The drama came early today. By the end of the fifth over, with England 20-6, the outcome was all but assured. So with the Champions Trophy next up, South Africa have their morale boosted, England – whose morale had received the requisite boost earlier in the series – have theirs already fully pumped, and both sides can face the future with unbounded optimism. Hooray!
And also, bye!
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South Africa win the third ODI by seven wickets and the series ends 2-1
28.5 overs: South Africa 156-3 (Duminy 28, De Villiers 27) Willey bowls short and wide and AB helps himself, slashing the ball away for four. A single later, Duminy comes a smidgeon away from playing on. But he doesn’t, and he duly drives through the covers for a handsome and match-concluding four.
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28th over: South Africa 147-3 (Duminy 24, De Villiers 22) Five more runs off Finn’s seventh over, and South Africa now need (OBOer pushes mental arithmetic skills to the limit) seven.
27th over: South Africa 142-3 (Duminy 21, De Villiers 20) It’s raining, and not only runs. It looks like no more than a passing shower, and for now they’re playing through it, but the possibility of a stoppage seems to have brought De Villiers out of his shell. Willey returns, and AB scoops beautifully over his left shoulder and away for four, and then slashes, edges and gets four more from the next. South Africa need 12 runs, and have only 138 balls to get them.
26th over: South Africa 132-3 (Duminy 20, De Villiers 11) Finn’s shortish delivery hits Duminy in the thigh and loops to gully, whose catch prompts extraordinarily half-hearted appeals. Later De Villiers takes a few half-steps forwards to send the final ball of the over to the long-on boundary. South Africa require 1.43 an over from here on in.
25th over: South Africa 121-3 (Duminy 13, De Villiers 7) A boundary for AB, sent bobbling through the covers. Woah-hoah, they’re three-quarters of the way there! Etc.
24th over: South Africa 115-3 (Duminy 13, De Villiers 1) De Villiers hits the ball to Morgan at point and goes for a sharp single. A direct hit would have sent another batsman back to the pavilion, but it wasn’t even close. AB is thus off the mark, off the 13th ball he has faced.
23rd over: South Africa 112-3 (Duminy 11, De Villiers 0) And another maiden, from Roland-Jones this time – his second. South Africa only managed one in England’s innings, and the run rate is climbing here. From a very low base, admittedly, but it’s on the up.
22nd over: South Africa 112-3 (Duminy 11, De Villiers 0) Now Finn gets the ball to come back at De Villiers, fly inside the bat, not far from the wicket, and with a bit of bonus late swing after it passed the stumps for added drama. Another maiden.
21st over: South Africa 112-3 (Duminy 11, De Villiers 0) Nearly five overs after South Africa’s last boundary, which came back in those heady days when both opening batsmen were at the crease, a boundary is struck. It’s a rather pleasing cover drive from Duminy. The over ends, though, with the bowler (that’s Roland-Jones, by the way) on top: a thick edge that bounces before it reaches third slip, and then a fine final delivery that squares up the batsman and flies just past the edge.
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20th over: South Africa 106-3 (Duminy 5, De Villiers 0) Ball’s final over features one delivery that cuts into De Villiers and flies through the gate – or over the top of the gate, anyway – just past the inside edge and into Buttler’s gloves, to a chorus of frustrated “oohs”.
19th over: South Africa 104-3 (Duminy 4, De Villiers 0) Roland-Jones is a whisker away from another, Duminy inside-edging the ball just past his stumps. England have conceded three runs since the publication of this tweet, but it does approximately sum up quite how promising this situation is for England now:
England just need to take three more wickets for the concession of one run to be ahead on DLS at the 20-over mark...
— Alan Gardner (@alanroderick) May 29, 2017
WICKET! Du Plessis c Buttler b Ball 5 (South Africa 101-3)
18th over: South Africa 101-3 (Duminy 0, De Villiers 0) Ball’s ninth over, and there’s a slight sound as the ball passes just by Faf’s bat. There’s a loud appeal, but no joy – mainly because it was the bat hitting the pad. But four balls and two singles later, the umpire’s finger is in action – this time there’s definite contact with the edge, and a decent low catch from Buttler.
