Thriller In Newlands
England were desperately unlucky to lose to a South Africa side who snatched victory on the final ball. That's one half of the narrative. England set a poor total and were suitably chased down? Other half of the narrative. A lot of credit has to go to the bowlers of both sides right from the outset: in a low scoring game of cricket, it means that every run is crucial and the bowlers deserve a lot of credit for making that the case. South Africa's bowlers will have been very happy to see England posting a total of 135 to chase and England's bowlers made a valiant attempt at defending that total.
Simply put: 134-8 was never going to be good enough. They almost got away with it, thanks to some supreme bowling from Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes, but almost didn't quite cut the mustard, as South Africa plundered 15 off of Reece Topley's final over to win the game.
I want to start with a preface. I know that ODI cricket and T20 cricket are similar forms of the game and that fact is emphasised by the fact that England sent out an identical side to the one from some of the ODIs. As such some of the criticisms that this England side is in for (and to balance that some of the praise) will be spilled out across the ODI and T20 series, whereas it's also important to note that they are nonetheless different disciplines.
Topley for example, had a very bad day at the office, going for 0-27 off of his three overs, and a missed run out on the last ball which ultimately cost England the match at the death. His death bowling wasn't good enough today, but he's had a terrific ODI series overall so I'm loathe to judge him too harshly, especially as he was bowling under extreme pressure and you could clearly see how much it meant to him when he dropped the ball at the death. Also, this is only his third T20 and he's done reasonably well in the others.
Chris Jordan on the other hand, put in a sensational bowling performance, taking the key wicket of AB De Villiers early on before taking two more in the penultimate over to leave England sniffing victory, finishing with figures of 3-23, meaning that he went at less than a run a ball and taking his best T20 figures. Jordan's composure at the death was exceptional and his bowling on point and he will be disappointed that it was all for naught. Another top bowler on the day was Ben Stokes, whose four overs went for just 19 runs, adding in the other crucial wicket of Hashim Amla. And the spinners also put in reasonable performances, Rashid and Moeen taking combined figures of 3-46 off their combined seven overs. Ultimately it was a disappointing five overs combined from David Willey, who also dropped a catch, and Topley that cost England.
But not as much as their batting, which was nothing short of shocking. Jos Buttler's quick fire (and not even that quickfire by his standards) 32* aside, nobody in an England shirt offered much in the way of resistance, after Alex Hales fell for 27 off 21 balls, having taken England to 50-1 off the powerplay overs. For the likes of Stokes, Morgan, Moeen and Roy, this is simply a continuation of the poor form that they showed in the ODIs, albeit under different circumstances and won't be filling England with hope for the rest of the series.
As for South Africa, they weren't overly impressive with the bat either, Faf Du Plessis top scoring with 25 and Morris' quick fire 17 off 7 enough to see them over the line. But it was a top bowling display from Imran Tahir, who ripped into England's top order, removing Hales, Morgan, Stokes and Moeen for just 21 runs off of his overs. David Wiese also bowled very well, matching Stokes' 1-19.
Right now, neither of these teams are showering themselves with glory with the bat. But it made for a stunning game of cricket, and there's plenty more to look forward to with the World Cup less than a month away.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Messi scored from miles behind the goal. No. Really.
- England's women also lost to their South African equivalent.
- Quins and Leicester are involved in a thumping good match.
- Jose Baxter. Oh man, what a fool.
- Bristol Rovers sold to a Jordanian family. What?
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