Match report and more
And with that, I’m done. Finally South Africa have found the silver lining to their cloud. Bye!
A little weekend reading for you:
Faf du Plessis is quietly pleased.
Long time coming. It was a good game. We did ourselves justice, the talent we have in the dressing room. Set up by a good bowling performance. I thought we didn’t start well. The nature of the wicket told me that it had to be straight lines you had to bowl. It looked like a wicket where if you have a consistent top of the stumps line and length it would be difficult, and that turned out to be true.
It feels bittersweet. It doesn’t feel like it means that much, because you feel it’s a little bit too late. But the basics of batting we showed really well today. One big partnership and then everything feels so much easier. All of a sudden almost every over you can put the bowler under pressure. We haven’t done that consistently in the tournament.
Dimuth Karunaratne says Sri Lanka’s inability to rotate the strike and milk the singles is what decided the match against them. “We have to win our two matches, compete really good,” he says. “We have to work hard at the batting, bowling and every department and do well in those matches.”
Here’s the latest table. Sri Lanka are down but not out, though they now have to beat both West Indies and India.
Jonathan Edwards hands Dwaine Pretorius the man of the match trophy. “The guys are absolutely stoked,” he says. “The guys showed today what we’re all about as a unit. I’m just a bit sad that it only came now.”
“Never mind the pundits and the wickets,” wails Brian Withington, “why oh why are teams reserving their best performances for when they play England?”
I think it is a long-acknowledged phenomenon that teams raise their game against the best in the world. Thus the fact that England have lost a couple, while Australia, New Zealand and India have only lost two between them, proves that England are indeed the best team. We should probably just stop the tournament now and hand Eoin Morgan the trophy.
South Africa win by nine wickets!
37.2 overs: South Africa 206-1 (Amla 79, Du Plessis 96) Thisara Perera’s second delivery goes down the leg side and away for four, and that’s it! The umpire says Du Plessis got something on it, so he finished four short of his hundred.
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37th over: South Africa 201-1 (Amla 79, Du Plessis 92) Amla cuts the first past backward point. I thought he might run a single and allow his captain to bring up his ton at his leisure, but instead they come back for a second, and then another two. There will be no century.
36th over: South Africa 196-1 (Amla 74, Du Plessis 92) Malinga completes his allocation, still trying his yorkers. Du Plessis is on the receiving end of one, and manages to push it down the ground for four. That leaves him eight from his century, conveniently with eight needed for victory. He tries to smear the next through the covers but picks out a fielder.
35th over: South Africa 191-1 (Amla 73, Du Plessis 88) Just two runs off the first five balls of Udana’s over, but then Du Plessis hits the last past mid-on for four.
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34th over: South Africa 185-1 (Amla 72, Du Plessis 83) Malinga’s penultimate over (though of course it could turn out to be his last), and with one ball remaining he switches to go round the wicket at Du Plessis, who had just speared one past fine leg for four. It’s another single. South Africa need 19 from 96 balls.
33rd over: South Africa 178-1 (Amla 71, Du Plessis 77) A few more singles are milked, before Du Plessis hacks a wide one past backward point for four. Just 26 runs required now, so the match could be finished in the next over. Theoretically.
32nd over: South Africa 169-1 (Amla 69, Du Plessis 70) Thisara Perera’s still going. He seems to have been bowling all afternoon, but in fact it’s only his fifth over. I’m not sure how that’s happened. Single, dot, single, dot, single, dot.
Some while-we-wait-for-South-Africa-to-dot-the-I’s-and-cross-the-T’s reading:
31st over: South Africa 166-1 (Amla 68, Du Plessis 68) This is definitely not Sri Lanka’s day. I think we can declare that now, whatever the win predictor’s saying.
Not out!
Amla takes one look at the first replay, tucks his bat under his arm, pulls off his gloves and heads for the dressing-room. But it transpires that the ball pitched fractionally outside leg, and he’s beckoned back!
WICKET! Or is it?
Amla is out lbw here! He’s gone upstairs, but only because it might be fun to look at the TV for a bit. He’s surely out...
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30th over: South Africa 159-1 (Amla 65, Du Plessis 65) South Africa have retreated into their shell since Faf’s two-ball, 10-run blitz a couple of overs back. Five more singles here, off Thisara Perera. Of course, there’s no need for them to hurry, what with them needing 45 runs from 120 balls.
29th over: South Africa 154-1 (Amla 62, Du Plessis 63) Four more singles, and another wide. Here in Blighty it’s almost 5pm; anyone got any good weekend plans?
28th over: South Africa 149-1 (Amla 60, Du Plessis 61) As of the start of the over, bowled by Lakmal, the required run rate had dipped below three. By its end it was down to 2.5. Du Plessis takes the single he needs to reach 50, and then the next ball he faces is lifted back past the bowler and out the ground! After a lengthy delay while a replacement is located he rockets the next through midwicket for four!
Meanwhile Pete Salmon has got the OBO’s proof-readers exercised. “That was Zeno’s paradox, not Aristotle’s,” sniffs the Guardian’s own Beau Dure.
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27th over: South Africa 136-1 (Amla 59, Du Plessis 49) De Silva bowls, and it goed down the leg side, flicks up off Kusal, loops up, is caught by a diving, sprinting slip, which is an awful lot of action for a single wide. That’s the 13th extra of the innings, or 6.4% of South Africa’s target.
26th over: South Africa 131-1 (Amla 58, Du Plessis 47) Malinga’s eighth over is predictably yorker-heavy, and brings a single followed by five dots. “I kind of feel like Avitaj Mitra’s question is as much a philosophical conundrum as it is a mathematical one,” says Matt Dony. “But, yeah, right now it almost feels like England will have a 0% chance against India, if that answers the question.”