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17th over: South Africa 99-2 (Duminy 0, Du Plessis 4) It’s only a maiden over. Ratted doesn’t even begin to cover it. South Africa are drum-kitted here*. Minor statistical note: Duminy has played 67 ODI innings since he last came in at No3.
* OK, they’re barely rattled. More like triangled really.
16th over: South Africa 99-2 (Duminy 0, Du Plessis 4) Duminy comes in at No3, for the first time in ODIs since November 2013. Du Plessis gets off the mark first, though, with a wild heave and an edge that flies fast down to third man. They’re rattled here! Um, a bit!
WICKET! De Kock b Ball 34 (South Africa 95-2)
That’s a fine yorker from Ball, which passes under De Kock’s bat and thumps the stumps. South Africa have only eight wickets left! Is it on? Can we at least pretend it’s on for a little while?
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15th over: South Africa 95-1 (De Kock 34, Duminy 0) Roland-Jones delivers a first-ball full toss that De Kock sends boundarywards, and later serves up an open invitation for Amla to drive through the covers, which Amla drives through the covers. It was, in short, an entirely unexceptional over, though it ended with a pleasing going-home present.
WICKET! Amla b Roland-Jones 55 (South Africa 95-1)
Amla inside-edges onto his stumps, and Toby Roland-Jones has a first international wicket!
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14th over: South Africa 84-0 (Amla 51, De Kock 27) Woah, they’re halfway there! Wo-hoah, living on a combination of fine bowling, the opposition’s attack-at-all-costs mentality and disciplined batsmanship! Take my hand, they’ll make it I swear. Woah-hoah, livin’ on a [snip – ed]
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13th over: South Africa 75-0 (Amla 43, De Kock 27) The one where Toby Roland-Jones does international bowling. And his first delivery is pretty decent, tempting De Kock into a wild, contact-free drive. A couple of singles later, though, the same batsman connects with one. Four.
12th over: South Africa 67-0 (Amla 42, De Kock 20) Amla has not been distracted by the interval. He hits to cover twice for two apiece, and then drives with almost languid assurance past mid-off for four. Ball keeps him on his toes, though, with a lovely final delivery that moves fractionally away off the seam and zips past the edge.
Lunch has been munched. The batsmen are on their way back to the middle. Will South Africa knock off the 95 runs they still require in short order and with little drama, or are we about to see something extraordinary? I can have a decent guess, but I’m about to find out for sure.
Lunch: South Africa 59-0
11th over: South Africa 59-0 (Amla 34, De Kock 20) That’s an entirely stress-free opening for the tourists, who have been motoring along at 5.36 an over and need 2.44 an over from now on. Now, though, they can have themselves a little rest.
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10th over: South Africa 57-0 (Amla 33, De Kock 19) Ball’s fifth over yields a single for De Kock. “If you’re going to play Roland-Jones for one game might be nice to give him a bowl before there’s 20 left to win,” sniffs Jonathan Salisbury.
9th over: South Africa 56-0 (Amla 33, De Kock 18) Featuring a lovely, effortless push through the covers from Amla for four. And another, off the front foot this time, more forceful and equally effective.
8th over: South Africa 48-0 (Amla 25, De Kock 18) Two dots, two singles and two twos, in that order. Lunch, for those who haven’t already eaten it at their desks, will be taken at 2.30pm BST. De Kock might have been dreaming of it when he swung wildly at a Ball delivery that completely passed him by.
7th over: South Africa 42-0 (Amla 24, De Kock 13) Finn replaces Willey, who was going for eight an over, and Amla cracks his first ball square for four, taking South Africa past the magic 38.5 mark (that is, 25% of the way to their target) and himself past 7,000 ODI runs, which I believe is quite good.
