England’s new boys seal victory
Quickfire 78 puts total beyond South Africa Crane makes De Villiers first international wicket
Perhaps, in the midst of a packed English summer, this was neither the grandest stage nor the most memorable occasion. And perhaps, when the time comes to review 2017 in English cricket, this series will not – with the best will in the world – feature all that highly. After all, you can hardly describe it as a marquee series when your captain decides to sit out the decider.
But England have won it, and won it convincingly, overpowering South Africa to take the honours 2-1. And in one household, at least, this was a game that will be remembered fondly and well. England’s 19-run victory was crafted by an innings of rare assurance and precision violence by Dawid Malan on debut.
The Middlesex left-hander has been one of the most destructive hitters in the county game over the last couple of years, and is a late starter to international cricket at the age of 29. But from his second ball, which he pulled for six, it was clear he was making up for lost time.
Cardiff ’s short straight boundaries encouraged the South African bowlers to bang the ball in, bringing it right into Malan’s hitting zone. He pulled and cut superbly, put Morne Morkel into the River Taff and, by the time he finally holed out at long-on for 78 off 44 balls, the Cardiff crowd were on their feet to acclaim an innings that rivals Ben Hollioake’s knock against Australia in 1997 as one of the great England limited-overs debuts.
Malan’s jet-powered start partially vindicated Eoin Morgan’s decision to excuse himself. There was a certain puzzlement in the Cardiff crowd when Jos Buttler and not Morgan strode out for the toss at two o’clock. Morgan had decided to put his feet up for the day, resting himself in order that – as the official line had it – Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone could have another go in the middle-order.
“It is a big call,” Morgan admitted. “But we haven’t been shy of making big calls in the past. This series is an important part of our development and we recognise it as a big opportunity to have a look at a younger group of players. It’s a call you have to make looking to the long-term.”
As it happened, Livingstone was out first ball. But on the whole, Engde land can take enough heart from the series for it to have been a putatively worthwhile exercise. Malan aside, Tom Curran again bowled with aggression and maturity, and Mason Crane recovered brilliantly from a collaring by AB de Villiers to get him out and swing the match decisively England’s way.
The only real shame is that Somerset’s Craig Overton failed to get a chance, despite Morgan claiming that the entire squad would be given a game. England’s total was maybe 15 short, as they failed to recover from Malan’s dismissal in the 14th over.
Captain Buttler wrestled an ugly 31 but South Africa’s death bowling, as at Taunton, was brilliant. Dane Paterson’s final 10 balls produced just two runs and four wickets. But England recaptured the momentum by taking two early South African wickets and, at the halfway stage of the chase, South Africa still required 118. The 11th over, bowled by Crane, proved the pivotal moment of the game.
Villiers, taking a ravenous liking to the young leg-spinner, hit its first three balls for a four and two sixes. Crane bit his lip. The game, and very possibly his nascent international career, hung in the balance.
All very well prising out county journeymen at Southampton, son. But what do you do when the world’s finest batsman is eating you for breakfast?
It was the greatest challenge of Crane’s career to date. But when De Villiers stepped up to sweep the final ball of the over, the contact was not quite right. Crane had floated the ball just a little higher, daring De Villiers to hit him again. The ball arced towards deep square leg, where Alex Hales took a leaping catch just inside the rope.
In an instant, Crane was airborne, arms pumping and jerking like a malfunctioning robot. “Come on!” he shouted, tearing towards backward point in bounds and jumps. It was his first international wicket, and all of a sudden a game that appeared in the balance was England’s for the taking. More than that, though, Crane had stared into the abyss, and found a way back. This kid might well have something.
The following over, Chris Jordan snaffled the dangerous David Miller, and South Africa’s fleeting challenge had peaked. There was still time for Mangaliso Mosehle and Andile Phehlukwayo to have a little dart, ruining David Willey’s figures by taking his last two overs for 34. But the match was secure. And so was England’s No 2 position in the world rankings, as they prepare for the transition from white ball to red and pink.