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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Adam Collins

England beat South Africa by five wickets: first men's T20i – as it happened

Jonny Bairstow hits out as wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock of South Africa looks on.
Jonny Bairstow hits out as wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock of South Africa looks on. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

What fun that all was! With three balls to come in the power play, chasing 180, England were in a world of pain at 34/3. But that brought Stokes and Bairstow together - the perfect combination. The 85 runs they put on in 51 balls moved the visitors into the box seat. From there, the twists and turns continued against the might of Rabada and Ngidi, but the hosts couldn’t come back from the horrible 17th over of their defence, Hendricks conceding 28 runs then and there as he lost way in spectacular fashion. Bairstow’s unbeaten 86 contained four sixes and nine fours across 48 deliveries, underpinned by some of of the cleanest striking and perfect placement you could ever see. They really are a tough team to beat.

On that note, I wish you all a lovely weekend. We’ll be back with OBOs from Sydney and Cape Town on Sunday. I’ll chat with you then. Bye for now.

ENGLAND WIN BY FIVE WICKETS!

BOOM, BOOM! Bairstow hammers Ngidi’s slower ball for four then launches over long-on for a huge SIX to finish this first T20. He ends on 86 off 48 - wow.

19.2 overs: England 183-5 (Bairstow 86*, Curran 7*) Target 180.

Jonny Bairstow touches fists with George Linde after steering his team to victory.
Jonny Bairstow touches fists with George Linde after steering his team to victory. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Updated

19th over: England 173-5 (Bairstow 76, Curran 7) Target 180. Few things in cricket are better than the T20 cat-and-mouse game when a brilliant bowler in complete control is running in at a dominant batsman, seeing them like a watermelon. That’s what we have here with Rabada v Bairstow. But nobody tell Sam Curran that all the attention is on his batting partner. As usual, he forces himself into the game with a SIX STRAIGHT BACK OVER THE HEAD of the big quick, flat-batting his slower ball like it’s not a thing at all. That might just about break the back of this, especially as Bairstow manages to keep the strike with a single from the last ball. So, Ngidi has seven runs in hand to start the final over. Once again, what a game.

18th over: England 162-5 (Bairstow 72, Curran 0) Target 180. To think that the Hendricks nightmare was spliced in between two beauties from Rabada and now Ngidi, going for just five runs here and removing Morgan. So, that leaves 18 from 12 balls for England with the aforementioned stars to bowl them. Perfectly poised.

WICKET! Morgan c Bavuma b Ngidi 12 (England 159-5)

Ngidi’s slower ball does the trick! He won’t give up, he doesn’t know how to give up. Morgan tries to muscle it but with so little pace, he can’t clear deep midwicket. 21 off 15 needed as Sam Curran walks out to join Bairstow. Some game, this!

South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi celebrates with Temba Bavuma after they combined to dismiss Eoin Morgan.
South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi celebrates with Temba Bavuma after they combined to dismiss Eoin Morgan. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Updated

17th over: England 157-4 (Bairstow 69, Morgan 11) Target 180. With plenty still to do, it’s Bairstow’s turn to put the foot down again and he does so early in the over, somehow keeping his balance to lift Hendricks over extra cover for four after making room. Oh boy, the left-armer helps no end with five wides to Morgan, waaaay down the legside! Where did that come from? He missed the cut strip! With his confidence down it is the perfect time for Morgan to attack, doing so with a stand-and-deliver effort between cow corner and long-on, clearing the boundary for SIX! Still two balls to go, and it’s another wide, two of them after deflecting off de Kock’s gloves. Two to bowl with 19 already conceded. MAKE THAT 23! Bairstow, much as he did earlier in the set, opens the face and steers a full ball through the off-side, this time over backward point for a one-bounce boundary. A delay follows as they look for the ball (before giving up and calling for another) Hendricks at the top of his mark with another delivery to get through. Can he hold his nerve? Can he stop the bleeding? He cannot... it’s another wide down the legside. We saw Mitch Starc forced to bowl an 11-ball set earlier today, Hendricks will join him if he misses the mark again - suddenly, England need just 27 to win. Here he goes again and Bairstow clips a boundary to finish the job! 28 OFF THE OVER! Extraordinary scenes, the defining moments of the match. 23 off 18 balls, only a Rabada miracle can realistically save South Africa from here now. Blimey.