Hashim Amla (150 innings) breaks Virat Kohli's record (161) for the fastest to 7000 ODI runs!https://t.co/AHww3ZFQAa pic.twitter.com/iu024LnZOq
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 29, 2017
6th over: South Africa 36-0 (Amla 19, De Kock 12) Swing! Ball gets the ball to move away from Amla, which is good news. The bad news is that he made the ball swing from a starting position of very wide to a final position of even wider, and it is thus a wide. “Simon, in this modern, interconnected world, not being able to check the score for an hour is a worry,” frets Andrew Benton. “Did you lose your mobile phone?” There were battery and reception issues.
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5th over: South Africa 34-0 (Amla 18, De Kock 12) De Kock sends Willey’s first ball through midwicket for four, beautifully placed to ensure two fielders had to run after it and neither could reach it. And then another one goes too straight at the same batsman’s pads and is despatched in an identical direction, though this time hard enough for nobody to bother moving.
4th over: South Africa 23-0 (Amla 17, De Kock 3) Amla works the ball fine off his legs for four again. “Were you at least expecting to wake up on a campsite in Sussex?” wonders Ian Copestake. It was a disappointment, but not a surprise. Though actually it was a lovely campsite, as they go, so it wasn’t so bad.
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3rd over: South Africa 15-0 (Amla 12, De Kock 2) Willey continues, and Amla tickles another fine for four. It’s raining a little in St John’s Wood, but the umpires don’t seem to mind overly much.
2nd over: South Africa 10-0 (Amla 8, De Kock 1) Edged! And safe! De Kock misjudges a drive, and the ball flies way wide of slip – fourth slip might have had a chance, if only there was one – and away to safety. Amla then slashes at Ball’s penultimate delivery, prompting apeals from the close fielders but nothing from the umpire (and UltraEdge shows there was nothing to get excited about).
So I woke up this morning on a campsite in Sussex, knowing that not only would I miss the first hour and a bit of the match, but that I wouldn’t even be able to check the score for about an hour. Did I have a shock waiting for me.
1st over: South Africa 8-0 (Amla 8, De Kock 0) The first delivery of the innings is thumped past backward point for four, and later a straight delivery is tickled fine down leg side for another. There was also a wide that was mystifyingly not called by the umpire.
Hello world!
So the players are back out and action is about to resume. Can South Africa find a way to lose this match? Might rain save England? Let’s find out!
Well, that was surreal. England subsided to 20-6, displaying an astonishing ability to turn a dead rubber into a crisis. Then they revived, adding 133 more, without much difficulty, as Bairstow showed his usual class and fight, and Willey and Roland-Jones did their best to stand in for all the injured all-rounders. For South Africa, Rabada was imperious, Parnell very handy, Maharaj steady, and AB de Villiers got his reward for posting four slips early on. South Africa have never won a one-dayer at Lord’s, but not even they can blow this chance, can they?
Time for me to hand over to Simon Burnton. Thanks for reading, tweeting and emailing, and see you for England-Bangladesh on Thursday.
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Wicket!! England are all out for 153
Finn chips Maharaj to midwicket, and that’s that. Roland-Jones, on debut, is left high’n’dry with a spirited 37.
31st over: England 153-9 (Roland-Jones 37, Finn 3) Rabada continues, and there are runs all over the place, by hook or by crook – the hook being Roland-Jones’s.
Damian Clarke is thinking about Lord’s virgins (27th over). “I’d like to continue the conversation, but like many of those to have a recently popped cherry, I’m simply lying here, staring at the ceiling and thinking ‘All these years waiting, anticipating, and that’s it?’ And he didn’t even offer me a cigarette.”
30th over: England 145-9 (Roland-Jones 32, Finn 2) So that’s the end of Mr Ball the Bowler. He’s replaced by Steve Finn, who plays an easy clip for two. They may have no all-rounders, but this XI can sort of bat all the way down.
Wicket! Ball b Maharaj 7
Jake Ball plays a glorious lofted off-drive for four, then gets carried away, tries a slog-sweep, and drags it on. England are 143-9.
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Missed!
Ball inside-edges Maharaj on to his pad, and de Kock, faced with a chance to catch or stump him, can’t quite manage either.