25th over: South Africa 130-1 (Amla 57, Du Plessis 47) De Silva bowls. Some singles are scored. “Good question from Avitaj Mitra (over 21). Presumably the win predictor is like Aristotle’s paradox that a thing in motion can never arrive at its destination as it always has to travel halfway before it gets there, over and over again,” writes Pete Salmon. “The win predictor can never reach 0 until a team wins, so no team can ever win because the win predictor is always greater than 0. Just one more way the win predictor has ruined cricket, by establishing the impossibility of victory.”
24th over: South Africa 126-1 (Amla 55, Du Plessis 45) A Malinga maiden. He’s presumably bowling because Sri Lanka need wickets like the proverbial desert needs the rain, but the field isn’t really conducive to the taking of them, with an empty cordon and nobody in aggressive, in-yer-face positions. So it’s all down to Malinga, who attempts another yorker, which Amla digs out well.
23rd over: South Africa 126-1 (Amla 55, Du Plessis 45) Edge! Du Plessis swings his bat and diverts the ball well wide of the solitary slip and away for four.
22nd over: South Africa 119-1 (Amla 53, Du Plessis 40) Malinga’s back, and there’s a lovely yorker, which seemed to also show a bit of late movement, to Amla, which causes the batsman no trouble whatsoever. It did seem a bit on the slow side. He tries again to Du Plessis, who exhibits only slightly more discomfort.
21st over: South Africa 115-1 (Amla 52, Du Plessis 37) “So, just checked the win predictor. SL have a 1% chance (pretty generous, in my view),” writes Avitaj Mitra. “What I want to know is, is there a point within the 50 overs for the chasing team where the predictor shows 0% for either team, objectively speaking. Can you absolutely determine if a team simply has no chance of winning?” I know not, but I suspect they’ve done some rounding up to get all the way to 1% there, particularly given that it was also 1% six overs back.
20th over: South Africa 111-1 (Amla 51, Du Plessis 35) Amla takes his score to 50 with a single. Do we think South Africa are going to make this interesting with a bit of free hitting, or are they happy with the single life?
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19th over: South Africa 105-1 (Amla 49, Du Plessis 31) Udana does his first bowling of the day, and singles off the first two balls tickle South Africa’s score into triple figures. There are also singles off the next four, and a bonus wide to boot. This, not unpredictably given the target, is turning into a stroll in the sunshine.
18th over: South Africa 98-1 (Amla 46, Du Plessis 28) Mendis bowls, and he gets a bit of turn and bounce, the ball hitting the shoulder of Amla’s bat and spinning away safely.
17th over: South Africa 94-1 (Amla 44, Du Plessis 26) Freebies! Lakmal bowls down the leg side, and Kusal Perera dives past the ball, which flies between one glove and the other and rumbles away. Then Du Plessis hammers a bumper through midwicket for four and finally he skitters down the pitch but the ball skews off his bat and loops over backward point for a couple.
16th over: South Africa 81-1 (Amla 43, Du Plessis 19) Just a couple of singles. The umpires detect a slight downturn in South Arica’s run-scoring, and call for drinks.
15th over: South Africa 79-1 (Amla 42, Du Plessis 18) The win predictor gives Sri Lanka a 1% chance of glory, and Amla then dents that with a beautifully-timed stroke that sends the ball rolling enthusiastically past point for four. Still, the sun’s shining.
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14th over: South Africa 72-1 (Amla 36, Du Plessis 17) Jeevan Mendis now. The required run rate is only just above 3.5, and Sri Lanka need wickets in the plural and at pace (either that or a return of the bees and a succession of retired stungs). Sri Lanka, comparison fans, were 77-3 at this stage of their innings.
13th over: South Africa 69-1 (Amla 35, Du Plessis 16) Du Plessis drives through the covers twice. Happily for Sri Lanka they stuck a sweeper there after the first shot, so one goes for four and the other earns but a single. The captain takes a very sharp single to mid-off off the last ball of the over, and was maybe just about home when the ball whistled past the stumps.
12th over: South Africa 62-1 (Amla 34, Du Plessis 10) Amla lifts the ball down the ground, and stands there admiring it as the ball loops up, lands perhaps 10m from the rope and pretty much stays still. Only then do the batsmen realise they should have been running all along, and they thus score a mere two.
11th over: South Africa 58-1 (Amla 31, Du Plessis 9) Malinga is stood down, with Lakmal returning. “In the first round of games there were half a dozen times the bails didn’t come off when they probably should but I haven’t seen any incidents since then,” recalls Jim Graham. “Did they change them? The Malinga yorker is the sort of ball that might not have taken a wicket in an early game.” They did talk about changing something about the stump set-up, and may indeed have done so, but I don’t think I’ve seen a ball hit the stumps as gently as in those incidents in recent days, including that wicket. I do think these are remarkably solid stumps, and it’s probably them rather than the bails that are to blame. It’s remarkable how much effort it takes to take them out of the ground. It seems that you can throw the ball as hard as you like towards the base of the stumps and they’ll go absolutely nowhere.
10th over: South Africa 53-1 (Amla 26, Du Plessis 9) Perera bowls short and wide, and Amla dismisses it for four. Then, a single and a dot later, Du Plessis comes forward and spears just wide of a fielder at cover for four more. 11 off the over, which should make Malinga feel better.
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9th over: South Africa 42-1 (Amla 19, Du Plessis 5) Malinga’s fifth over, and his have cost six apiece on average, a fair chunk more than his team-mates’. He also got the wicket, of course, and his team need a few more of those.
8th over: South Africa 36-1 (Amla 16, Du Plessis 3) No bowler in the world has dismissed Faf du Plessis more often in ODIs than Thisara Perera. He’s dismissed him five times (next is Pat Cummins on four, followed by five people including Malinga with three; full list here). So Perera comes in, and Du Plessis is predictably guarded. Maiden.
