And finally ... here’s Barney Ronay’s match report.
“Wow!” says Peter Barrett. “Unfortunately I can only follow the match on my phone but your commentary is brilliant – thank you.” It’s a pleasure. “But not quite as brilliant as the game.” Harsh but fair. “We truly have a magnificent side and as for Morgan!! - words fail me.”
I know the feeling: there were 448 runs scored today, including 28 sixes. Time for a breather... The match report will be with you shortly. Thanks for your company, as ever, and your excellent emails.
Updated
“It was a hell of a game,” Morgan says. He reckons you’ve got to applaud the bowlers of both sides, which is a nice lateral thought. Chasing 220 was a big ask, “but going back to the 2016 World Cup, we chased down 230 against South Africa, so there was belief”. Does he remember every game, or just have a good analyst?
And that wasn’t the only good news for England today. The Lions rattled up 600 in Australia, as if they’d all decided to be Cook and Strauss from 2011. Also in Australia, England Women beat New Zealand in a warm-up for their T20 World Cup.
Eoin Morgan is the player of the match. And of the series, which is less predictable but probably right – his leadership, give or take an over-harsh line on Malan, has been formidable.
Updated
So England have come back from 1-0 down for the second time on this tour. They were 1-0 down in the ODI series too, but only managed a draw, with the Durban weather getting in the way. Nobody was ever-present in all formats but Stokes and Buttler did very well to rouse themselves today for one last fling.
And credit to South Africa too – a new captain, a young side, a lot of spirit. They’ve batted well in every game in this T20 series and competed well with the ball, but they paid the price today for a couple of dropped catches. If AB de Villiers really can be tempted back, they will take some beating in the T20 World Cup in November.
Cricket, bloody hell. Morgan faced only 22 balls today, less than a fifth of a full T20 innings. Off 15 of those balls, he scored 15, in ones and twos, nothing special; off the other seven, he walloped 42. And those seven sixes settled the matter.
An email from 20 minutes ago. “It’s a shoo-in from here,” wrote Colum Fordham. “Some relaxed, cool-as-you-like six hitting from Morgan and Stokes rounded off by a superb cameo by Moeen and we’re safely home. Seriously, Morgan’s looking good and Stokes is...well...Stokes. And Mo has found his Mo-jo. Sorry.” I can’t even tell if you were joking.
“This T20 thing,” says Guy Hornsby, “might catch on.”
England win! By five wickets
Moeen slaps the ball over mid-off, and England win the match and the series with five balls to spare. Phenomenal cricket from nearly all the senior players – Buttler, Bairstow, Stokes and above all Morgan.
Updated
19th over: England 222-5 (Morgan 57, Moeen 1) Moeen is dropped, first ball. It was a bouncer, he hooked it and Pretorius, running in, got there but couldn’t hang on. “That’s the match,” says my son, joining me on the sofa. He may be right. Morgan rubs it in by whacking another six, and another. He raises his bat for 55 off 21 balls, and he hasn’t bothered hitting a four yet. Then he skies it, and again poor old Pretorius can’t cling on. So the scores are tied. We just need a maiden for a Super Over.
Updated
Wicket!! Stokes c sub (B Hendricks) b Ngidi 22 (England 206-5)
Here comes the twist! Going for another legside six, Stokes can only pick out the sub fielder, who keeps his cool with the sun in his eyes.
18th over: England 206-4 (Morgan 40, Stokes 22) Phehlukwayo gets away with a near-wide, then restricts Morgan to a single, so England need something big. Cometh the hour, cometh the Sports Personality of the Year – Stokes just thumps two sixes in a row, the second of them going 100 metres. That’s 16 off the over, and 17 left to get. But there hasn’t been a successful chase yet in this series...
17th over: England 190-4 (Morgan 39, Stokes 9) Here’s Ngidi, a fine death bowler, but Morgan just hits another six, and yet another. He’s faced 15 balls and hit five of them into the crowd. Stokes, largely a spectator, chips in with a French-cricket chip over third man. That’s beautiful. England need 33 off the last three overs.
