Post-Match Show
Exhale. And take a watch of our post-match show.
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SA win by 7 runs
South Africa remain unbeaten at this T20 World Cup and are now 6/6!
Waka Waka is playing loud and proud in Saint Lucia and I think it's fair to say South Africa will now dare to dream that this is their time. They have triumphed in yet another close game, defended what seemed an under-par total and recovered from what seemed a misread of the conditions. Props have to go to Quinton de Kock, who set them up so well, and to Keshav Maharaj, for controlling the mid-section of the innings, to Anrich Nortje for bowling a good final over and to Aiden Markram for a second clutch catch in this tournament.
England by no means out of things. They came close and their NRR remains positive. They play USA and a win there should see them through to the semis.
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Nortje to bowl the last, Markram takes a hell of a catch
Yes he does!
First he made the big call to go to the experience of Nortje over Baartman, who was poor in the last over. Then, he took the catch that could just about South Africa in the semis. Brook tried to hit Nortje down the ground, Markram ran 18 metres and took the catch over his right shoulder. Oh. My. Word.
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Brook brings up first WC fifty
Off 35 balls.
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Squeaky-Bum Time
Buckle up!
21 needed off 12 balls
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Baartman gets it wrong
Baartman has totally missed his lengths here. He started with three full tosses and you can see what happened. 21 runs in total coming off it.
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How to set a field to Brook
This from Matt Roller, who is at the ground and watching South Africa try to figure out how to stop Brook.
"Harry Brook's scoop is not his signature shot but the fact that he plays it is what makes him so hard to bowl at. The one he played off Rabada at the end of the 15th over meant that Markram pushed fine leg back and brought mid-off up for the start of the 16th over -- and Brook promptly hit back-to-back boundaries over mid-off, one lofted over Maharaj and then other slapped wide of him."
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England's big over
Pace on from Kagiso Rabada and England have taken full advantage. The 15th over went for 18 runs and they now need 59 off the last five overs. South Africa scored 48 in their last five.
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NRR time?
England need more than 12 runs an over, more than two runs a ball, at this stage and they may start thinking about not losing too badly.
Matt Roller has this:
NRR becomes a consideration for England before too long... as long as they don't get thrashed they should get through with a decent win against US in the final game, but have the disadvantage of playing the early game on Sunday with WI-SA under lights
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Maharaj bowls out
His last over cost nine runs and it was another excellent outing for South Africa's first-choice spinner.
25 runs in four overs - plus two wickets
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Baartman's second over
Could it be the one that wins South Africa the game?
Crucially, it's Moeen Ali that Baartman got, to a short(ish) ball that Moeen tried to pull away.
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England's big ask
104 in 10 overs
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Bairstow CAUGHT
De Kock added seven runs after he was dropped, Bairstow managed sis and it's another wonder catch. Anrich Nortje, this time. He flung himself to his right at backward point to take a two-handed catch as Bairstow looked to cut.
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England steady in the PP
It's been a fairly cautious start for England in the Powerplay. Remember South Africa had racked up 63 by this stage but then fell away and perhaps England have just got some measure of how to pace this chase.
41 England's Powerplay score - their lowest this year
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Bairstow DROPPED
on 10.
Kagiso Rabada should have had a second when Bairstow slashed him to deep third but Heinrich Klaasen was not able to hold on. That's the second time Klaasen has made a slightly clumsy error today, after he dawdled through a run he called and was run out.
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South Africans can catch too
England were outstanding in the field and so far, South Africa have matched them. Kagiso Rabada took a blinder at leg gully off the first ball, but it came off Phil Salt's thigh pad, so didn't provide any reward. But he got the last laugh, when Reeza Hendricks leapt two-handed to his left at cover and got some hang time as he took the catch that dismissed Salt in Rabada's opening over for 11.
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Have SA got their selection right?
We saw the impact of England's spinners in this match. South Africa have included just one: Keshav Maharaj, and may turn to Aiden Markram at some stage but this is what Matt Roller thinks:
"Feels like South Africa might have picked the wrong team here with four seamers and no Shamsi: England's spinners went at 6.42 runs per over compared to 8.84 for their seamers, who have fared much better when bowling slower balls. Chasing 164, England can probably afford to play Keshav Maharaj's spell out."
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Jansen starts quickly
141 kph is the speed of Marco Jansen's first three deliveries
The third was hit into the stands for six by Phil Salt.
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Half-Time Show
Have a listen to Morne Morkel, Andy Flower and Anil Kumble
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63 runs in PP, 100 in next 14
South Africa were cruising at 63 without loss after the first six overs but England's spinners put the brakes on. Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali conceded 45 runs in seven overs between them and the pacers mostly backed them up with slower balls in the second half of the innings. South Africa would have been eyeing 180+ but will have to defend 163.
7.14 South Africa's run-rate after the Powerplay
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0/23 for Topley
Economical but ...
