But Wright continued his impressive display when he nipped one back to take Uthappa's inside edge and uproot the off-stump in the 21st over.
Koertzen correctly declined that one, for there was no inside edge onto the pad, but Ponting - despite clouting one delivery over mid-on for four - never really settled and might have been bowled by an off-break which fizzed directly over middle stump.
Henry stands and watches helplessly as the small fire he has birthed flows like brilliant liquid over the tree stump's ragged edges and into the dead grass and pine needles that carpet the barren slope from the water's edge to the lip of the woods.
The anonymous caller promised a lucrative deal over the phone: stump up dollars in advance and he would produce a glittering hoard in Johannesburg.
ECONOMIST: Why Nigerian fraudsters now like working in South Africa
Gilchrist held on brilliantly when Yuvraj Singh chased a ball outside off-stump in Johnson's second over, and the left-armer angled one in to win a leg-before verdict against Robin Uthappa.
BBC: Johnson left the Indians reeling with a devastating burst
After the loss of Westwood, Kumar Sangakkara lost his off-stump to Ottis Gibson in his first over with the new ball.
BBC: SPORT | Cricket | Counties | Durham claim remarkable victory
Paul Collingwood drove loosely to gully and the departure of Bell, who got an inside edge that left his off-stump out of the ground in the first over after tea, saw the scoring rate dip alarmingly.
Blocking the wind with his torso, Henry strikes the third match and leans forward over the bowl of a hollow pine stump, half hugging the crude hearth in which he intends to boil their string of fish into a chowder.
And they were confident they had their man when the South African skipper appeared to edge a wide delivery outside off stump from Sidebottom into the gloves of Prior in the fourth over of the morning session.
BBC: ECB's Giles Clarke says referral system is 'a shambles'
Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin, together at the resumption, have produced some impressive stands thus far in the series - but were parted in the fourth over when a flat-footed flash outside off stump by Haddin gave James Anderson his first wicket of the match.
Cook and Bell were still together when the 200 came up in the 39th over and Cook whipped a length delivery on off-stump through mid-on to move to 99, reaching 100 from 122 balls.
There was little opportunity for improvisation but one notable moment followed when Rankin sent a full toss well wide of off-stump and Morgan somehow managed to get outside the ball and flip it over his shoulder to the fine-leg fence.
Cook had another big slice of luck when Kaneria knocked out his leg-stump with a vicious leg-break only to see Doctrove rule he had over-stepped.
In his days on the stump, candidate Barack Obama had maintained that he would begin with active diplomacy over the long-standing Pakistani-Indian dispute over Kashmir.
Despite the loss of Boyd Rankin, who had taken five wickets in the first innings, after Woakes had got rid of visiting skipper James Foster, Clarke took over the role as key strike bowler, knocking back the off stump of both Ryan ten Doeschate and Mark Pettini with fine deliveries.
BBC: Darren Maddy half-century helps Warwickshire beat Essex
The remaining fayre was attritional stuff, England doing their utmost to slow the over rate and bowl what they could well wide of the off-stump.
Opener Tom Westley was bowled by James Tomlinson for one in the second over and in the next Cork knocked back Jaik Mickleburgh's off stump.
Tremlett snared his third victim in the second over after lunch as Smith prodded hard at a routine delivery outside off stump and fed a gentle catch to Strauss - the England captain seeming to break into a grin even before he had the ball safely in his grasp.
But three balls later he was gone, for 55, to a disappointingly tame nibble outside the off-stump, neatly caught low by Brad Haddin, although replays showed bowler Ben Hilfenhaus had over-stepped by several inches.
Morkel's first two overs went for 24 and Charl Langeveldt fared little better as Kieswetter stepped down the pitch to thump him over extra cover for a mighty six before moving across to sweep from off stump for four.
BBC: England sink South Africa to close in on T20 semi-final
An experimental batting order threw up captain Andrew Strauss and Bopara as its openers, and that plan backfired as Strauss departed in the seventh over, flapping at a ball he could barely reach outside the off-stump and hitting it to point.
Anderson then took out Tim Ambrose's off-stump and removed 17-year-old Ateeq Javid and Rikki Clarke in a three-over spell to complete his five-wicket haul and confirm his sharpness for the Ashes.
An enthralling day began with Watson trying to reach the elusive maiden century with a boundary but playing over the top with an attempted pull at Benn's quicker one and seeing his middle stump knocked back.
That over cost 21, but Pakistan came back in the next, Gul flattening Wright's off-stump with a yorker.
Katich - whose innings of 34 came from 140 balls - drove one delivery confidently over mid-off for four but was sucked into pushing at a top-spinner outside off-stump next ball.
Having frustrated Steyn further by guiding him wide of the slips for four, Anderson's ride was over when a full, fast and straight delivery crashed into his pads, bang in front of middle stump.
应用推荐