7th over: South Africa 36-1 (Amla 16, Du Plessis 3) South Africa has reined in their boundary-hunting impulses since the wicket, though as I type that Amla is teased into a drive by Malinga, and the ball whistles past the bat.
6th over: South Africa 34-1 (Amla 15, Du Plessis 2) Suranga Lakmal now, and there’s a leg bye off the first and a couple off the last, though Du Plessis would probably have had a four a little earlier but for a fine stop from Avishka Fernando at cover.
5th over: South Africa 31-1 (Amla 15, Du Plessis 0) Malinga keeps giving Amla invitations to score off his pads. This time there isn’t quite enough on it for the ball to reach the rope, and the batsmen run three. Then, though, the wicket, and some much-needed encouragement for the Sri Lankans.
WICKET! De Kock b Malinga 15 (South Africaa 31-1)
He’s still got the magic, has he not? Malinga’s straight yorker slips between bat and pad and clips leg stump!
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4th over: South Africa 28-0 (De Kock 15, Amla 12) That’s fluid cricket! De Kock drives just wide of extra cover for four, then after inside-edging safely behind his legs a deft/panicked/bit-of-both late cut sends the ball rolling away for four more.
3rd over: South Africa 20-0 (De Kock 7, Amla 12) De Kock pushes the first ball down the ground for four, and later Amla, after a couple of uncomfortable swishes and prods, repeats his midwicket flick from over one, with identical results. Thanks to Charlie for the link to this video, of these very same teams taking bee-related evasive action in an ODI a couple of years ago. Un-bee-lievable*.
* Sorry
2nd over: South Africa 10-0 (De Kock 2, Amla 8) Dhananjaya de Silva does some early spinning, and De Kock gets a single from the penultimate delivery. I forgot to mention that it was Malinga who bowled the first over, but then you knew that.
Opening with a spinner to Quinton de Kock is a sound strategy. He has been dismissed five times to off-spin within the first 20 balls of his innings and averages just 28.20 from those deliveries. #CWC19 #SLvSA
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) June 28, 2019
1st over: South Africa 9-0 (De Kock 1, Amla 8) Amla sweetly times a drive through the covers for four. Languid, I think is the word. The next is flicked off his ankles, past midwicket for four more. The last beats the edge (there did seem to be a tiny noise, but there was no appeal so perhaps I invented it).
South Africa have had one big opening stand at this World Cup, Amla and De Kock putting on 104 against Afghanistan, but otherwise the first pair has only once contributed more than 22 runs, and in their two games since the Afghanistan match has managed nine (against New Zealand) and four (against Pakistan).
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The players retake the field. This is the fifth time in this World Cup that South Africa have fielded first. So far they have won one and lost three of the previous games. “Give South Africa a target and they will find a way not to reach it,” notes Uma Venkatraman.
“Adam signed off saying that “South Africa [are] in a very strong position to end Sri Lanka’s top four campaign” but Sri Lanka can lose today and still qualify if Pakistan are Beaten by Bangladesh and Bangladesh are beaten by India, unless underdogs England manage to scrape a victory in one of their two final matches,” jibes Martyn Fairbrother.
An innings that never, got going. Eight of Sri Lanka’s batsmen made it to double figures but only Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando made it to 30 - both dismissed on that score from ordinary shots. With those two behind them, South Africa were able to put the squeeze on and did so wonderfully through the middle overs. Due to the consistent wickets that fell through that period, there was very little left to work with in the final ten, where just 40 runs were added.
Dwaine Pretorius finished with the excellent throwback figures of 3/25 from his ten overs and is speaking to TV. “It was a tough wicket and we had to be disciplined,” he says. “Everyone backed each other up quite well and the partnerships worked. It was our most disciplined performance of the tournament so far. Basic cricket: hitting the top of off.”
That’s me done. I’ll hand over to Simon Burnton with South Africa in a very strong position to end Sri Lanka’s top four campaign. Thanks for your company. Bye!
SRI LANKA ALL-OUT 203! (WICKET! Malinga c du Plessis b Morris 4; Lakmal 5*)
Malinga moved Sri Lanka to 200 with a lovely crack to the point boundary but hit the next ball in the air, du Plessis this time completing the innings at mid-off. Morris finishes with 9.3-0-46-3. South Africa need 204 to win.
49th over: Sri Lanka 198-9 (Lakmal 3, Malinga 0) Well, it should have been two-in-two to finish and complete the innings, Lakmal giving catching practice to du Plessis at mid-on, but he’s grassed the regulation chance. Rabada: 10-2-36-2.
WICKET! Udana c & b Rabada (Sri Lanka 197-9)
Udana tried to make room to slap a short ball but it went straight in the air instead, Rabada claiming the catch in the middle of the pitch. He deserved a second (at least) after all his fine work since starting the day with a wicket first ball.
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48th over: Sri Lanka 195-8 (Udana 16, Lakmal 2) Udana berates himself for another swing/miss to start Morris’ ninth over. He does get bat on the ball to the next, falling just short of Amla at backward point on the edge of the circle. The slower ball is too good for him again, making three dots to begin before the yorker ends up at mid-off for one. Lakmal’s turn, turning one square. THE PLAYERS ALL HIT THE DECK because a swarm of bees have arrived! Umpires too. Yes, this has been a dire innings without much to note but we’ll always have that moment.
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47th over: Sri Lanka 192-8 (Udana 14, Lakmal 1) Rabada is back after his frugal middle spell, those two maidens helping drain this Sri Lankan innings of any momentum at an important time. He immediately beats Udana with a delivery that’s too good, the same man swinging and missing when trying to clear cow corner later in the over. Sure enough, the bumper comes next with Udana doing just enough to get it away from his helmet and down to the ground. Four off.
