James Anderson's maiden five-wicket haul put England on course for an easy victory over South Africa - yet he admits it is far from the best he has bowled for his country.

Anderson's five for 23 helped to hustle the hosts out for only 119, and - with an unbeaten 52 from Jonathan Trott - England then sauntered to victory with more than 18 overs to spare to go 2-1 up in the one-day international series.

With only one more match to play - and that in Durban, where a welter of rain is forecast this week - England have an obvious chance of a second successive series victory over these high-profile opponents in this format.

Anderson's personal achievement came in his 120th ODI, against a country who rarely lose at home - and as he recovers from both an ongoing right knee injury and a stubbed toe on his left foot.

But he said: "I think I've bowled better and got less rewards.

"It was just one of those days where catches went to hand.

"It was nice today to get a wicket that was a little bit conducive to seam bowling - and thankfully, I made the most of it.

"I bowled a few wicket-taking balls. But it was more the pressure we built up as a unit.

Top Performer: James Anderson

"Tim Bresnan's spell was fantastic from the bottom end, and Stuart (Broad) got an early breakthrough as well - which was a huge help."

In fact, it was a day when most things fell for England - including a coin that presented home captain Graeme Smith with the decision of whether to bat or bowl.

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He acknowledged afterwards only a slight doubt before choosing the former. But it was a move that backfired. England captain Andrew Strauss benefited from losing the toss.

"I did um and aah about it a bit, and we were going to bat first," he confirmed.

"I think we all thought it was going to play a lot better than it did.

"But the important thing is that you react well to the conditions and you exploit them - and I thought our bowlers did that fantastically well.

"They bowled in partnerships and were very accurate.

"Jimmy in particular was able to combine that accuracy, building pressure, with wicket-taking deliveries - which is absolutely invaluable.

"It was a great performance from our bowling unit - and when you bowl a team out for 120 you are going to win more times than not."

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For Smith, the opposite was the case - and despite a battling 51 from Alviro Petersen, the match was long lost by the time it was South Africa's turn to bowl.

"It was a hugely disappointing performance today," said the South Africa captain.

"It's always terrible to lose. But it's not so much the outcome of the game; it's the fact we didn't assess conditions well enough and post a total that would have been defendable on this wicket.

"We came out all guns blazing and lost a few key wickets up front - and then no-one really hung around with Alviro, who played really well again.

"If we could have posted anything over 200, it would have given us a chance."

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