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29th over: England 137-8 (Roland-Jones 32, Ball 1) Roland-Jones keeps Rabada out, and even hooks him for a single, possibly with his eyes shut. Jake Ball, who also knows one end of the bat from the other, gets off the mark with a push into the off side. And that’s drinks. The second act went a lot better than the first for England, and for the neutrals.
Over on Twitter, Gary Naylor rejoins a conversation he began himself. “Key component of a picnic basket,” he reckons, ”are 8 bottles of Dandelion & Burdock filled with Pimms and Lemo. Undetectable by eye or nose.”
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28th over: England 134-8 (Roland-Jones 31, Ball 0) Bairstow tried to go inside-out over extra-cover, missed and paid the price. Well bowled Maharaj. There, almost certainly, go England’s hopes of clawing their way to something defensible.
Wicket! Bairstow st de Kock b Maharaj 51
It was great while it lasted, but now Jonny B picks the wrong ball to dance down the track to, and England are 134-8.
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Review!
For lbw against Roland-Jones, facing Maharaj, but he’s not out – umpire’s call.
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27th over: England 133-7 (Bairstow 51, Roland-Jones 30) Roland-Jones plays a magnificent on-drive for four off Rabada. New Angus Fraser? More like the new Chris Woakes.
An email from Tom Adam. “Oh dear, all these Lord’s virgins on the OBO. Makes a change from just virgins, I suppose.” Burn. “Naylor was obviously referring to the length of time it takes to get your hamper through the security checks, not how long it takes to find your quails’ eggs. A few years ago they confiscated my ‘waiter’s friend’ corkscrew, on the basis that the 1.5cm blade for foil cutting was a weapon. I went straight off to the Lord’s shop and bought a replacement which was identical in every respect, except that it had ‘Lord’s - Home of Cricket’ emblazoned on the side. At least my victim would die happy, or something.”
26th over: England 128-7 (Bairstow 51, Roland-Jones 25) Well played Jonny B, a man who doesn’t know the meaning of “lost cause”. Does anyone feel England have to squeeze him into their first XI? And if so, how?
Fifty!
For Jonny Bairstow, the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of this England side. A sweep takes him to 51 off 64 balls, worth a hundred in the circumstances.
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25th over: England 124-7 (Bairstow 47, Roland-Jones 25) AB de Villiers is sufficiently rattled to send for Rabada, the man of the moment with that fabulous opening salvo. Bairstow, treating him with due respect, follows a few dots with an exquisite dab for four through the mysteriously vacant slips, and a push to leg for a hard-run three.
Gary Naylor picks up the thread about double-barrelled players. “What about Graham Lbwalderman-Gooch?”
24th over: England 117-7 (Bairstow 40, Roland-Jones 25) Roland-Jones is on fire. He cover-drives Parnell for four as if he was Joe Root, then square-drives for four more. With 25 off only 21 balls, he has outscored Bairstow five to one.
23rd over: England 109-7 (Bairstow 40, Roland-Jones 17) Roland-Jones lives dangerously, almost popping a dolly to midwicket off Morris, but rallies superbly with a flick for four and then a pull for six. Is he going to do a Ben Hollioake?
Meanwhile John Starbuck joins the picnic fray. “Forget the Tupperware,” he advises. “You need a basket to include the fizzy wine and glasses to drink it from. You can’t do that with plastic boxes, which are rarely stylish.”
Six!
Roland-Jones! Flipped over deep square, off Morris. That’s the way to deal with a barrage of bouncers.
Hundred up!
This looked a long, long way away at 20-6, but England have now reached the giddy heights of 102-7.
22nd over: England 98-7 (Bairstow 40, Roland-Jones 6) Bairstow plays a short-arm shovel for a single, and when Parnell tries yet another bouncer at Roland-Jones, he goes for five wides, much to the crowd’s delight. He is the Ole Gunnar Sols
The cameras find a young woman in a box with a glass of champagne. By the time they go back to her, she has one in each hand and a broad smile on her face. That’s Lord’s to a T.