16th over: England 129-4 (Bairstow 56, Morgan 4) Target 180. Rabada, what a player. And not just because he can hoop it both ways it at 150kph, but because he’s equally capble sending down unhittable 110kph beauties. Sure, Bairstow lifts the final ball from the slot over midwicket for four, but just six off it at this stage? He’s a brilliant cricketer to be enjoyed at every opportunity and every format.

15th over: England 123-4 (Bairstow 52, Morgan 3) Target 180. Let’s take stock. England need 57 from 30 balls, or 11.4 runs an over. Rabada will bowl two of those five, Ngidi likewise. Who sends down the other - Hendricks or Shamsi? Buckle up.

WICKET! Stokes c Linde b Shamsi 37 (England 119-4)

That’s what South Africa needed, Stokes hitting a Shamsi long-hop from outside the off-stump to Linde at long-on! The power of a slow track, as they note on telly.

A dejected Ben Stokes walks.
A dejected Ben Stokes walks. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Updated

Bairstow to 50

14th over: England 119-3 (Bairstow 51, Stokes 37) Target 180. South Africa needed a strong over from Hendricks and that’s what he gave them... until the final ball, muscled by Bairstow between mid-on and midwicket for four. That’s his 50, raised in just 30 balls. What a knock; what a partnership. They’ve put on 85 in 51.

13th over: England 110-3 (Bairstow 44, Stokes 36) Target 180. A big call from de Kock to give part-time tweaker Klaasen a go as to Stokes that comes with the risk that he will slogsweep over long on for a GIGANTIC SIX! The biggest of the night. And early in the over too - can he take full advantage and do it again? Of course he can! He waits until the final ball of the over to flick him over fine leg for SIX MORE! 70 from seven overs. What does CricViz say? England 70% - sounds right to me.

12th over: England 96-3 (Bairstow 43, Stokes 23) Target 180. Hendricks has some heavy lifting to do in the second stanza of this innings - three still to bowl. And he’s going well until Bairstow decides to take him on in the second half of it here, pulling a slower ball for four then steering a delivery from well outside the off-stump - an uppercut, really - to the third man rope for another. Shot. That required rate keeps hovering around 11, which isn’t a concern for this pair when set.

“Afternoon Adam.” Evening, Brian Withington. “As an unashamed Jonny Bairstow fanboy I am conflicted by this current innings. If he goes on and wins the game does it reinforce my view that he should have opened or justify saving him until the innings is in disarray? And don’t get me started on T20 wicketkeeping duties.”

Yes, it will confuse matters if Bairstow wins it from No4 in much the same way as it did when he smacked a wonderful Test ton at No3 in Sri Lanka two years ago. But we all know what he wants: to open in this team. Nothing else will satisfy him.



11th over: England 85-3 (Bairstow 35, Stokes 21) Target 180. Ngidi, the man who removed Buttler, is back for his second over. In that extraordinary game back in February at Buffalo Park it was Ngidi who was the matchwinner for the Proteas - classy operator with a deep bag of tricks. He tries one of those to Bairstow here, the crossseam slower ball, but right-hander picks it up early enough to swing from the crease and clear the rope at midwicket. That’s his third big one in the space of 20 balls - just what England needed after their start. This pair have put on 50 in 31 balls. If they can make that 100 from 60-odd, then England will be right in this.

10th over: England 75-3 (Bairstow 27, Stokes 19) Target 180. It’s going to be Linde to bowl out his fourth and final over. So, naturally, Stokes slog sweeps him for SIX! It was only a matter of time. Don’t worry about this pair, they won’t be worried about the required rate in the slightest. But can one of them be there at the end? A fantastic first performance from Linde with the ball, finishing with 2/20.

