South Africa snatch victory over England in last-ball thriller
Captain Morgan holes out with seven needed Rashid and Moeen are highlights for tourists
Eoin Morgan warned England about a lack of ruthlessness when they almost messed up the final one-day international against South Africa but they did not listen and let the opening Twenty20 slip from their grasp, losing by one run.
Morgan knew who to blame. Himself. With seven runs needed off seven balls and having just slotted 16 off the first five balls of the penultimate over bowled by Beuran Hendricks to set up victory, the captain went for one last big hit off the final delivery.
But he smashed it straight down the throat of long-on, giving South Africa a chink of hope. It was a close no-ball call and Ben Stokes was shown on the big screen laughing when the third umpire ruled it a legitimate delivery after studying replays. Had the decision gone against Hendricks, a free hit would have been awarded – effectively game over. Regardless of the call, though, England should have seen this match through.
Morgan had left others to finish off the game. They failed. Lungi Ngidi bowled a superb final over under high pressure, defending seven runs by mixing up yorkers and slower balls.
Tom Curran holed out to deep midwicket off the second ball – the ball holding up in the breeze – then Moeen Ali scampered two off the fourth, leaving England three runs from the last two deliveries. But Ngidi yorked Moeen, England’s most accomplished remaining batsman. Now it was three needed off one ball, two for a super over. The crowd chanted Ngidi’s name in Zulu, the atmosphere cranked up as the home side sensed victory.
Adil Rashid squirted the ball to the leg side but was comfortably run out going for the second, sparking a firework display as Ngidi set off on a victory charge chased by his team-mates. South African cricket has not had many happy moments recently so they were not going to miss this chance to celebrate. England had collapsed from 134 for two to 176 for eight, losing their way when Jason Roy was caught off a top edge hook for 70 off 38 balls having powered his side into a match-winning position.
Normally Roy is destructive when facing seamers and weaker against spin, which is why teams often open up with a slower bowler against England. But here Roy brutally dismantled J J Smuts’s notturning left-arm spin.
He had a stroke of luck when David Miller carried the ball over the rope at long on off Smuts’s first ball conceding a six rather than taking the catch, but then it was just clinical, clean hitting. Smuts was taken for 22 in his only over, including a massive straight six that landed on the pavilion roof.
England sat in against the leftarm wrist spin of Tabraiz Shamsi and showed respect to Dale Steyn, who at the age of 36 has proved you are never too old to learn having recently honed a looping, slower ball delivered from the side of the hand.
Roy was imperious. His fifty came off 22 balls as he dominated after the loss of Jos Buttler in the power play and Jonny Bairstow lbw. At the other end, Morgan was in a calculating mood, placing the ball with precision rather than power as he and Roy combined.
Teams are rarely out of it in Twenty20 and, with Roy gone, Stokes and Joe Denly scratched around without success. Morgan is steely calm in all circumstances and started taking Hendricks apart in the 19th over, picking a slower ball and heaving it over extra cover for six but, despite his experience in such situations, he went for one hit too many.
Buffalo Park has a large playing area but the boundaries were brought in drastically and with a strong cross breeze blowing off the sea, it was a dangerous night to be a bowler. It made the performance of England’s spinners all the more impressive as they used angles to force batsmen to hit against the wind. Rashid and Moeen conceded a combined 45 from their eight overs.
England were sloppy in the field. A fumble from Denly went through his legs for four, Roy dropped a sitter off Smuts and Chris Jordan reviewed an lbw against Rassie van der Dussen that had slammed straight into the middle of the bat.
England dragged South Africa back when they threatened to compile in excess of 200 through superb death bowling from Mark Wood and Jordan. South Africa made just 17 runs losing four wickets from the final four overs.
Jordan’s final over was masterful. All six were yorkers and put him on a hat-trick when he bowled Dwaine Pretorius and Hendricks. But it just set the trend for a fine evening of death bowling with England eventually coming off worse.