21st over: England 91-7 (Bairstow 39, Roland-Jones 5) Roland-Jones is reckoned by Sky to be England’s first double-barrelled cricketer for 82 years. Can that really be true? Anyway he plays up to the role with a majestic off drive for four, meeting a length ball from Morris at the top of the bounce. Then he cops a blow, gloving a pull into the grille of his helmet, but thankfully he’s OK to continue. When Morris serves up another bouncer, he sways out of the way. He too looks like a good temperament.
“Search a picnic basket?” snorts Damian Clarke, responding to Gary Naylor (18th over). “Surely the sign of a disorganised lunch packer. Mr Naylor is cordially invited to my next Tupperware party.”
20th over: England 87-7 (Bairstow 39, Roland-Jones 1) Every young cricketer dreams of playing for their country, but not many envisage coming out to bat at Lord’s with the score 82-7. On the plus side, Toby Roland-Jones has time to build an innings, and he sets about it by going back to a short one from Parnell, tucking into the leg side, and getting off the mark first ball. Jonny B plays a lordly whip-pull for four.
An email from Andrew Benton. “It would have been Mooen Ali who’d save the day for England at this stage, but... oh. Why change a line-up when it clearly works so well?” He had a minor injury, same as Stokes and Woakes. The late middle-order has done quite well all the same – it’s the specialists who blew it.
Wicket! Willey c Duminy b Parnell 26
Parnell does the trick, luring Willey into a loose chip to cover. It’s the end of a spirited knock, and England are back in the mire at 82-7.
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19th over: England 82-6 (Bairstow 35, Willey 26) Morris, after that bad over, restricts the batsmen to three singles. Nasser Hussain is talking about the forecast rain, which may yet come to England’s rescue. “Hello Tim,” says Matthew Doherty. “Is this a September NatWest final?”
18th over: England 79-6 (Bairstow 34, Willey 24) AB summons Parnell, hoping for more of that early-morning magic, but the swing has gone, the pitch is true, and Willey plays a comfy push down the ground for two.
A thought from Gary Naylor. “I reckon England lost their first six wickets in less time than it took to search a picnic basket.”
17th over: England 76-6 (Bairstow 34, Willey 21) The experiment with spin is over as Chris Morris comes on. Willey cracks a cut for four, then squeezes to square leg for a hard-run two. This brings up the 50 partnership, 51 off 70 balls – a testament to two sound temperaments. Bairstow adds another cut for four, and that is England’s best over of the day.
16th over: England 65-6 (Bairstow 30, Willey 14) Morkel continues from the Pavilion end, or as Shaun Pollock calls it on commentary, “the changing-room end”. When Morkel gets one to lift especially steeply, Bairstow upper-cuts it for a classy four. Willey, mirroring him, pulls for a single, and passes his career-best.
Patrick Blewer picks up on my point about Ben Hollioake (10:56am, which seems a long time ago now). “I was at Lord’s that day,” he says. “It was warm. Hollioake played like a young Hercules. He had more time and more style than anyone I’d seen. I imagine people felt the same about Gower.
“The thing I remember is a series of proper cricket shots that were perfectly timed; the ball fizzed and soared off his Kookaburra Bubble. One of the great ‘what ifs’ of English cricket. Was never sure about his bowling at top level but he was a lovely batsman to watch.”
14th over: England 56-6 (Bairstow 23, Willey 12) Morkel drops short and Bairstow plays a full-blooded cut for four. Shot of the day so far, not that it’s saying a great deal. The run-rate is actually verging on the respectable. And that’s drinks. What a morning!
“Afternoon Tim,” says Dave Adams. “Well this is a bit of a mess.” You can say that again. “I guess there are two crumbs of comfort here. Firstly, it’s a dead rubber, so if you’re going to have a batting meltdown, better to get it in before the business end of things starts.” True. “Secondly, I’m sure I’m not alone in finding a consistently competent England ODI team a bit unsettling, so this is a welcome reminder that we are, after all, still the same old England.” As is that sentiment.