9th over: England 65-3 (Bairstow 25, Stokes 11) Target 180. BANG, BANG! England needed that, Bairstow clobbering consecutive SIXES! The first is over long-on from high in his stance, the second a proper slog-sweep. As Athers points out on TV, he won’t be a fan of being shuffled out of the opening spot and will want to make a point to the decision-makers about his overall worth - it’s how he’s hardwired. He tries again to finish and is stopped by Faf on the long-on rope! Or did the former captain save six given how well it was hit? On reflection, the latter - YJB monstered that and was unlucky du Plessis got even one hand to it. 17 from the over.

“Hello Adam.” Evening, William Hargreaves. “Just a line to say how great it is to be following the old willow and leather on OBO again. Thanks for the edge-of-seat commentary!” Thanks! I’ve had a lovely time back on the tools across both games today. And I’m back again for the Australia/India ODI on Sunday.

8th over: England 48-3 (Bairstow 11, Stokes 9) Target 180. Spin to win from South Africa, who made a very good call at the selection table on this spongy track by going with two slow bowlers while England left Moeen out. Stokes isn’t going to be dictated to by Linde though, immediately jumping down the track before crunching him through cover point for four. Nice strike. He tries it on again, with a view to taking him over his head, but the left-armer sees him coming. Good cricket. Eight runs from the it, meaning the required rate creeps up yet further.

7th over: England 40-3 (Bairstow 10, Stokes 2) Target 180. Shamsi, South Africa’s first spinner, is now into the act with the field spread f0llowing the power play. He’s getting plenty of turn, which Bairstow sweeps against for three, but other than that, another handy over for South Africa. England must go 11s from here.



6th over: England 34-3 (Bairstow 6, Stokes 0) Target 180. As Mark Nicholas notes on telly, it was Stokes and Bairstow who put on 399 at Newlands back in January 2016, not that it has any relationship to the task at hand here - a big one now. Stokes plays out the Linde over, giving the spinner 2/2 from two on debut. Neat!

WICKET! Malan c Rabada b Linde 19 (England 34-3)

Malan sweeps but miscues and Rabada moves in briskly from short backward square to pouch the diving chance. Linde has two; England are in all sorts.

Kagiso Rabada celebrates with teammates after taking the catch to dismiss Dawid Malan.
Kagiso Rabada celebrates with teammates after taking the catch to dismiss Dawid Malan. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Updated

5th over: England 33-2 (Malan 19, Bairstow 5) Target 180. Shot, Jonny. With third man up, the new man in steers expertly to get off the mark with a classy boundary.

“England possess an embarrassment of riches for their white-ball sides, including the Test skipper himself, who is currently sitting out of the T20 eleven.” That’s Abhijato Sensarma, the OBO’s most dependable correspondent. “Surely they won’t mind the adoption of BBL rules which would allow them to bring in X-factors as substitutes?” I don’t mind it, actually.



WICKET! Buttler c Klaasen b Ngidi 7 (England 27-2)

The biggest wicket in England’s line-up, Buttler, taken by Ngidi with his first legal delivery! The bustling seamer sorts him out with just enough bounce, hitting high on the bat and ending up in the hands of Klaasen at cover. The visitors are in strife.

4th over: England 26-1 (Buttler 7, Malan 18) Target 180. Rabada it is. Malan makes room to the right delivery first up, timing a super shot through cover. Great timing. And more of it next, responding to a 148kph delivery with a delicious cover drive for four more. More a defensive push than a drive from the world’s No1 ranked T20I batsman. Full and leg stump to Buttler, who is up to the task with a deft glance, his first boundary. It promts ZOMBIE NATION to play around Newlands. Always one of the first songs on any serious T20 playlist. Or will be when I fulful my potential and graduate to Cricket Ground DJ status. One day, friends.

3rd over: England 12-1 (Buttler 2, Malan 9) Target 180. There we go, Malan stand-and-deliver through midwicket on the up - England’s first boundary, in style. But Hendricks, with his left-arm seam, is straight back on the mark with enough bounce to beat the outside edge of the horizontal blade. Back to Rabada?



2nd over: England 3-1 (Buttler 1, Malan 2) Target 180. Sharp and tidy from Rabada straight away, beating Malan with a lovely seaming delivery then shaping back into the left-hander. A top stop at point to finish with just two singles between times.