16th over: England 170-4 (Morgan 24, Stokes 4) Dale Steyn is back and he befuddles Stokes with a slower ball, as Stokes is gracious enough to acknowledge with a rueful smile. Morgan picks the next slower ball and chips it for six over long-off. Meanwhile Bavuma has done his hamstring chasing a ball in the field. England are four runs behind where SA were after 16 overs. Is this going to be another classic?
Updated
15th over: England 161-4 (Morgan 17, Stokes 2) Morgan realises that someone has to grab the wheel and, as he’s the boss, that someone is him. He slog-sweeps Pretorius for six, then walks across, exposes his leg stump and flicks six more. England need 62 from 30, which is feasible if Morgan stays there, or if Moeen goes languidly ballistic again.
Updated
14th over: England 147-4 (Morgan 4, Stokes 1) Never mind that catch, de Kock gets extra credit for sticking with Shamsi, whose first two overs had verged on the disastrous. Only four off that one.
Wicket!! Malan c de Kock b Shamsi 11 (England 145-4)
Another one! Malan’s confident start turned to dust as he missed a couple of cut shots, and now he’s bottom-edged one to the keeper, who does well to get down to it. SA are firm favourites – or would be if the man coming in wasn’t called Ben Stokes.
Updated
13th over: England 143-3 (Malan 11, Morgan 2) So the fates have arranged that Malan should be joined by Morgan, who put him on the naughty step for one moment of selfishness in a match-winning hundred. This should be fun. Morgan gets away with a skier as the man at deep square can’t quite run in to pouch it, but that’s still a very good over for South Africa. England need 80 from 42 balls, with no wiggle room at all.
Wicket!! Bairstow b Phehlukwayo 64 (England 140-3)
Bairstow misses a straight one! As so often, but this wasn’t his Achilles heel (through the gate on off). He went for a big pull and just timed it wrong. That was a lovely innings, occupying only 34 balls, but it wasn’t the hundred that was calling to him.
Updated
12th over: England 138-2 (Bairstow 64, Malan 9) A stroke of genius from Bairstow, who shapes to fiddle Pretorius to leg, sees that the ball is too wide of off, and glides it past backward point for four. Stick that in your coaching book. And then Malan is dropped as Bavuma, at extra cover, spills one that was really not that tricky. Eleven from the over, up with the rate, which is now 10.62.
11th over: England 128-2 (Bairstow 58, Malan 5) With Roy and Buttler gone, Jonny B has the chance to run this chase. And he fancies it – he wallops Shamsi for four, four, six. The second four took him to fifty off 27 balls. Shamsi has 2-0-36-0, and may be considering becoming a specialist third man.
Updated
10th over: England 111-2 (Bairstow 42, Malan 4) In comes Dawid Malan, who is the fifth best batsman in T20 internationals according to the ICC rankings, but only the sixth best in England according to Eoin Morgan. He strokes a cover drive for four, but that’s still an excellent over for South Africa, yielding a vital wicket and only seven runs.
Wicket!! Buttler c Shamsi b Pretorius 57 (England 106-2)
Buttler goes for the ramp, skies it over his right shoulder, and Shamsi takes another catch at third man, which is now an attacking position. That’s a big, big scalp.
Updated
9th over: England 104-1 (Buttler 56, Bairstow 40) SA get another dose of their own medicine as Bjorn Fortuin comes on to be greeted by a six and a four from Bairstow. After that, England can afford a breather – a couple of singles, a two to Buttler, and even a dot.
“Wonder woman,” says Arabella Lyons. “Tim, why aren’t we hearing about the female superheroes’ invasion of the pitch?” Because I’ve got my hands full describing the cricket. But yes, there was a Wonder Woman in the middle, and Quinton de Kock seemed quite amused.
Updated
8th over: England 90-1 (Buttler 53, Bairstow 29) Another edge, from Buttler this time, another four, and he’s back in business with 53 off 24 balls – nine fours, two sixes, nerves of steel. England are motoring along at 11.25 an over, which is a fraction more than they need.