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13th over: England 51-6 (Bairstow 18, Willey 12) Four singles in a row off the slow left-arm of Maharaj. England’s fifty is cheered as if it was the 250, and this partnership has now raised 31 – riches indeed.
Gary Naylor has spotted something. “Double figures for David Willey for the first time since April 16, when he made 19 for Yorkshire in the Champo.” He’s got time for treble figures, if he can just stick around.
12th over: England 47-6 (Bairstow 16, Willey 10) These two are doing what they have to do, trying to stem the tide. They see off an over from Morkel without alarms.
A tweet from the editor of Wisden, Lawrence Booth. “As my old maths teacher used to say, get your disaster out of the way in the mocks.”
11th over: England 45-6 (Bairstow 15, Willey 9) AB may have been tempted to bowl Rabada out, but he opts to see if there’s any turn for Keshav Maharaj. Bairstow greets him with a cut for four. If anyone can get England out of this hole, he can.
“Morning Tim,” says Damian Clarke. “I’ve told my wife that there is everything to play for in today’s crucial match. The minute she finds out otherwise, there are gutters to clean, borders to be weeded and shopping to be done. So, mum’s the word, eh?” Old-school.
10th over: England 40-6 (Bairstow 10, Willey 9) Morne Morkel comes on for his first bowl of the series, long legs pumping like pistons. Each batsman takes a single. “So, Tim,” says Austin Baird, “what time is the rain due?”
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9th over: England 38-6 (Bairstow 9, Willey 8) Rabada, or Rabid as the Guardian auto-correct longs to call him, brings the best out of Bairstow, or Barstow – a crisp cover drive for four, played from deep in the crease.
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8th over: England 32-6 (Bairstow 3, Willey 8) David Willey, who is a fine striker of the ball, albeit usually at the other end of the innings, biffs Parnell through midwicket for four. Then he plays and misses, going for a cut, before fending uncertainly at a lifter. And then he slashes at thin air again. “Look away now,” says David Lloyd.
7th over: England 28-6 (Bairstow 3, Willey 4) Bairstow sees off the hat-trick ball from Rabada, who has 4-12. And he even leaves one outside the off stump. If England had done a bit more of that today, they might be only two down. Their first duty now is to hang in there for a while. Their second is to pass 86, their lowest-ever 50-over score.
6th over: England 28-6 (Bairstow 3, Willey 4) Jonny Bairstow, an innocent bystander so far, plays a nice clip for three. David Willey joins the ranks of the wild wafters and gets away with it as AB de Villiers has moved the fourth slip. We are into the realm of the ironic cheer.
A tweet from Steve Pye. “Any chance of a T20 match after South Africa wrap this up by 1?” Good call.
5th over: England 20-6 (Bairstow 0, Willey 0) Jos Buttler plays the situation for two minutes with some sober blocks, then clips Rabada for a handsome four through midwicket, then perishes. England are down to the bowlers already. And no sooner has Adil Rashid come in than he is out, driving loosely to second slip. That’s four wickets in the last seven balls.
A tweet from Gary Naylor. “It’s the done thing to play every wicket like it’s par 350, but you’d be happy to be 45-1 at lunch in a Test in these conditions.”
And one from Stuie Neale that says it all: “Oops.”
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Wicket!!!!!! Rashid c du Plessis b Rabada 0
Another mindless slash, another sharp catch. ENGLAND ARE 20-6.
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Wicket!!!!! Buttler c du Plessis b Rabada 4
Another one! A half-volley from Rabada, Buttler’s eyes light up, and a quick thick edge is superbly snaffled at second slip. England are 20-5. Yes, twenty for five. They’ve never started a one-dayer this badly.
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Wicket!!!! Hales c Amla b Rabada 1
And another one! Rabada tempts Hales into the drive, the bait is taken and so is the catch. England are 15-4: carnage.
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Wicket!!! Morgan c de Kock b Parnell 8
Parnell does it again, running the ball up the slope to take the edge. Morgan has gone, England are 15-3, and they don’t have the usual bank of all-rounders to draw on. It’s all down to you, Jonny B.