1st over: England 1-1 (Buttler 0, Malan 1) Target 180. A lot to like from Linde on T20 International debut, principally in this side for spin on a slow track. He isn’t far from collecting the wicket of Malan too when miscuing behind square, no more than few metres from a prospective catcher. What a start. England, your move.

WICKET! Roy c de Kock b Linde 0 (England 0-1)

Roy gone second ball! A little underedge from one that doesn’t turn, that’s that. Not the first time Roy has failed when facing spin to begin. What a start for Linde.

The players are back on the field! For England it is Buttler and Roy. South Africa are starting with spin, via the left-arm orthodox of Linde, the man on debut. PLAY!

The sun sets at Newlands.
The sun sets at Newlands. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Updated

Yup, here’s a pic.



That’s quite the sunset at Newlands. I’m sure Sky Cricket will post a pic of it on their channels, and I’ll share it here. If putting a bracket together of the best grounds in the world, it’s always in the final four. My hidden gem for that list: Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka. Can’t wait to get back there when this is all over.

An entertaining innings. du Plessis (58) got the party started for South Africa in his important partnership with de Kock (30), smashing Tom Curran for 24 from the fourth over of the night. Solid support came from van der Dussen (37) and Klaasen (20) at the death, with a handy cameo from Linde. Sam Curran was the pick of the bowlers, collecting 3/28 - his best figures in the format for England. That’ll take some chasing on a slow pitch but England have the firepower. Should be fun!

ENGLAND REQUIRE 180 (WICKET! Linde b T Curran 12)

20th over: South Africa 179-6 (van Biljon 7*) You can’t question the faith Morgan shows in his bowlers, turning to Tom Curran for over number 20 despite taking plenty of tap so far this evening. It doesn’t start well though, a wide outside the off-stump then a full toss that’s put away by Linde, the left-hander on debut. He gives the strike back to van Biljon who pulls a couple. Three balls to come... and still three to come; another wide - this time down the legside, they take another run with it deflecting off Buttler’s gloves. Linde again, and he goes large over midwicket! What a strike on debut that is, 20 rows into the seats with a forceful flick, albeit from another full toss. To Curran’s credit, he finishes with two scoreless deliveries, beating the bat then hitting off stump with a yorker.

19th over: South Africa 164-5 (van Biljon 5, Linde 1) It might have been a poor delivery from Archer to get the wicket, Rassie filthy with himself for not putting it on the moon, but it is an otherwise strong over of fast bowling at the death, giving away nothing in that blockhole. Just five runs and a wicket - fantastic stuff.

WICKET! van der Dussen c Malan b Archer 37 (South Africa 161-5)

A full toss, popped straight down the throat of Malan at deep backward square.

18th over: South Africa 158-4 (van der Dussen 36, van Biljon 2) ver der Dussen has to find a way to go big against Jordan. It takes until the fourth ball but he does just that, clearing the midwicket rope with a flat flick - he hits the ball beautifully. 11 from it, two to go. 11 more from each of those would make 180 - about right. Even though there are no fans, they are playing Sweet Caroline between overs. Sure.

WICKET! Klaasen c Buttler b S Curran 20 (South Africa 147-3)

Curran finishes his spell with another important wicket, Klaasen taking on the short ball but edging it into the gloves of Morgan. Sharper than he looks, the young man. Even better because Klaasen looked good out there, finishing his innings with a clever boundary through backward point. So, just eight runs along the with wicket - a win for England at this stage of the innings. Three to come.

17th over: South Africa 147-4 (van der Dussen 28)




Updated

16th over: South Africa 139-3 (van der Dussen 27, Klaasen 13) Tom Curran has a job to do here after taking some serious tap from du Plessis earlier. And it’s going well, no boundaries, tidy enough... until the final delivery, when van der Dussen is able to swing long and strong off the front foot, heaving from the slot into the empty seats at long-on. So, 12 off it with four overs to go: Curran, Curran, Archer, Jordan. Unless, as Mark Nicholas says, Morgan turns to Stokes for one to mix it up.

