England fall short in thriller after Roy wicket controversy

Batsman given out for obstructing the field South Africa’s last-ball victory sets up decider

A leisurely stroll in the park that somehow turned into a scuffle in the grass. Somehow, improbably, South Africa won it, and remain alive in the series despite only really bothering to turn up halfway through it. In near total darkness at Taunton, they found the extra gear and the pinpoint yorkers required to cripple England’s chase at the knees.

Chasing South Africa’s 174, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow seemed to have matters well under control with a second-wicket stand of 110. With seven overs remaining, 51 runs required and nine wickets remaining, there was little sign of the carnage to follow. But after Bairstow’s exit the match turned on Roy’s bizarre dismissal, given out obstructing the field after the third umpire judged he had deliberately impeded Andile Phehlukwayo’s throw to avoid being run out.

It was the first time such a dismissal had occurred in Twenty20 international cricket, an unhappy moment of history for England, who never really recovered their poise after Roy’s departure, despite the best efforts of debutant Liam Livingstone. In fact, perhaps the only Englishmen to leave Taunton truly satisfied were the staff at Somerset, whose first England one-day international since 1983 passed off with queues stretching around the block, no organisational hiccups and a cracking finish to boot.

South Africa, meanwhile, deserved all the credit for making a game of it.

Chris Morris deservedly claimed the man-of-the-match award after his last two overs went for just five runs, which would have been a considerable feat even if he had not been bowling on one of the finest batting surfaces in the country. In a sense, South Africa’s bowlers got their batsmen out of jail; their total had looked at least 25 short, with only AB de Villiers cutting loose.

For England, there was an encouraging debut for Surrey fast bowler Tom Curran, who was well worth his three wickets. He certainly enjoyed a better day than Chris Jordan, whose ledger read thus: one ball let through his legs for four, three wides in his first over, one dropped catch off his bowling and one dropped catch of his own, a sharp chance at mid-off that ended up hitting him in the face. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say: not your day, son.

Meanwhile, De Villiers was beginning to motor. Like a teenage Glastonbury reveller, he had decided to go hard and go early. A couple of scruffy fours got him going, and by the time he had played his trademark shuffle-sweep, lifting the ball over the pavilion and into the River Tone, he looked menacingly well-set. But knowing that AB’S juices were flowing, David Willey held the next ball back a touch, tempting him into a giant mow that skewed to mid-off.

For England, there were few early alarms with the bat, despite the early loss of Sam Billings, replacing the rested Alex Hales at the top of the order. For that simply brought in Bairstow, the man in golden touch.

One straight drive, on the up, was so perfectly timed that it passed within a yard of the bowler, Phehlukwayo, without him being able to do a thing about it. Yet if Bairstow’s hitting was a revelation, then Roy was at least matching him. He reached his half-century off 33 balls with a towering six over longon.

In the 14th over Bairstow again tried to clear the infield, but this time he failed to get enough elevation, chipping a catch to mid-on. That brought in Livingstone on debut, a Cumbrian with a reputation for clean striking and straight talking. And it certainly takes a high level of gall to ramp-sweep your third ball in international cricket over your shoulder, but then Livingstone has always been the sort of player who is elevated rather than diminished by the occasion. His mere presence seemed to offend Morris immensely, who treated Livingstone to a few choice words on arrival.

Morris was still ticking in his next over, when Livingstone knocked the ball to point and Roy tried to sneak a quick single, only to be sent back.

As he scrambled to make his ground, the throw hit him in the back of the leg. Immediately the South African fielders threw their arms aloft in unison, and after a moment’s confusion, dead ball was called and the third umpire’s opinion sought.

The decision for Tim Robinson was whether Roy had deliberately diverted his run to impede the throw, or whether it was his natural turning circle that had somehow swung him all the way from one side of the wicket to another.

After a minute’s deliberation, the decision came down. Out.

Roy was furious, and to be perfectly honest the entire episode had failed to subdue Morris any either. New batsman Jos Buttler, wildly acclaimed on his Taunton homecoming, was forced to weather a torrid over, which nonetheless had swung the contest back towards South Africa.

With two overs remaining, 21 were still required.

Eoin Morgan struck his second ball past mid-on for four. But when he tried to pull off the same trick next ball, the England captain chipped a catch to De Villiers, who had barely glimpsed the ball at all in the gloom. Twelve runs were required off the last, to be bowled by Phehlukwayo. The first three balls were all singles. Livingstone flipped the fourth to fine leg, went for a non-existent second, and was run out.

Dawson levered his arms under the fifth ball and swung it over midoff for four. But he swung and missed at the sixth, and from the jaws of defeat, South Africa had their victory. Cardiff beckons tomorrow, and a series that looked like becoming a procession has suddenly erupted.