46th over: Sri Lanka 188-8 (Udana 11, Lakmal 0) Phehlukwayo gives Udana something in the slot to finish and he pin-points his slap/drive through extra cover for four. Nice strike. The Cricket Ground DJ plays the song they normally only give a blast when a six is hit. Make of that what you will. I found it the other week; rude not to share this TOTP performance from 1981. “All oiled up and ready.”
WICKET! T Perera c Rabada b Phehlukwayo 21 (Sri Lanka 184-8)
Perera has a crack at Phehlukwayo but doesn’t get much of it, Rabada taking a fine diving chance running in from the rope. The third ump confirms the clean catch.
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45th over: Sri Lanka 182-7 (T Perera 20, Udana 6) Tahir to bowl out his tenth and doing it well. He deserved a wicket for all the pressure he has created at the bowling crease today. That’s not to be, but he’ll take the 0/36 from ten. 19 runs have been added from the first five overs of this final power play. Grim.
44th over: Sri Lanka 179-7 (T Perera 18, Udana 5) Phehlukwayo is landing both his stock and slower balls here, the bumper as well. They are starting to swing but the contact just isn’t there. Five off it. 16 from 26 this partnership.
43rd over: Sri Lanka 174-7 (T Perera 16, Udana 2) Perera nearly gives a catch out to midwicket but it doesn’t quite make it to the sweeper. Four of Tahir’s six balls are dots, his figures 0/33 with one over to bowl. As usual, the 40-year-old leggie (WHERE’S THE STEVE CARELL MOVIE ON THIS?) has been excellent.
42nd over: Sri Lanka 171-7 (T Perera 13, Udana 2) Phehlukwayo sent down five overs earlier when Kushal Perera and Fernando were going nicely. It’s a very different game now. The sweepers at midwicket, mid-on and third man are scored to, Phehlukwayo helping out with a badly sprayed slower ball. But that’s their lot.
“Surely Sri Lanka are the team with both the best Powerplay 1 run rate and the worst Powerplay 2 run rate?” poses Avitaj Mitra. “Makes you reminisce about Sangakara and Jayawardene and even Dilshan.. who could milk singles in the middle overs like it was the easiest thing in the world.”
It made sense for Mendis and Mathews to chill for a bit after losing both set men but not for that to become the standard for the rest of the innings. They’ve brought this on themselves today.
41st over: Sri Lanka 167-7 (T Perera 11, Udana 1) Tahir has three overs to bowl in this happy hour period, if Sri Lanka ever visit the bar, that is. Udana has mad skills at the death with the ball, but what’s his long handle like? We don’t get to find out here, four singles picked up; the boundary never threatened.
40th over: Sri Lanka 163-7 (Perera 8, Udana 0) Morris finishes with a bumper as well. It being the end of the 40th, another fielder can now exit the circle.
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WICKET! J Mendis c Pretorius b Morris 18 (Sri Lanka 163-7)
Mendis tried to repeat the shot he played for six in the previous over against Morris but this time picked out the man at long leg. Good bowling.
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39th over: Sri Lanka 159-6 (J Mendis 16, T Perera 7) Well, here we go! Sri Lanka are back in the act (for now at least) taking 15 from this Duminy over. Mendis, emboldened by his six in the last set, goes over the top of the man on the circle up at mid-on for four. That’ll do. They’re helped by five wides when de Kock can’t glove a flat ball down the legside. To finish, another misdirected delivery, three tickled to fine leg by Mendis. That’ll do, JP. Have a blow.
38th over: Sri Lanka 145-6 (J Mendis 11, T Perera 3) They still have four wickets in hand but it feels like South Africa could finish them off in a real hurry. Oh, and this should be the seventh, Perera taking on Faf at mid-on, the captain unable to nail the throw at the non-strikers’ end. He would have been gone by at least three metres. Mendis’ turn and he finally makes decent contact, slapping Morris over deep backward square for the first six of the innings! Shot!
“I’m struggling to recall the last time a Sri Lankan first innings took such a pasting on OBO, with a guaranteed defeat to follow,” asks Brian Withington. “Possibly Rob Smyth on duty last week for the England game can refresh our memories?”
What they have going for them: South Africa are chasing these runs after lunch.
37th over: Sri Lanka 136-6 (J Mendis 4, T Perera 1) Thisara Perera is known for giving it a wallop and what they would give for a bit of that today. He’s off the mark down the ground first ball, the hapless Perera then playing out the rest. He nearly chops Duminy on, which might be preferable for Sri Lanka at this stage. The left-hander is 4 from 36 and it is not getting any better . The run rate? 3.67 (!).
WICKET! Dhananjaya b Duminy 24 (Sri Lanka 135-6)
Oh dear. They’ve had a shocker today, Sri Lanka. In response to JP’s first ball, his opposing number has a dip at a reverse sweep and makes an absolute meal of it.
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36th over: Sri Lanka 135-5 (Dhananjaya 24, J Mendis 4) Back to back maidens from Rabada? Are you kidding me? Mendis has 4 from 32 balls and this is not good enough. They won’t make 200 at this rate. Once again, very 1999 World Cup areas.
35th over: Sri Lanka 135-5 (Dhananjaya 24, J Mendis 4) Phehlukwayo replaces Tahir, which I’m a bit surprised about given the hold he had on both players. The change suits Dhananjaya, who has enough time to free his arms and carve a powerful cut shot to the point rope and move into the 20s. Time to get busy.
34th over: Sri Lanka 128-5 (Dhananjaya 19, J Mendis 2) Rabada replaces the efficient and effective Pretorius. Dhananjaya is defending and leaving, which is sound enough logic in terms of preserving his wicket but I really don’t see what they get out of letting him churn through a maiden in the 33rd over.
