter Saturday’s day four of their final round fixture against the Barbados Pride seven wickets away from a possible title-clinching win after restricting the Pride to 28-3 chasing 236 for victory at the Queen’s Park Oval.
The Volcanoes recovered excellently to make 225 off 73.2 overs after starting the day 14-4 with Kavem Hodge and Sunil Ambris at the wicket on four and zero, respectively.
The recovery effort was led by Ambris thanks to a crucial 141-ball 79 including nine fours and a six while pacer Ryan John and wicketkeeper Tevyn Walcott made valuable contributions of 37* and 35, respectively.
Jomel Warrican took 4-58 for the Pride while Akeem Jordan and Jair McAllister took two wickets, each.
Chasing 236 for victory, the Pride were 28-3 off 17 overs at stumps with Jonathan Drakes (9) and Chaim Holder (0) at the crease.
If the Windwards Volcanoes win and the Guyana Harpy Eagles lose to the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, the Volcanoes could lift the title.
T&T Red Force crush Jamaica Scorpions by nine wickets at Torouba
In the battle between bottom-placed teams, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force crushed Jamaica Scorpions by nine wickets with more than a day to spare in their West Indies Championships match at Torouba on Friday.
Needing 99 for victory, after dismissing the Scorpions for 275, TT Red Force cruised to 102-1 in 24.2 overs. Vikash Mohan was unbeaten on 44 and Darren Bravo 14 when victory was achieved. Kamil Pooran was the batsman dismissed for 39 by Jermaine Blackwood.
Bottom-of-the-table Jamaica had resumed from their overnight score of 199-5 with Abhijai Mansingh on 10 and Aldane Thomas seven when play began. The pair would add a further 53 to their overnight stand of eight but were dismissed in quick succession by Shannon Gabriel for 32 and 39, respectively.
The dismissals triggered a slide that saw the hapless Scorpions lose their last four wickets for just 23 runs slipping from 252-6 to 275 all out.
Gabriel ended with figures of 2-52. Imran Khan claimed the last three wickets - Jeavor Royal, Ojay Shields and Marquino Mindley - to finish with 4-47. Anderson Phillip took 2-46 and Bryan Charles 2-75.
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