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3rd over: England 11-2 (Hales 1, Morgan 4) Extraordinary – an over without a wicket. Eoin Morgan, trying to look as if he is used to being out there this early, picks up a two and a one off the pacey Rabada.
2nd over: England 8-2 (Hales 1, Morgan 1) Joe Root just had time to play one of his trademark square drives, for two, before Parnell got him. South Africa finish the over with four slips. Great stuff.
Wicket!! Root lbw b Parnell 2
England are 7-2! Wayne Parnell swings a yorker back into Root’s boots, and up goes the finger. Wasim Akram would have been happy with that one.
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1st over: England 4-1 (Hales 0, Root 0) Rabada beat Roy with his second ball, moving it down the slope, then conceded four as he strayed on to the pads, then struck, so poor old Roy fails again. The pitch looks sporting – a tinge of green, a bit of bounce.
Wicket! Roy c Amla b Rabada 4
Rabada strikes in the first over as Roy, sorely out of form, offers a limp edge to first slip. England are 4-1.
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And we have our first contribution from outside the confines of my sofa. “Morning Tim,” says Stuie Neale. “I expect England to get the job done again today, make 350-375 I reckon.” That’s confidence for you.
It was 20 years ago today
Well, not quite to the letter, but it was the same day in spirit – the May bank holiday at Lord’s, the final one-dayer of three, a full house for a dead rubber. England, 2-0 up against Australia in 1997, gave a debut to a teenage all-rounder, Ben Hollioake. He strolled out at No.3 and started whipping Glenn McGrath into the Tavern as if he was still playing for his school. He finished with 63 off 48 balls, heady stuff in those days (Mike Atherton had made 1 off 15). It was a fabulous entrance, a first fine careless rapture.
I was editing Wisden Cricket Monthly at the time, and we had no hesitation in putting Ben and his brother Adam, who had played a handful of games, on the cover of the next issue. England were less good at handling players then than they are now, and Ben’s international career still hadn’t fully got going when he died in a car crash in Perth in 2002, at the horribly young age of 24. But his family and friends, and fans, will always have that day to remember.
Toss: England bat first
AB de Villiers wins the toss and bowls, undeterred by the fact that he has just done this twice and lost. South Africa make three changes, bringing in JP Duminy, Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell, which gives them more heft and know-how.
England trump that with four changes – Bairstow for Stokes as expected, and Willey, Finn and Roland-Jones for Woakes, Moeen and Wood. Roland-Jones receives his England cap from Angus Fraser, who is both his boss at Middlesex and his role model as a hit-the-deck seamer.
Preamble
It’s Lord’s, it’s a bank holiday, it’s England v South Africa, it’s AB de Villiers. But... it’s a dead rubber, it’s due to rain, and England are expected to be without Stokes, Woakes or Moeen. To lose one all-rounder to a minor injury may be considered a misfortune; to lose three looks like it may have been unwise to let two of them play in the IPL.
The astonishing twist on Saturday, when South Africa needed seven off the last over and managed only four, has left this game looking a bit limp. In cricket, though, there are always sub-plots. South Africa need a win to pump up their tyres for the Champions Trophy, in which they are widely tipped to reach the semi-finals. They also need to make their mark at Lord’s, having never won a one-day game there: in three appearances, all against England, they’ve made totals ranging from 107 to 220. It’s an odd record given that Lord’s Tests bring out the best in them – they’ve played five in modern times, won four and drawn one.
For England, the sub-plots are all about the fringe players. Jonny Bairstow, who tends to feast on South African bowling, should ease into Ben Stokes’ seat at No.5. The other crocked allrounders are going to have to be replaced by bowlers, with David Willey next in line and Steve Finn and Liam Dawson joining the queue. England have also sent for Toby Roland-Jones, who could make his international debut on his home ground at the age of 29. After sealing the county championship with a hat-trick, he seems unlikely to be overawed.
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Tim will be here soon.
In the meantime, here’s some follow-up from England’s victory in the second ODI to seal the series.
Updated