Rob Connelly says nice things about the OBO. Thanks for your company. He is asking for a look at the World Cup table, which I’ll pop in here now.
33rd over: Sri Lanka 128-5 (Dhananjaya 19, J Mendis 2) Tahir continues, and why wouldn’t he? Mendis is picking him, but that’s only part of the battle. He can’t beat the fielders on the circle, just one run added. The leggie has three to come
32nd over: Sri Lanka 127-5 (Dhananjaya 18, J Mendis 2) The end of a fantastic stint from Dwaine Pretorius, finishing with 10-2-25-2, the vital wickets of Fernando and Mendis both his after coming back into the XI today. Bowled. Drinks!
31st over: Sri Lanka 123-5 (Dhananjaya 15, J Mendis 2) A boundary! The first for quite some time, Dhananjaya taking on the final Tahir delivery, lashing it off the front foot to the rope at extra cover. It’s a start.
“Love the phrase ‘entitled whining’ (Over 23),” said Peter Salmon. “Trying to work out its relationship to ‘virtue signalling’. For me the most worrying thing is that he expects a taxi driver to ‘chill out’. He’s obviously living in another reality.”
30th over: Sri Lanka 115-5 (Dhananjaya 8, J Mendis 1) How do Sri Lanka handle this? Of course, a loss here and it’s all over. So do they try and crawl to 220 and hope? Or do the chance their hand through Dhananjaya and go up the risk/reward scale? Since Fernando and Perera departed, all intent has been missing. At least they scored as single off Pretorius this time around, his second spell 1/1 off three.
29th over: Sri Lanka 114-5 (Dhananjaya 7, J Mendis 1) Nothing to ease the squeeze off Tahir, who is already through five overs for 17 runs. I reckon he’ll still be bashing around as South Africa’s No1 spinner for the 2023 World Cup.
Check out Moeen Ali’s new column. He’s been brilliant so far in this weekly spot.
28th over: Sri Lanka 111-5 (Dhananjaya 5, J Mendis 0) Jeevan Mendis is the new man at No7, Pretorius giving him nothing. Five dot balls makes a wicket maiden, the 12 balls the all-rounder has sent down since his return all scoreless. He has 8-2-21-3. As you do. Very 1999 World Cup figures.
WICKET! Mendis c Morris b Pretorius 23 (Sri Lanka 111-5)
There is the big wicket! After completely drying up the Sri Lankan star, Morris has done it with a shortish ball, Mendis miscuing to point. They’re in strife now. 51 balls he faced for his 23. Grim.
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27th over: Sri Lanka 111-4 (Mendis 23, Dhananjaya 5) Finally some runs through the back half of this Tahir over, Mendis then Dhananjaya starting to pick out the sweepers. They really need to get it ticking over now, the run rate just on four.
26th over: Sri Lanka 106-4 (Mendis 19, Dhananjaya 4) Fantastic return from Pretorius, the man with two wickets to his name, now getting an addition to his maiden column as well. Sri Lanka really have been stopped in their tracks.
25th over: Sri Lanka 106-4 (Mendis 19, Dhananjaya 4) Tahir bounces through another over for just two. After a couple of ropey balls to start, he’s right back in his groove. Mindful of his major responsibility here, Mendis is taking no risks.
24th over: Sri Lanka 104-4 (Mendis 18, Dhananjaya 3) Excuse me while I catch up, lost the wifi for a few minutes. Doesn’t look like we have missed much. Two here from the Morris over. He has four up his sleeve, so that might be all for now.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 102-4 (Mendis 18, Dhananjaya 1) Another good over for the Proteas, Mendis taking the wrong’un through midwicket for one and Dhananjaya doing likewise to finish but with four dots in there too. Over the last five overs, Sri Lanka have added 1/16. Good captaincy from du Plessis to squeeze after the third wicket fell, not allowing Mathews to properly settle.
“Further to Nick Parish’s comments on Bairstow’s rather entitled whining, isn’t it the case that all the teams have had to play on these pitches and they’re pretty dissimilar to what any of them are used to, save possibly NZ?” asks Geoff Wignall.
That was the kicker. The comments about failure culture, misguided as they were with this team (for mine), could be kind of understood. This bit... not so much.
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22nd over: Sri Lanka 100-4 (Mendis 17, Dhananjaya 0) The new man defends the one remaining delivery in the successful Morris over. South Africa have a big opportunity to run through Sri Lanka here, especially if Mendis falls soon.
WICKET! Mathews b Morris 11 (Sri Lanka 100-4)
Yuk. Mathews makes room to try and mow Morris out through midwicket but chops on instead. After showing a lot of patience, that’s another wicket they’ve thrown away from a delivery that didn’t deserve it. Earlier in the over he popped him over mid-on for four, still. That’s not pretty cricket.
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21st over: Sri Lanka 96-3 (Mendis 17, Mathews 7) Tahir Time! He picked up a wicket in his first over on Sunday at Lord’s but he won’t be in the book with the full toss he gives Mathews to begin here, struck with control to midwicket for one, nor the half-tracker to Mendis, which is put away for four. The veteran finds his range before long, Mendis defending then watching the hard-spun legbreaks.
20th over: Sri Lanka 91-3 (Mendis 13, Mathews 6) Morris gives Mendis a bit of room to begin, obliging with a push past point for two. There’s a single to third man on offer later, Mathews also picking up one behind square to long leg. Both sides seem happy with where the game is currently at.
19th over: Sri Lanka 87-3 (Mendis 10, Mathews 5) Rabada pushes through another very tidy one, his maiden ruined by Mendis who steered the final ball to third man for one. Mathews is five off 21 and Mendis 10 from 29. But I don’t expect this will worry either of them if it means getting a couple of Rabada overs out of the way.
