Roy’s bizarre exit costs England dear
Taunton, June 24: Jason Roy’s bizarre dismissal turned the second Twenty20 International’s South Africa’s way as the Proteas won by just three runs at Taunton on Friday.
The narrow victory at Somerset's headquarters saw South Africa level the three-match series at 1-1 as bounced back from a ninewicket defeat by England at Southampton two days earlier to set-up a winner-takes-all clash in Cardiff on Sunday.
England were on course for an unbeatable 2-0 lead while Roy (67) and Jonny Bairstow (47) shared a second-wicket stand of 110.
But when Roy was given out obstructing the field — the first time this had happened in a T20 international — the innings fell away.
England’s cause was not helped by batting second under increasingly dark skies in a match that started at 4 pm local time despite a lack of floodlights on the ground, although home skipper Eoin Morgan did field first after winning the toss.
A target of 12 off the last over became four off the last ball after Liam Dawson hit Andile Phehlukwayo for a boundary. But he could
not repeat
Roy was given out obstructing the field — the first time this has happened in a T20 international
the trick and South Africa had a morale-boosting victory to follow their firstround exit at the 50-over Champions Trophy, with this win achieved despite the absence of coach Russell Domingo, who had flown home after his mother was involved in a traffic accident.
Durban-born Roy, dropped from England's Champions Trophy semifinal loss to Pakistan after a run of low scores, was in superb form. He struck nine fours and went to his fifty with a six against spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.
Bairstow fell first, chipping man-of-the-match Chris Morris (2/18) to midon. And then came the turning point.
Roy veered dramatically off a straight course, with the result he placed himself between the incoming throw from Phehlukwayo, which hit him on the heel,
and the stumps. South Africa appealed and, after onfield umpires Rob Bailey and Michael Gough referred the decision, Roy was given out by TV umpire Tim Robinson, the former England opening batsman. Roy was clearly aghast but Morgan insisted it had been a “50-50 call”. “Everyone in the changing room thought it could go either way, so it's not massively controversial,” Morgan told reporters. You can see why the umpires gave him out.” —AFP Scores: South Africa 174/8 in 20 overs (Smuts 45, de Villiers 46, Curran 3/33) bt England 171/6 in 20 overs (Roy 67, Bairstow 47).