CAPETOWN, (Reuters) – England’s last pair of Graeme  Swann and Graham Onions survived 17 balls to salvage a thrilling  draw in the third test against South Africa  yesterday and keep  their side 1-0 ahead in the series.

England suffered a dramatic collapse in the final session  after Paul Collingwood (40) and Ian Bell (78) had shared a  four-hour partnership to take them to the brink of safety.

Part-time spinner JP Duminy induced an edge from Collingwood  to slip just after the match entered its final hour and three  more wickets fell for 18 runs in 10.4 overs.

Duminy had Matt Prior caught close to the bat and Morne  Morkel and Paul Harris grabbed wickets to leave England on 290  for nine with 2.5 overs remaining.

But Swann and Onions, who also salvaged a draw for England  in similar circumstances in the first test, defended stoutly to  keep out fast bowlers Morkel and Dale Steyn.

“It wasn’t fun the first time and the second time was a lot  worse,” England captain Andrew Strauss said at the presentation  ceremony. “Graham Onions is a legend isn’t he? He’s done the job  twice for us.”

South Africa captain Graeme Smith praised his own team and  their opponents.

“England have shown a lot of strength throughout this tour,”  he said. “From our perspective it’s been a great test but  unfortunately we never had the knock out blow.”