7th over: England 81-1 (Buttler 48, Bairstow 25) Time for some spin as Tabraiz Shamsi comes on with his left-arm wristies. Buttler and Bairstow treat him the way the South African batsmen treated almost every England bowler. Buttler pulls for four, then shimmies for six; Bairstow adds six more with a slog-drive, and England are now ahead of SA at the same stage (81 to 77). The stand is worth 66 off 35 balls, so maybe these two do bat well after all.
6th over: England 62-1 (Buttler 33, Bairstow 17) Bairstow shovels Ngidi through midwicket for four, clunky but effective, and Buttler spots a slower ball early enough to thump it back down the ground. So England finish the PowerPlay only just behind SA, who were 62-1 at the same stage.
“Here I am again, Ian Wilson from Turkey,” says an email. ”Stayed quiet while SA were taking our bowling apart, but I am right apart from maybe the older Curran and Stokes. England need to look at a more mature fast bowling attack for the T20 World Cup, they are only bowling 4 overs in each game and that puts no pressure on the likes of Anderson and Broad.” You may be right, but the chances of it happening seem slim.
5th over: England 53-1 (Buttler 33, Bairstow 12) It’s still Steyn, and that’s fine by Buttler, who’s warmed up now. He straight-drives for six, then uses his wrists to whip for four. Bairstow edges but gets four for it, and the over goes for 16, so England are hanging in there.
Updated
4th over: England 37-1 (Buttler 22, Bairstow 7) Buttler spots Ngidi’s slower ball and cracks it past midwicket for his fifth four in only 11 balls, but then he misses a couple outside off. Only six off the over. Time for Bairstow to go ballistic.
3rd over: England 31-1 (Buttler 17, Bairstow 6) Steyn continues as de Kock opts not to go mad wiht the bowling changes. Buttler flirts with danger, scooping a drive just over Nigidi’s fingertips at short third man. Styen then keeps him quiet with a fine slower ball, an offbreak clocking in at 68mph, but Buttler square-drives the last ball for four.
The commentators are saying there’s “a lot of talk” that AB de Villiers may return for South Africa in the T20 World Cup. If he’d been playing today, the score might have touched 300.
2nd over: England 22-1 (Buttler 9, Bairstow 5) So Roy, the man most likely to make this chase possible, has gone. Buttler and Bairstow, rivals with both bat and gloves, don’t tend to bat well together, but Bairstow starts like he means business with a glide for four. So far, England are almost up with the required rate.
Wicket!! Roy c Shamsi b Ngidi 7 (England 15-1)
First blood to South Africa! After hitting a superb six, Roy tries to do it again next ball, slices it, touches the sky and sees Shamsi take a fabulous tumbling catch at third man.
Updated
1st over: England 9-0 (Roy 1, Buttler 8) Buttler likes to play himself in, but there’s no time for that. He jumps outside off, plays a lofted lap and gets four to fine leg, then pulls through mid-on for four more, without even timing it. Decent start.
Updated
Play!
Which bowler would you choose to face, as you set off up the mountain called 11.15 an over? Possibly not Dale Steyn.
Spare a thought for Bjorn Fortuin. On Friday, he batted in a T20 international for the first time, needing three to win off the last ball, and was caught at short fine leg. Today he came in with a full four balls to go, and faced none of them. David Miller even turned down a single off the second-last ball, to deny Fortuin a shot at redemption.
20th over: South Africa 222-6 (Miller 35, Fortuin 0) Miller hammers two fours off Wood’s last few balls, and such has been the mayhem that England might even settle for that. It’s been a scintillating display from South Africa, who came up with a simple policy: just blitz every bowler as soon as he comes on.
Klaasen was the star with 66 off 33 balls, but Bavuma, de Kock and Miller were all excellent too. Only Curran, with 4-0-33-2, and Stokes, with 4-0-35-2, were able to keep the run rate in single figures. So England are left needing more than 11 an over to win the series. They have the firepower, but they will need a few other things – nerve, luck, and, I suspect, a sudden return to form from Jos Buttler. See you shortly.
Updated
Wicket! Phehlukwayo c Stokes b Wood 1 (SA 214-6)
Wood has yet to manage a dot, but he picks up a consolation wicket as Phehlukwayo slogs to wide long-off and Stokes takes a formidable catch.