“I heard you and Geoff briefly discussing Bairstow’s comments on the podcast yesterday,” says Jack Jorgensen. “I wholeheartedly agree with the perception that these comments could blow up. The UK press is so unforgiving, and even if there was nuance in Bairstow’s original statements, its been lost in the headlines making the rounds. Add to that Michael Vaughan on Twitter again this morning, its starting to unravel. Even as an Aussie I’m starting to watch through my fingers, waiting for the next calamity!”
Yep. A win on Sunday and all will be forgotten. But if they don’t... well, to quote those great philosophers Daphne and Celeste: “U.G.L.Y you ain’t got no alibi.”
18th over: Sri Lanka 86-3 (Mendis 9, Mathews 5) Morris returns too and immediately finds the edge of Mathews, falling just short of Amla at first slip. After spraying a wide, the big seamer is into his work, angling in at Mathews attacking his stumps and giving him nothing. Looks like a glorious day at Durham. The last time that Sri Lanka played an international there was in 2016 when Alastair Cook clocked his 10,000th Test run. Other things happened that week - a lovely Chris Woakes spell and a lavish Moeen ton - but not a lot more. England won by plenty.
17th over: Sri Lanka 85-3 (Mendis 9, Mathews 5) Sensing an opening before these two important players get set, Faf brings Rabada back - the man who took a first ball wicket earlier today. He’s right on the mark at Mendis, who is defending with a straight bat before squeezing out one behind square. Mathews does the same to finish, timing nicely just behind square to keep the strike.
“Picking up the point about dry pitches,” writes Nick Parish, “I was a bit worried about Bairstow’s complaints about all the difficult pitches England have had to cope with, and comparing them with the pitches of the last two years. As well as making excuses (despite saying he wasn’t making excuses), he is surely aware that last summer was three months of uninterrupted sunshine, while this June has seen rain of biblical proportions. I don’t know much about preparing wickets, but I feel a bit for the groundsmen expected to produce flat, dry tracks during a typical British summer.”
What I know for sure: if England are knocked off by India on Sunday, YJB is going to cop more abuse than he ever has in his sporting life. I’m not saying that is necessarily fair, but he will be the poster child for all that is wrong, and so on.
16th over: Sri Lanka 83-3 (Mendis 8, Mathews 4) Even though his previous two overs picked up wickets, this is a more probing set from Pretorius after the drinks break, finding Mathews’ inside edge then getting some excellent carry from a ball just outside the off-stump. Just one from it. Nicely bowled.
Gary Naylor is back with his latest take from The Shires.
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15th over: Sri Lanka 82-3 (Mendis 7, Mathews 4) Oooh! Not far away from a run out to finish, Mendis racing to the danger end from the final Phehlukwayo ball, calling Mathews through for a quick single to midwicket. Earlier, Mathews pushed well out to cover for three, timed off the back foot. Don’t worry about Big Ang.
An tweet in from @vkmagus: “Whenever I see these permutations and equations towards the end of the group stages Harry Belafonte starts singing to me ‘It is clear as mud but it covered the ground’”
14th over: Sri Lanka 77-3 (Mendis 6, Mathews 1) Easy does it, Mathews deflecting the fifth ball of the Pretorius over down to third man to get himself moving. He copped a lot of stick when taking this approach last week (for 85 not out off, well, a lot of balls) against England but he was proven very right a few hours later.
A press release has entered my inbox advising that Carlos Brathwaite has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee yesterday for showing dissent. Always here for you with the big breaking news on the OBO, me.
13th over: Sri Lanka 76-3 (Mendis 6, Mathews 0) Phehlukwayo gives Mendis something to settle into on leg stump, clipping his first boundary of the day. South Africa have given away far too many runs on the pads so far this morning. The all-rounder is back on the mark for the rest, keeping the star right-hander quiet.
“Good morrow, Adam.” And to you, John Starbuck. “When England did so well in Durham, as you mentioned, wasn’t it a blazing hot day? It’s unfamiliar, but we even have bright sunshine here in Yorkshire too. So how much of England’s past success was down to the conditions, especially last year? Big scores are usually expected in the dry.”
You’re right. It was early in the Football World Cup; I recall watching Australia lose to Denmark in the press box during the first innings. Might have also been the longest day of the year? Felt like it when the sun was out at 10pm from the pub.
12th over: Sri Lanka 72-3 (Mendis 2, Mathews 0) Mendis and Mathews, the Sri Lankan engine room, have a lot of work to do here now. The former skipper does are you would expect, carefully defending his first few deliveries. On the evidence of what we saw last week against England, he won’t be in a hurry. Smart cricketer.
“You are going to have to be patient on this pitch,” adds Mel Jones on TV.
“Do teams need a half hour between the toss and the first ball?” replies Shankar Mony, quite fairly, to something I said earlier. “Why cant both sets of openers be ready and we have play 10 minutes after the toss? For a game that is competing for eyeballs with other quicker sports (all other sports are quicker), cricket could do with less dilly dallying, I say.” Yep, point taken.
WICKET! K Perera b Pretorius 30 (Sri Lanka 72-3)
Pretorius has two in five balls! He’s castled Perera with an off-cutter that didn’t have a lot going on, the opener trying to steer it behind point but instead chopping it on. Another poor dismissal, all told.
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11th over: Sri Lanka 70-2 (K Perera 29, Mendis 1) A steady ovr from Phehlukwayo to begin the accumulation phase, three singles added; Mendis off the mark to fine leg.
“Love the Ian Chappell/Piers Morgan contretemps,” writes Peter Salmon. “Reminds me of the first time I really understood sport. Aus v Eng, 1979-80. Nine years old, in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel across from the MCG waiting for the players to come down. Australia 1/155 chasing England’s 306. Saw Chappelli in his civvies walking to the door with his gear, 53 not out overnight. Scurried up to him and said, ‘Please Mr Chappell, can I have your autograph?’ Without breaking stride he said, ‘No kid, no. I need you to fuck off.’ I have never admired anyone else as much as I admired him at that moment. Good Guardian cred too.”
