England charged into the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy with a clinical 22-run victory over hosts South Africa at Centurion.
The ruthlessness of England's display, which eliminated the Proteas from the tournament, was summed up when home captain Graeme Smith was denied a runner late in the game.
Set a target of 324 and needing to score at least 313 to stay in contention for qualification from Group B on net run rate, the South Africans were restricted to 301 for nine.
Earlier, England's total of 323 for eight was their sixth biggest in 50-over contests.
Led by Middlesex duo Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan, it included an England record 12 sixes as the batting travails against Australia earlier this month were consigned to history.
South Africa therefore began their pursuit knowing they would have to obliterate the highest successful chase made in internationals on this ground, the 298-run target achieved by West Indies against South Africa in 2004.
Left-hander Smith single-handedly kept his team in the hunt before skying a catch to be ninth out for 141 in the 47th over.
Fifteen minutes earlier, with 69 runs required from the final six overs, opposite number Andrew Struass displayed a far more ruthless side to his character than against Sri Lanka on Friday night when he reprieved Angelo Mathews, this time denying Smith, clearly suffering from cramp, a runner.
AB de Villiers was ready to enter the field of play but Strauss stood his ground.
To add insult to injury, the dangerous Albie Morkel was run out next ball by a direct hit from stand-in wicketkeeper Eoin Morgan, who had earlier starred with the bat for his adopted nation.
Two balls later Johan Botha skied to mid-off off Stuart Broad and the South Africans were 255 for seven.
Even though Smith kept swinging, James Anderson extended his excellent form by bowling Roelof van der Merwe.
Anderson's initial six-over burst including a Herschelle Gibbs mishit to mid-on, which provided his 150th career success.
Jacques Kallis also perished to a cross-bat shot early on but England's chance to take a third wicket inside the first two sets of powerplays was squandered when Paul Collingwood, at point, dropped a straightforward chance from an AB de Villiers' drive at Luke Wright.
That came in the 15th over with South Africa 73 for two with de Villiers on just three.
It appeared a costly miss as Smith and de Villiers shared 78 runs in 14 overs, but de Villiers holed out off Collingwood just past the halfway stage.
Smith ploughed on at a run a ball with JP Duminy in tow.
But having survived a difficult chance for a stumping on 59, when the ball ricocheted off his pads wide of the lunging Morgan, Smith was inexplicably reprieved on 82 by Shah at long-on off Collingwood.
Smith was celebrating his eighth hundred at this level four overs later, off just 104 deliveries, when he cut his 10th four.
But the South Africans could not match England's aerial assault earlier in the day.
Shah crashed 98, clearing the ropes six times, in an awesome display of power-hitting while Morgan, who kept wicket due to the absence of Matt Prior through illness, proved equally devastating with five.
Shah displayed his intent when, with just a single to his name, he hauled a delivery from outside off-stump from Morkel into the stand behind square on the leg-side.
Having registered his first half-century in 10 one-day international innings from 63 deliveries, Shah accelerated in spectacular fashion, his wristy flicks and powerful straight hitting showering the crowd with five further sixes in the final 26 deliveries of his innings.
He was eventually out when a prod forward at spinner Botha resulted in a bat-pad chance popping to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.
But the tempo was maintained by left-hander Morgan, who replaced him at the crease with the score on 222 for three in the 39th over.
Morgan hit 67 of the remaining 101 runs scored, taking just 26 deliveries to reach his third half-century for England.
Despite his diminutive stature, one of Morgan's five sixes included one over the hospitality boxes at deep midwicket off Dale Steyn in the 48th over.
With the platform set by the stand of 163 for the third wicket between Shah and Collingwood - England's highest for any wicket in ODIs for two years - the batting powerplay, taken on 243 for three, reaped a bounty for a change.
Collingwood was a casualty during that period after batting with great fluency for 82, chopping onto his stumps for the second time in the tournament, off Wayne Parnell.
Collingwood's 50 came off just 56 balls and had Smith making 13 bowling changes between the 10th and 36th overs.
England's final game in Group B is against New Zealand at the Wanderers on Tuesday.
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