Updated
19th over: South Africa 210-5 (Miller 27, Phehlukwayo 1) Tom Curran has been playing the role of the teetotaller at a party, the only person trying to be sensible. But his last ball is a full toss which ends up in the crowd as Miller swings the bat and Curran finally concedes a six. It’s going to be Mark Wood to bowl the last over.
“Sadly there is only one Kraken,” says NE Bluesman on Twitter, “and that’s Gary Sanchez - catcher for the @Yankees.”
Wicket! Pretorius c Buttler b Curran 11 (SA 202-5)
Curran tries a cross-seam bouncer and it works as Pretorius flails and Buttler takes the catch. England celebrate like a football team scoring a late goal when they’re six down – ie, not at all.
Updated
18th over: South Africa 195-4 (Miller 20, Pretorius 6) Dwaine Pretorius joins in the fun, clubbing Jordan’s yorker straight enough to get four. Jordan manages another dot, to Miller, before bowling a wide so wide that it’s called a no-ball (how does that work?). Morgan protests, the umps confer, and it’s given as a wide after all. It was the wide of Steve Harmison’s nightmares: Jos Buttler did very well to stop it, somewhere near gully. Miller, warming to the task, glances for four, then heaves for six. Sweet Caroline rings out, as well it may. Jordan finishes with the unfamiliar figures of 4-0-49-0. Who on earth is going to bowl the last over?
17th over: South Africa 179-4 (Miller 10, Pretorius 1) That’s an exceptional over from Curran, the last-gasp hero of the other night. He can bowl the last over from his end, but Jordan only has one left, so either Wood or Moeen is going to have to reappear. Moeen (one over for 11) looks a marginally better option than Wood (two for 39), but will Morgan be willing to risk a spinner?
Wicket!! Klaasen c Stokes b Curran 66 (SA 177-4)
The big one! Stokes and Curran, the combination that did for van der Dussen, swap places to see off Klaasen, who chips a slower ball to mid-off. That may just have kept England in the game, though Miller will fancy switching from second fiddle to first violin.
Updated
16th over: South Africa 174-3 (Klaasen 64, Miller 8) Back comes Jordan, even though it’s not quite the death yet. His wide yorker is more meat and drink to Klaasen, who squeezes a sort of late drive past a startled third man. Amazingly, Jordan manages to finish with a dot, but that’s still 10 off the over, with SA well on top.
And here’s John Starbuck, picking up on the 13th over. “‘The Parson’ calls up memories of Rev. David Sheppard, but he might not have been much of a short-form player.” Ha. “If Klaasen turns out to be a monster hitter, how about ‘The Kraken’?”
15th over: South Africa 164-3 (Klaasen 59, Miller 4) Stokes and Rashid are both done now, so Morgan turns back to Mark Wood. His first delivery is a slower ball, carved for four by Klaasen. His second may be a slower ball too, but it goes fast over midwicket for six. That’s fifty for Heinrich Klaasen, off only 25 balls: a superb one-man counter-attack. Wood, understandably rattled, dishes up three wides, a yorker that is lofted for four over mid-off and a near-wide that’s edged for four more. That’s a nine-ball over and it’s gone for 23. The partnership is 51, and Miller has four of them. South Africa’s decision to call up Klaasen may well be deciding the series.
Updated
14th over: South Africa 141-3 (Klaasen 40, Miller 3) Morgan sticks with Stokes and perhaps regrets it as Klaasen kloonks yet another six. Again there’s a smart catch in the crowd, this time by a young man in a white T-shirt, who is so pleased with himself that he gets a ticking-off from Rob Key. Harsh.
13th over: South Africa 129-3 (Klaasen 30, Miller 2) You’d think South Africa’s best hope of resuming the carnage would be Miller the Killer, but Klaasen (the Parson?) has other ideas. He swings Rashid away for yet another six, which is beautifully caught by the man in the sludge-green T-shirt.
12th over: South Africa 116-3 (Klaasen 18, Miller 1) Great stuff from Stokes, whose third over goes for only four. By hitting the pitch hard, and being Ben Stokes, he has figures of 3-0-23-2, while the other three seamers have 5-0-52-0.
