After a hiatus of 34 years England were welcomed back to the West Country but could not emulate the victory of 1983. Against the odds South Africa won a topsy-turvy contest, laced with a touch of controversy, by three runs. It was a gutsy performance by South Africa and a profligate one by England. For a capacity crowd there was drama and ultimately disappointment when Liam Dawson hit the penultimate ball of the match for four, but was unable to do so with the next.
It had at one stage seemed such plain sailing for England. With six-and-a-half overs to go they had nine wickets intact and needed just 50 runs more. But after the controversial dismissal of Jason Roy – he was given out for obstructing the field – the run chase wilted as South Africa fought back grittily.
The target was modest by Taunton standards and Roy had been in the mood. He cracked his second Twenty20 half-century, his sparkle now restored after that barren run, using most parts of his bat. Two consecutive inside edges off Morne Morkel were a source of considerable exasperation to the tourists, after which he tended to use the middle of the bat in his 67 from 45 balls. It all looked so simple.
Then came Roy’s dismissal, which was something of a collector’s item. He tried to regain his ground after setting off for a single and the subsequent throw at the stumps hit his heel. It was a tough decision for the third umpire Tim Robinson, who was fervently booed by most of the 12,420 people in the ground. A deliberate change of direction had been spotted.
Thereafter England fluffed their lines as South Africa sensed an unlikely victory. Jos Buttler, back on home soil, could not swing the game; nor could Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone on his debut. Eoin Morgan came in at six but he could not rescue the situation either. Dawson swung dutifully but the target of 12 runs required from the final over from Andile Phehlukwayo proved to be just beyond him.
Morgan did not use the Roy dismissal as an excuse for the defeat after the game. “It was not massively controversial. I thought it was a 50-50 call,” the captain said.
“You could see why he gave it out. It did not cost us the game, we still had enough firepower to win it. But we didn’t deserve to. We could not capitalise on the start by Jason [Roy] and Jonny [Bairstow]”. Morgan was obviously disappointed at squandering a winning position, and was also eager to point out how dark it was at the conclusion of the game.
Apart from the result, it all went according to plan for the hosts. Every seat was taken (they could have sold out several times over); the pitch was lively and the welcome warm. Somerset have been planning for this match for over a year and their efforts were rewarded. Even the trains down the road were running on time, while the Quantocks remained visible in the background.
South Africa made a better fist of posting a decent target than in the first match at Southampton. Even so, 174-8 guarantees you nothing at Taunton, where the pitch is often true and the boundaries are always short.
At least Jon-Jon Smuts gave a hint of why he is in the side after his golden duck in the first match. One of his straight drives might have done serious damage to the umpire Michael Gough, had the ball not clipped the stumps at the bowler’s end before ricocheting off to the boundary. The opener ultimately delivered a meaty 45, including three sixes.
The real threat, as ever, came from AB de Villiers. He purred along more convincingly than at any stage of South Africa’s British trip, scoring at more than two runs per ball. Against David Willey he stepped to the off-side and played an astonishing shot, sending the ball over his left shoulder, out of the ground and into the River Tone. On the next ball, he attempted to drive and the bat swivelled in his hands, the ball travelling vertically rather than horizontally. Morgan was grateful to take the catch at extra cover. His 46 from 20 balls was a fine cameo, but no more.
In the field, England were patchy. Tom Curran, given his first cap along with Liam Livingstone, was impressive. He bowled straight, hit the deck hard and fully deserved his three wickets. The Curran brothers are gifted cricketers, and they appear to have the knack of making the most of their ability.
It was not such a satisfactory outing for Chris Jordan, whose reputation as England’s best fielder is under threat. One ball flew between his legs, a straightforward catch – by his standards – was spilt and he was responsible for four of the five wides bowled by England. He may have to make way in Cardiff on Sunday.
England had shuffled their side but Sam Billings, given a chance at the top of the order,was unable to excel, splicing a short ball from Chris Morris in the second over. For the second match in succession, Roy and Jonny Bairstow prospered together.
While Roy was prepared to try any shot, Bairstow leant more heavily on powerful orthodoxy; some of his straight driving was awesome. They added 110 together in fine style before Bairstow was caught at mid-on for 47. Then followed Roy’s dismissal and England’s implosion, which means the match at Cardiff will decide the outcome of the series.
Broad on course for first Test
Stuart Broad is hopeful of being fit for the first Test against South Africa after scans showed damage to his injured left heel to be manageable, writes Ali Martin.
The England fast bowler has suffered from discomfort in the area over the past month and will miss Nottinghamshire’s day-night match with Kent next week. He is still due to bowl in the nets before the Royal London Cup final against Surrey on 1 July. Should he get through those sessions and the match itself, the 31-year-old will be clear to take on South Africa in the Test series.
Scans after he pulled up against Leicestershire on Wednesday have shown some bruising to the fat pad on his heel and a possible minor tear but he is already said to be running without pain.
Gary Ballance appears primed for a Test recall this summer after being named as captain of the England Lions side that will take on the South Africa first XI next week, as well as being cleared for the first half of Yorkshire’s day-night fixture with Surrey. The left-hander has averaged 101.8 from seven Division One matches this summer and his Yorkshire team-mate, Joe Root, is known to have pushed his case for a middle order spot when he captains England for the first time against South Africa at Lord’s on 6 July.
Before that comes the floodlit round of County Championship matches, starting on Monday. All 18 counties will play to prepare England players for the first day-night Test with West Indies in August, and Ballance will take part for the first two days at Headingley before captaining the Lions against the touring Proteas at Worcester from Thursday.
Ballance is colour-blind and has struggled to see the ball used in day-night cricket but work with an optician and the new black seam stitching on the Dukes ball is thought to have remedied the problem.
England play three day-night Tests in the next 12 months, with West Indies at Edgbaston followed by one apiece on the tours to Australia and New Zealand.
Tim Bresnan will take over the Yorkshire captaincy when Ballance departs, although Root may yet step in with Bresnan’s wife expecting their third child.
The Durham opener Keaton Jennings has also been named in the Lions squad for next week. Another interesting inclusion is the Hampshire leg-spinner Mason Crane, who made his England Twenty20 debut on Wednesday and is thought of as a possible Ashes tourist.
There is no place for the Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed, who shone for England against India last winter but has since struggled for runs, making 0 and 2 for the Lions against South Africa A this week.
