Aside from those two stand-out innings, Cook making an assured 115 on his belated bow and Amla adding a fluent 109 to a 202-run stand, it was a day that lived up to its ‘dead rubber’ billing at Centurion.
England, with the series won in style last week, were flat in the field and uninspired with the ball, while the Proteas finished on 329 for five after a middle-order wobble in the evening session.
Cook’s knock was a personal triumph – at the age of 33 he must have thought his time had gone – leaving the selectors to ponder why they persevered so long with makeshift opener Stiaan van Zyl.
Cook was cheered on by his father Jimmy, who made his own debut after readmission in 1992 and bagged a golden duck.
He had been dropped on 47, Jonny Bairstow’s troubled series behind the stumps continuing as he grassed a one-handed chance at the start of the afternoon session, and Amla was also reprieved early. He had just five to his name when Ben Stokes found the edge with a lovely outswinger, but Bairstow dived in vain across Alastair Cook, who faltered at slip.
None of England’s five-man attack came close to their best, allowing Amla to dominate as he scored his sixth Test hundred against the Three Lions and 25th overall.
A South Africa side showing five changes from the third Test opted to bat first and reached 107 for one by lunch.
The only breakthrough relied heavily on another James Taylor special at short leg.
Although not as aesthetically pleasing as his two wonder catches at the Wanderers, Taylor showed bravery and quick thinking to assist Moeen Ali in removing Dean Elgar.
Standing up to a cleanly-hit shot, he deflected the ball into his hunched body and shuffled awkwardly for a few seconds before locating it with his hand to complete the dismissal.
After tea, Amla played on to Stokes just after bringing up the 200-run stand.
It took 103 years for a South African to make a 100 on Test debut: Andrew Hudson in April 1992.
Since then in all six have done it!
#SAvEng
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) January 22, 2016The stage seemed set for AB De Villiers but he came and went for nought, Broad dismissing the home captain for the 10th time via a smart take from Joe Root at second slip.
That double strike may have unsettled Cook, who hovered nervously in the nineties – surviving one tight lbw referral – before reaching his century with a nudge off his pads.
His century, the 100th by a Test debutant, was celebrated warmly by the crowd but calmly in the middle, as Cook took in a moment he had almost given up on.
His innings eventually ended when he diverted Woakes into his stumps, with JP Duminy following for 16 as Moeen struck again.
But Temba Bavuma (32no) and Quinton de Kock (25no) seized back the initiative with a lively late stand.