Updated
Wicket! van der Dussen c Curran b Stokes 11 (SA 113-3)
Stokes tucks up van der Dussen, whose attempted pull for six just presents Tom Curran with a comfortable catch at deep midwicket. South Africa, after that fizzing start, are doing an England here.
Updated
11th over: South Africa 112-2 (van der Dussen 11, Klaasen 15) Now Klaasen comes to the party, standing and delivering a straight six off Rashid. Has Mo Mentum changed sides again?
10th over: South Africa 100-2 (van der Dussen 9, Klaasen 7) The other night, when SA seemed to be about to seal the series, I said that England’s best hope was to give van der Dussen the strike. Then he blossomed, and England squeezed over the line largely because they kept him off strike for the last ten balls of the innings. So Rassie, I take it all back. And he’s started well here, working it around confidently and glancing Stokes for four.
9th over: South Africa 90-2 (van der Dussen 3, Klaasen 2) And suddenly it’s a different game, as the two noobs settle for four singles off the rest of the over. Well bowled Rash.
Wicket!! Bavuma b Rashid 49 (SA 86-2)
And now Rashid strikes too! It was his quicker ball, going straight on, and it surprised Bavuma. He had played beautifully for 49 off only 24 balls, but he’s now left his team with two new batsmen at the crease.
Updated
8th over: South Africa 86-1 (Bavuma 49, van der Dussen 1) Stokes too went for six, but he made the vital breakthrough.
Wicket!! de Kock c Bairstow b Stokes 35 (SA 84-1)
Stokes! On he comes with England gasping for a wicket, and there it is as de Kock chips a slower ball to deep square. Good innings though – 35 off 24 balls, four of which disappeared into the crowd.
Updated
7th over: South Africa 77-0 (Bavuma 41, de Kock 35) On comes Adil Rashid, the only England bowler today to have bowled here in a T20 international. He carries on where he left off ten years ago: his first ball goes for six, his second for four. Like Jordan, Rashid finds a way to salvage some self-respect, but Bavuma and de Kock have a policy of attacking every bowler as soon as he comes on, and it is working horribly well.
“I know this is a bit off topic,” says Romeo, “but it’s cricket and it’s important. Could you plug the historic and hugely significant MCC tour to Pakistan? Kumar Sangakkara’s side just lost to Pakistan Shaheens, effectively their ‘A’ team, in Lahore, after winning the first match at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday. There are two more matches, tomorrow and Wednesday.
“All the matches are on Youtube, and here’s the press conference before the first match with Wasim Khan (who is of course British), the chief executive of the PCB, together with Sangakkara, who these days doesn’t just play for MCC but is also their actual president.”
Updated
6th over: South Africa 64-0 (Bavuma 29, de Kock 34) After twisting with Wood and Curran, Morgan sticks with Jordan, who repays his faith with an over that goes 11..11. That’s the T20 equivalent of a double-wicket maiden. So the PowerPlay ends with SA well on top, but not having it all their own way.
“Do you think England should just offer 60-0 to the opposition as a PowerPlay score, and then just start the innings in the seventh?” asks Kevin Wilson. “England’s PowerPlay bowling is laughably dreadful. I can’t see them winning the World Cup playing catch-up like this constantly.”
5th over: South Africa 60-0 (Bavuma 27, de Kock 32) Morgan doesn’t want to risk Wood again, so it’s back to Tom Curran and his liquorice allsorts. Bavuma squeezes the first ball to wide third man, where Malan makes a fine stop to save two, but then de Kock slashes another imperious four. Curran resorts to yorkers outside off, which keep de Kock quiet but have little or no chance of taking a wicket. “We’re looking at 250 here,” says David Lloyd.
4th over: South Africa 52-0 (Bavuma 24, de Kock 27) Another bowling change, another pair of sixes as de Kock first flicks Chris Jordan, then pulls him. In fact it’s six-six-six as another flick lands in the crowd. That’s fifty up off only 22 balls. We are back in the land of the sublime and the ridiculous. Jordan keeps his cool to finish with two dots, but his first over has still gone for 19.