4 Number of matches Topley has gone wicketless
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Wood's expensive second
Mark Wood was brought on in the 14th over, which is just the second time he has been introduced after 10th over in his T20 career. The other instance was vs SA in 2021 T20 WC, where his first over was the 11th over. His first over cost nine runs and second 13, and he has been guilty of bowling too short and offering David Miller and Tristan Stubbs opportunities to score runs legside.
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Buttler's golden arm
What a game the England captain is having!
He's run out Heinrich Klaasen with what we are going to call a GUN throw to the non-striker's end. Klaasen was dawdling a touch after calling for the run and this is bringing up some memories...
- Donald and Klusener 1999
- Du Plessis 2011
You got any?
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Squeeze after the PP
35 runs in seven overs after the Powerplay
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De Kock CAUGHT
Will hopefully bring some you images of this soonest but after the lifeline de Kock was given, it's only fitting he has fallen to an amazing catch. It's Jofra Archer's revenge as he banged in a short one, de Kock edged and Jos Buttler took a leaping one-handed catch to his left. That's also his 250th in the game.
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Hendricks has to go
It's taken nearly 10 overs but England finally have a wicket, albeit perhaps not the one they wanted. Reeza Hendricks, who struggled to get properly going, hit the 25th ball he faced to Harry Brook at mid-on. That ended the opening partnership on 86, South Africa's fifth-highest at T20 World Cups. They have never had a century opening partnership at the tournament.
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QdK DROPPED
Mark Wood has put QdK down on 58 but it took several checks by the TV umpire to judge that the ball had been grassed before Wood got fingers to it.
Here's how Alan Gardner on our ball-by-ball feed saw it:
"Googly, slog-swept... straight to deep backward square leg! De Kock had been the aggressor for SA but this time he sends the big hit straight to the man back. Although he wants this checked - Wood had to stretch forward at the last moment as the ball dipped on him, and the third umpire is going to have a look. And he reckons it burst through his fingers to touch the ground, rather than having his them firmly under the ball! England are very unhappy about this, but the decision is not out!"
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Back-to-back fifties
Quinton de Kock's half-century off 22 balls has equalled the fastest fifty of the tournament. Aaron Jones is the other player to have hit a 22-ball fifty in the USA's win over Canada.
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South Africa's second-best PP
This has been the second-most productive Powerplay for South Africa at the tournament so far. And the only one in which they have not lost a wicket.
Crucially, Quinton de Kock's 49 runs in the PP are the most by a SA batter at a Men's T20 World Cup. The previous highest was 46 runs, also by QDK vs England in 2016.
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SA opening stand shines
It's been tough going for the top-order at this World Cup, reflected in the fact that Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks have now gone on to their highest opening stand of the tournament:
41 off four overs
And still going.
De Kock has been the major contributor and took 17 runs off Jofra Archer's opening over. All told, that over cost 21 runs - Archer's second-most expensive in international cricket.
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First boundaries on the board
De Kock has won the early exchange, hitting Moeen down the ground for four, and then six.
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Match Ups v De Kock
Reece Topley is opening the bowling and its likely so will Moeen Ali. They've both got good records against de Kock.
Topley v De Kock : 6 matches, 4 dismissals
Moeen v De Kock : 15 matches, 6 dismissals
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Catch our live show with Morne Morkel, Andy Flower and Anil Kumble before play starts:
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England bowl, Baartman back for South Africa
Jos Buttler put South Africa in on a fresh pitch and anticipates some swing in humid, windy conditions. England are unchanged after their win over West Indies. Meanwhile, South Africa have shelved the experiment of two specialist spinners and brought back Ottneil Baartman for Tabraiz Shamsi.
Here's confirmation of the two XIs:
South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markam, 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Ottneil Baartman, 11 Anrich Nortje
England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt, wk), 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Reece Topley
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History says South Africa
The numbers tell us there's a clear favourite:
Overall: Played:25 England:12 South Africa:12 No-Result:1
At T20 World Cups : Played:6 South Africa:4 England:2
And here's a reminder of their last meeting in Sharjah in 2021. The problem? Rassie van der Dussen, who top-scored with 94*, is not in South Africa's squad.
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It's a good day in St Lucia
Hello, hello! And welcome to ESPNcricinfo's coverage of what should be an epic Super Eight clash between the defending champions England and the perennial wanna-be champions South Africa.
On the face of it, they're looking good eh? Five out of five, all tense wins where they could have come undone but didn't, and now - you'd think they're up for their biggest challenge.
England have moved on from the tabloid fodder of a first round exit and have made some strong gains in net run-rate. Can they keep the curve trending upwards? We shall see.
For now, we've got this from Matt Roller on the ground:
"As you might expect, it's pretty quiet at the Daren Sammy Ground 45 mins before the toss in St Lucia's first day game. This is the fifth match here in seven days and after the locals turned out for back-to-back West Indies fixtures, it might be sparse today beyond the relatively small number of English tourists. Right now, the DJ is blaring out Fred Again over the speakers but the only people listening are the players, event staff and a handful of journalists. We're one strip over from Wednesday night which means the boundary dimensions are slightly more even... but that may bring the wind into play even more, and it's currently blowing a gale."
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