15th over: South Africa 127-3 (van der Dussen 18, Klaasen 10) Back to Chris Jordan who not once but twice sprays down the legside to van der Dussen. Klaasen makes the most of his opportunity later in the over, cruching hard through point for four then timing a push through cover, the unprotected part of the ground, for three.

14th over: South Africa 113-3 (van der Dussen 16, Klaasen 0) Sam Curran is such a dependable cricketer for England whenever he’s called upon, in any format.

Meanwhile, on over rates, I’m with Nick Toovey: bring back the clock!



WICKET! du Plessis c Jordan b S Curran 58 (South Africa 109-3)

du Plessis tries to hit Slammin’ Sam out of the ground but doesn’t get all of it and is caught on the rope by Chris Jordan, the best outfielder going around. A big wicket.

13th over: South Africa 105-2 (du Plessis 55, van der Dussen 13) Rassie changes gears against Rashid, picking the wrong’un and getting down one knee before leaning into a slog sweep, over the rope and far away for SIX! The legspinner has finished his work for the day, conceding just the 27 runs across his four overs.

“Adam.” John Starbuck.

The exorcist.
Would make a fist
Then twist
His wrist

Very good.

du Plessis to 50!

12th over: South Africa 96-2 (du Plessis 52, van der Dussen 6) With a well-placed crunch through cover for three, Faf raises his bat for a 33-ball half-century - his ninth for South Africa in this format. Archer has just one over left for the death.

Faf du Plessis hits out on his way to a half-century.
Faf du Plessis hits out on his way to a half-century. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Updated

11th over: South Africa 90-2 (du Plessis 48, van der Dussen 4) It’s pretty that they’ve made a decision to let Adil Rashid to do his thing without taking any serious risks. This is one element of how T20 has matured over the years - a long way from the indiscriminate slogathon most (including me) thought it would be.

“Hi Adam.” Hi, Damian Clarke. “Maybe like this?” he says of the Exorcist smashing a bowler to the rope. “Batsman: To the boundary! The power of Christ commands you! Bowler: Shove it up your ass, you ********”

10th over: South Africa 86-2 (du Plessis 47, van der Dussen 2) A wicket and eight runs from Jordan all told, du Plessis clipping a boundary before losing de Kock.

WICKET! de Kock c Morgan b Jordan 30 (South Africa 83-2)

Potent from around the wicket, Jordan slams it down hard into the track and de Kock miscues, caught by the skipper on the edge of the circle at cover.

NOT OUT! No, he has not hit it. A speculative review from the skipper, nowhere near it. There are two reviews in this series, as Mark Nicholas reminds us, because of the neutral umps. I reckon that stinks but... an argument for another day.

9th over: South Africa 78-1 (de Kock 30, du Plessis 41) After a couple of wides to begin, Rashid improves throughout. They’re playing him carefully.

HAS DE KOCK EDGED RASHID? Eoin Morgan would like another look. Stand by.

8th over: South Africa 71-1 (de Kock 27, du Plessis 39) Jordan on for his first twist and soon lands in Faf’s happy place full and straight, smashed over his head for four. England’s death specialist will have a big job to do later in the innings.

“Did one of the Aussie comms say ‘he hit that like an exorcist’ in the earlier match?” asks Simon Lout. “He might’ve meant Exocet but it got me wondering just how an exorcist WOULD smite/despatch the ball?” With authority. Others?

7th over: South Africa 63-1 (de Kock 26 du Plessis 32) Adil Rashid now, the leggie starting in his 50th T20 International as the field spreads. Six singles here - a result both teams would take, Rashid landing both his stock delivery and wrong’un.

6th over: South Africa 57-1 (de Kock 23, du Plessis 29) It’s de Kock’s turn, starting the final over of the power play by thumping Sam Curran dead straight, nearly taking out du Plessis at the non-strikers’ end! You get four for that, Quinton. But sure enough, the left-armer bounces back, conceding only three further singles.