On that latter point, Geoff and I talked to him about his activism earlier in the year. He knows he has a big megaphone but made a decision to use it carefully. A great Australian, that’s for sure.
10th over: Sri Lanka 67-2 (K Perera 28, Mendis 0) Mendis, Sri Lanka’s star No4, defends the one ball to come in the successful over. Ten runs and a wicket from it.
WICKET! Fernando c du Plessis b Pretorius 30 (Sri Lanka 67-2)
After twice tucking into ropey Pretorius deliveries on leg stump to take full advantage during the final over of the power play, Fernando has fallen from the penultimate ball! It’s not much of a delivery either, miscuing when trying to go long and straight, the ball landing with du Plessis at mid-on. Frustrating cricket.
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9th over: Sri Lanka 57-1 (K Perera 23, Fernando 26) Phehlukwayo has impressed during this World Cup as well, with the ball especially, and gets a chance now in place of Rabada. But there is no pressure here at the moment, five singles taken even though the field is still up. That’s quite unusual, and good batting.
“The only way for England to be certain to qualify is to beat both New Zealand and Idea,” emails Martyn Fairbrother. “They will then be on 12 points, the only other team that can reach twelve points is Sri Lanka, but qualification is then decided by number of games won, so England would still qualify. If England only win one of the two games, then they will finish on 10 points. Sri Lanka can reach 12 points. Pakistan or Bangladesh (but not both) can reach 11 points. If Pakistan / Bangladesh is tied (or not played) then potentially England Pakistan and Bangladesh will finish on 10 points and 4 wins – qualification will be decided by net run rate.”
That clears it up! I think England might actually be helped by the fact that they probably have to win both games. Forget about the rest.
8th over: Sri Lanka 52-1 (K Perera 20, Fernando 24) Sri Lanka’s 50 is up with a tidy little tuck from to fine leg by Fernando, down to the rope. Bouncing back well, Pretorius is up for leg before when beating Fernando’s inside edge but it is going well over middle stump, the technology shows after the fact.
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7th over: Sri Lanka 45-1 (K Perera 19, Fernando 19) Rabada goes again and it doesn’t come off, three risk-free singles added - a legside wide as well - before Perera leans into a full toss, putting it away through point. His third boundary.
“Does Avishva Fernando remind anyone else of Aravinda DeSilva?” asks Sampath Kumar. He might be a fraction more lavish in his strokeplay, but I can see where you are coming from. Aravinda, I have it on good authority, is in the countryright now. I’m trying to get him to talk to me about Sri Lanka’s poor 1999 World Cup.
6th over: Sri Lanka 37-1 (K Perera 13, Fernando 18) Pretorius replaces Morris and does the job Faf du Plessis wants from him after a couple of busy overs for the Sri Lankans, keeping them to just a single with his tidy medium pace.
5th over: Sri Lanka 36-1 (K Perera 12, Fernando 18) If you can ignore the first ball, this is a fantastic start for Sri Lanka! Granted, four byes come from a ball that misses Fernando’s inside edge and the stumps and de Kock’s gloves all by about an inch. But he keeps his cool, finishing with a quite outstanding straight drive that races away to the rope. There is a lot to like about the new Sri Lankan No3. Where was he earlier in the tournament? Nae bother, he might have arrived just in time.
4th over: Sri Lanka 26-1 (K Perera 11, Fernando 13) And again! Perera gets on the front foot this time to crunch Morris through cover. A couple of singles puts him back on strike by the end of the over and he’s again beaten by Morris but the early signs are good for the man who made such a famous century against South Africa at Durban earlier in the year.
“JP Duminy yet again benefiting from, well, just sort of being around,” observes Nick Toovey. “He’s got the air of the guy in the school cricket team that’s there to crack jokes, or is a prefect, or had a fluke day at open trails. When was his last performance of note?”
Four years ago, he balanced them nicely but now, I can’t work it out either. Made a brilliant ton at the MCG in 2008, don’t you know. I remember that day for earning the worst sunburn of my life. The scars remained years later. Thanks, JP.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 20-1 (K Perera 6, Fernando 12) Fernando is not going to mess around with the field up, crunching a ball that isn’t that short through cover for Sri Lanka’s second boundary. He’s beaten later in the set, which happens at Durham - the TV tells us that seamers move it there more than any other of these World Cup venues - but they’ve pushed back nicely after the golden duck to begin.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 14-1 (K Perera 6, Fernando 6) Chris Morris is opening up with the other new ball, a bowler I should have mentioned earlier when looking for positives. His figures won’t reflect it but he’s been very good at times without a lot of reward. Fernando picks up his second three, this time clipping with ease off his pads. Nice start from the No3. Morris is getting some decent movement but down the legside beyond Perera. After a brief sidescreen disruption (for the umpteenth time this tournament) he dishes up a short, wide ball, Perara creaming it through point for a boundary. You can’t bowl there to him.
1st over: Sri Lanka 6-1 (K Perera 2, Fernando 3) Watching the replay, Karunaratne was trying to get his hands underneath the spitting Rabada delivery but completely misjudged the pace and bounce. Nice shot from Avishka Fernando to get underway, punching with perfect timing past point for three. He was outstanding in the power play against England this time last week after they lost a couple of early wickets; let’s hope for much of the time. Kusal Perera is also off the mark with a couple off his hip. The end of a successful over to begin for Rabada.
WICKET! Karunaratne c du Plessis b Rabada (Sri Lanka 0-1)
First ball of the game! Rabada bangs it in short of a length at the captain’s body, the ball crashing into the handle of the bat and lobbing up to du Plessis in the gully. Easy game, this!
