Bairstow stars again as England beat South Africa in first T20
BRISTOL: Jonny Bairstow’s excellent season continued as he made 90 in England’s 41-run win over South Africa in the 1st T20 international at Bristol on Wednesday.
Moeen Ali compiled England’s quickest T20 fifty, off just 16 balls, in the hosts’ 234-6 -- their second highest total at this level behind the 241-3 they posted against New Zealand at Napier in 2019.
“It was a great performance, what we’ve been looking for, a brilliant total, we were under threat for a while but delighted with the win,” England T20 captain Jos Buttler told Sky Sports.
Moeen, the plyer of the match, added: “Generally I back myself, try to see it and hit it. Jonny is so powerful, I try to remind him of the good things he does.”
But amid the 20 sixes in England’s innings, Proteas quick Lungi Ngidi took an excellent 5-39, his career best T20 international figures.
England’s Reece Topley then struck twice in the second over to reduce South Africa to 7-2, the in-form left-arm quick removing dangerman Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw.
South Africa were 86-4 in the 10th over, with Reeza Hendricks having made 57 off 33 balls, when Tristan Stubbs hauled them back into the game with a brilliant maiden T20 international fifty off just 19 balls, including six soaring sixes.
Even allowing for a good pitch and a relatively small ground, it was a superb display of ball-striking by the 21-year-old Stubbs.
But with South Africa needing 54 off 18 balls, pace man chris jordan conceded just three runs, with Andile Phehlukwayo defeated by several yorkers.
It was a decisive over, with South Africa also paying dearly for several fielding errors earlier in the match.
“CJ (Jordan) changed the momentum of the game, a brilliant over,” said Buttler.
Stubbs launched Richard Gleeson to long-off as a brilliant innings of 72 off just 28 balls came to an end, with South Africa finishing on 193-8.
“They demolished us in the last 10 (overs) but we dropped four or five catches which cost us massively in the field,” said South Africa T20 captain David Miller.
“It was a phenomenal knock by Stubbsy, an extremely disappointing result but there’s another two (matches) to get it right.”
The last thing South Africa needed to do was help Bairstow on his way.
But in his first short-form appearance for eight months, he was missed on 12, 57 and 72 as Heinrich Klaasen, Rossouw and Hendricks fumbled catches in the deep.