Updated

5th over: South Africa 50-1 (de Kock 17, du Plessis 28) Very good batting from du Plessis, picking up the length of Curran’s off-cutter and plonking him over the rope at long-on and into the building site! And he goes again next up, checking an imposing drive right over the bowler’s head this time, earning four more. And SIX MORE over midwicket! As Nasser notes, he was waiting on the back foot for something shorter and something shorter he receives, pulling with real authority. So, that 16 from three balls to start the over. Two more out to extra cover, timing a low full toss. Will he go large again? He tries, but despite timing the socks of another slap, he has to settle for another two. Last ball... another four! Much as it was to begin, he creams Curran past midwicket making 24 off the over and taking South Africa to 50 in five overs in the process. That’ll do nicely.

Updated

4th over: South Africa 26-1 (de Kock 17, du Plessis 4) Archer again, this time with a second slip, but instead of an edge de Kock is depositing Archer over square leg and waaay over the rope for SIX. The first of the game; superb timing on that flick. And he’s not done yet for the over, clipping straighter this time along the turf for four. As Athers points out on telly, from two slips to no slips in the space of an over.

Yep, the end of that game was a joke. A friend of mine reported back that they had to turn the PA system off at the SCG with quarter of an hour to go when they went beyond the 11pm local curfew. They were lucky they lights weren’t turned off!

3rd over: South Africa 12-1 (de Kock 4, du Plessis 3) Tom Curran replaces his little brother and starts off very tidily with three dots from his first four balls, including a mix-up where de Kock had to dive back at the non-strikers’ end to ensure that he’d be safe in the event of a direct hit. “This is a slow surface,” declares Mark Nicholas on TV after Curran the Elder gets another to stick in the pitch. This might be the main reason both sides elected to leave out their quickest bowlers here.

“Hi Adam.” ‘Allo, John Ryan. “What would you say South Africa need to make this game competitive? This pitch is usually high scoring, and with England’s line-up I was thinking 170ish.” At least, I reckon. This is a very strong England team.

2nd over: South Africa 9-1 (de Kock 2, du Plessis 2) Archer finds de Kock’s outside edge with his first delivery but no secons slip! And going through, as they say, at a very catchable height. du Plessis is away with a couple into the gap at midwicket. He may no longer be the captain, and his future remains unclear, but for the time being he soldiers on. It’s a looovely late afternoon there in Cape Town, what a joy.

WICKET! Bavuma c Buttler b S Curran 5 (South Africa 6-1)

Bavuma tries to ramp the final ball of the first over but only succeeds in getting a little feather through to the gloves of Buttler! That’s not a pretty way to go. Earlier in the set, he was off the mark off the outside edge down to the rope, de Kock opening his account with a single to deep point. But it’s advantage England right away with Archer to take up the attack from the other end.

1st over: South Africa 6-1 ( de Kock 1)

Sam Curran celebrates after dismissing Temba Bavuma.
Sam Curran celebrates after dismissing Temba Bavuma. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Updated

The players are on the field. It’s the leadership duo of de Kock and Bavuma opening for South Africa with Sam Curran taking the new ball for England. PLAY!

A fair bit of attention around the fact that Anrich Nortje hasn’t been picked. Perhaps a niggle? I’m sure Ali Martin, at the ground for the paper, will get to the bottom of it. Indeed, I’ll send him a message. Mark Wood, England’s quickest, is also missing out in favour of the Curran brothers. I’m sure it’ll bounce around a fair bit at the selection table over these three games in an effort to play everyone.

“Hi, Adam. Nice to have the OBO for company again.” Great to hear from you, Smylers. “Is this a record for the shortest gap between two separate tours to the same opponents? England last played a 20-over match in SA on February 16th, and presumably weren’t planning on returning so swiftly. Have any other teams made two tours to one place in a calendar year before?”

Without looking at it, I’d be surprised if Australia and India haven’t found a way to do so in a shorter gap over the last decade. You’re right, it looks odd. But I suppose the logic is that they have to be there for three Super League ODIs, so why not pop a few T20s in there too given the World Cup is next year. Makes sense.