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The players are on the field! And I better hurry up because something has happened first ball! Blimey!
“Right.” Yes, right on, Matthew Dony. “Tangentially related to cricket (as he regularly tweets about it...), but Piers ‘The Spanner’ Morgan has tweeted about a two star review his latest self-serving documentary received from the Guardian. He tweeted, ‘The day these sandal-clad, virtue-signalling kale-munchers like my work, I will retire from public life.’ So, during any lulls in play today, could you reach across the big Guardian desk (that all writers from all departments obviously sit around) and exert some pressure to amend the review? Offering bribes, if necessary. Make it a glowing 5 star puff-piece, and then hold him to his promise to disappear from view. Even as a freelancer (which gives you a pass on the sandals and kale, don’t worry) It’s your duty to help de-Piers British life.”
Better still: the world could simply deal with him the way Ian Chappell did. Worth a google.
How do South Africa lose any sporting contest after hearing that? Right, back to my inbox. “Good morning, mate.” Amod Paranjape, always a pleasure. “Our side (India) must be boring for a few people. But for middle aged fans like me, Bumrah, Shami , Bhuvi are a whiff of fresh air. (And who waits in the Wings; Seniors Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur etc, Juniors; Shubham Mavi, Navdeep Saini, etc). Also kindly curse your blasted side for me. They have given Pakistan a chance and against Pakistan in knockout stages, India historically falters.”
The great thing about writing a lot of OBOs is that people think that I am English. I mean, I sort of am. I live here with my very English partner and I have a red passport thanks to my mother. But I’m very much a Melbourne lad. To your actual point: people seem to have forgotten that if Sri Lanka roll over last Friday, there are probably 11 dead rubbers at the back end of this World Cup. Anyway, I’m not going to die on that hill today as I’m pleased we have a juicy ending coming up.
They’re on the way for anthems! Which means we have plenty of time with Sri Lanka’s. As I said to Emma John on the excellent Spin pod the other week, it’s too long to be a Eurovosion entry. That’s all I measure songs by. I need better hobbies.
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Perera (wk), Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal.
Suranga Lakmal is in for Nuwan Pradeep: an experienced right-arm seamer for an experienced right-arm seamer.
Dimuth Karunaratne says Sri Lanka would have batted. So everyone is happy. They have one change, which I’ll give you with the full teams in a moment. “We just want to win this match and go forward by defending a total in this match.”
South Africa have won the toss and are bowling first
Nasser asked Faf what he wants to get out of these last two games? “Win.” Simple as that. They are playing an extra batsman; JP Duminy in for David Miller (injured) with Dwaine Pretorious back for Lungi Ngidi (rested).
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Is it just me, or is it a bit weird that the toss in this tournament has been held 25 minutes before each game rather than 30? I know that TV rules the world and their broadcast begins half an hour before. But still. Anyway, that is coming up now.
“Morning Adam.” Hi Matt Potter. “Recently started listening to yours and Geoff’s podcast and I’ve found it thoroughly enjoyable, so cheers for that.” Our pleasure. “What positives do you think SA can take from this tournament? I can only think of Rassie van der Dussen, who’s had a good tournament all considered, and the fact that Imran Tahir is immune to ageing, which is nice.”
Yep, it’s Rassie and Imran Tahir. I’d add Lungi Ngidi, who has shown what a big bag of tricks he has when bowling at the death. And we’ll always have that Rabada spell to India at Southampton. But other than that, not a lot. I won’t be the first to observe this, but a big chance they go all England post-2015 World Cup, isn’t there?
“Hello Adam.” Good morning, Kumar Pushparaj, opening the day for our inbox. “This competition seems to be wide open in terms of who is going to secure the fourth Spot. Considering the scenario that England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, all win their coming two matches, then it will be all down to India to decide who reaches the Semis. With that India Sri Lanka Fixture on 6th July.”
You’re forgetting Bandladesh! But yes, there are two games that could settle it: India v Sri Lanka and Pakistan v Bangladesh at Lord’s. In both scenarios, England would need to lose to India and probably New Zealand as well (I think).
Preamble
It has taken 30 days, but at long last this World Cup gets some north-eastern exposure, arriving at Durham for the first of three fixtures. A week ago, this looked like a stinker between two sides with no chance. But then the butterly flapped it wings: Sri Lanka beat England and the race for the top four was turned on its head. In turn, the destiny of Dimuth Karunaratne’s charges remains in their hands.
By contrast, their opponents today, South Africa, were the second team formally punted from the tournament when they were thrashed by Pakistan on Sunday at Lord’s. The final margin didn’t do justice to just how abject they were with the bat in pursuit of 285, never even remotely in the hunt. It summed up the Proteas’ limp month in the country, putting in one underwhelming effort after another.
Yes, Faf du Plessis’ team whitewashed Sri Lanka in this format earlier this year, and sure, they have knocked them off in 16 of their last 18 ODIs. But that doesn’t mean an awful lot to them now as they enter this slow, post-elimination goodbye.
The degree of difficulty for Sri Lanka remains, needing to win all three of their games, but it is not quite as steep as it is being suggested when comparing that position to the other sides in the pelaton, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If they get up today, their next must-win game is against another side who won’t be progressing: West Indies. Then comes India to finish, but one step at a time.
In terms of the venue, this time last year England chased down Australia’s 314 in just 44 overs. We haven’t seen many games like that in this comp, but we’re right to assume they will be friendly batting conditions first up. And it should be a sunny day, the temperature expected to top 20 degrees in county Durham.
So what will it be? Some more Malinga magic to keep this chasing group at seven? Or will South Africa play for (I promise this the only time I’ll say...) pride? I’m looking forward to finding out with you throughout the morning. Stay in touch in the usual OBO ways, dropping me a line or firing off a punchy tweet.
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