“Afternoon Tim.” Ah, Mr Withington, we’ve been expecting you. “In the fertile field of narrative determinism, whilst our old friend Mo Mentum often gets deserved mention [10:27], what about some of the other muckers in arms like the latent De Stiny and the inscrutable Fick le Fate?” Love it.
Updated
3rd over: South Africa 33-0 (Bavuma 23, de Kock 9) Moeen is swiftly replaced by Mark Wood, whose first ball goes for six. It’s a regulation loosener, length outside off, and de Kock just swishes it over long-off as if he was playing on the beach. Anything you can do, says Bavuma, I can do equally well, a so a shorter ball is flicked over deep square for six more. With every ball going for at least a single, that’s 16 from the over.
2nd over: South Africa 17-0 (Bavuma 15, de Kock 1) For de Kock, Curran has a slip, which is bold from Morgan. And wise, as de Kock immediately plays and misses outside off. Bavuma, refusing to let England get a good over in, lashes the last ball past short extra for four.
And here’s Tom Curran, who is on a sort of hat-trick after that exemplary ending the other night. He almost gets another batsman caught at fine leg as Bavuma plays a ramp shot that goes close to Adil Rashid at short fine leg.
1st over: South Africa 11-0 (Bavuma 10, de Kock 1) Moeen starts with a long hop outside off, which Temba Bavuma cuts for four. After three better balls, Mo gets lofted for a straight four by Bavuma, who has come out dancing.
Updated
Play!
It’s going to be Moeen Ali to open the bowling again for England, even though he had a poor day with the ball on Friday.
Teams: Steyn back
SA bring back the great Dale Steyn, as expected, and also drop Jon-Jon Smuts in favour of Heinrish Klaasen. England’s only change is Malan for Denly, which surely makes them stronger.
South Africa 1 Bavuma, 2 de Kock (capt, wkt), 3 van der Dussen, 4 Klaasen, 5 Miller, 6 Pretorius, 7 Fortuin, 8 Phehlukwayo, 9 Steyn, 10 Shamsi, 11 Ngidi.
England 1 Roy, 2 Buttler (wkt), 3 Bairstow, 4 Malan, 5 Morgan (capt), 6 Stokes, 7 Moeen, 8 T Curran, 9 Rashid, 10 Jordan, 11 Wood.
Updated
Malan is back!
Joe Denly is ill, so Dawid Malan is finally let out of the doghouse.
No toss was needed
Eoin Morgan says he would have bowled anyway.
Toss: SA win and bat first
Eoin Morgan calls wrong, so it’s Quinton de Kock’s decision and on balance he’d rather not chase again. Well, the team batting first has won every game in this series.
Preamble: too close to call
Morning everyone and welcome to the final act of a fabulous drama. The first match in this series ended in a win for South Africa by one run. The second ended in a win for England by two runs. So today’s third and final game is obviously going to be a win for somebody by three runs. But whom?
England, says our old friend Mo Mentum. England, say the bookies, more firmly than you might expect (they mostly have England at 4/7, South Africa 11/8). England, says experience – if you can come through a Super Over in a World Cup final, you can cope with anything.
And yet... South Africa, says home advantage. South Africa, says youthful exuberance. South Africa, says the fact that, for three or four of England’s stars, it’s the last day of a long tour. South Africa, says the way that England, for all Eoin Morgan’s steely leadership, keep on conjuring collapses out of nowhere. Expert conclusion: it’s anybody’s guess.
These two teams have met once before in a T20 international at Centurion. It was ten years ago and England lost by 84 runs, which is quite an achievement in a 20-over match. Remarkably, two of the bowlers who got battered that day by Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman are still in the team – a pair of contrasting leggies, Adil Rashid and Joe Denly. Morgan was there too, and so was Dale Steyn, now the father of the house of fast bowling. He will surely be recalled today after being rested on Friday.
The forecast is for bright sunshine, so at least the series won’t be decided by Duckworth-Lewis. Play starts at 2.30pm in Pretoria, which is 12.30 in the UK. I’ll be back about 25 minutes before that with the toss and the teams.
Updated