Ian Ward made a good point on Sky, that the last time these sides played a T20 series, in February, “it was epic.” That’s the word for it. I was on the OBO for the first, where South Africa won by a solitary run - the best T20I I’ve seen. And the second, well, I had to pass the baton to Tim de Lisle as my daughter was born that morning! But the margin there was two runs, another high-scoring thriller.

Tasty.

Archer and Stokes. This is the first time, would you believe, that they have turned out in the same XI for England in the T20 format. Of course, they were teammates in the IPL where Archer walked away with the player of the tournament gong.

Quinton de Kock on his best XI ahead of the next World Cup: “To be honest, we have got to give guys a couple of opportunities and see how things go.” There’s a bit of a contrast here: England feel pretty set on their core, the hosts a bit less so.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk & c), Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, Pite van Biljon, George Linde, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

England: Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid.

Morgan on his decision. “The wicket looks very good, our preparation has been good, but the slight advantage here is going to be chasing down (a total).”

England have won the toss, they're bowling first

Teams shortly.

I’ve popped on the telly, and before the main event between South Africa and England they are showing a live game from a new T20 comp, the Lanka Premier League. And guess what? Shahid Afridi, at age 45, is one of the captains! Of course, this means it gives him the chance to retire again. Be still my beating heart.

Preamble

South Africa, welcome to bubble cricket. Yes, that’s right, this is the first time that the Proteas have turned out in any format since Covid stopped cricket in its tracks some eight and a half months ago. By contrast, their English opponents were pioneers of the biosecure hubs over the summer, playing almost without break in Manchester and Southampton between the start of July and the end of September.

But while the recent history of the sides might differ coming into the first of three rubbers, the goal is the same: success at the next T20 World Cup, scheduled for India in 11 months from now. In the case of Eoin Morgan’s men, that tournament will present the opportunity to become dual white-ball world champions.

From Morgan’s perspective, what he learns in this series will help inform the selection process for that major set-piece event. In their most recent outing in the shortest form against the Australians at the end of their summer, they wrapped up the series in straight sets before losing the third and final rubber. This time around, they are picking from a strong squad with the majority of their eight of the team who played in their ODI win at Lord’s last July likely to feature in today’s XI.

As for the Quinton de Kock’s hosts, they were in a good run of white-ball form before Covid hit but the extent to which that matters now after so many months away remains unclear. As we saw in the ODI between Australia and India earlier today in Sydney, ring rust is a very real thing when teams return from long breaks. The good news is will have Kagiso Rabada, coming off the back of a superb IPL.

We’re about 20 minutes away from the toss at Newlands, where they won’t be spectactators in attendance, I’m sorry to report. But that’s okay - we’ll have fun. Drop me a line in the usual way or fire me a tweet. I’m looking forward to it.

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On a basement court in Greenwich Village, the New York University women’s basketball team have quietly become the sport’s most improbable juggernaut
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Uruguay’s candombe brings streets to life as the once-banned musical tradition roars back
The Afro-Uruguayan rhythms, born among enslaved Africans and once banned, now draws thousands to public squares and carnival parades
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Paul McCartney Stuns Beatles Fans After Revealing Yoko Ono’s Claim About John Lennon’s Sexuality
“Paul McCartney is such a creep. Only a nasty, evil man would sell out his past band-mate who is not around to defend himself.”
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes' Faces Stun Fans, Accusing Couple of 'Too Much Fillers and Botox'
Ryan Gosling surprised Eva Mendes on The Tonight Show, but viral clips sparked online speculation about Botox and fillers as fans debated the couple's appearance.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
How Much Weight Has Kelly Osbourne Lost? TikTok Video Claims Ozzy's Daughter Won't Live Past 45, Only Survives Via Intravenous Feeding
Kelly Osbourne's weight loss sparks viral TikTok claims, with fans speculating about her health and wellbeing after public appearances.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
KISS Co-Founder Gene Simmons Tells Hollywood Stars Like Ben Stiller and Mark Ruffalo to 'Shut the F*ck Up' Over Politics
Gene Simmons criticises Hollywood celebrities like Ben Stiller and Mark Ruffalo for commenting on politics, urging them to focus on their art.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
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