MASSACRED!
England put to sword as De Villiers cuts loose
England were handed a brutal reality check at the end of what once looked a successful tour when they were outclassed in the second Twenty20 international by a demonstration of supreme power from South africa.
a score of 171 all out should have given England half a chance even on a road of a pitch and at altitude in this imposing fortress of a stadium, but it was proven to be a feeble effort by the sheer class of aB de Villiers.
The best limited-overs batsman in the world was at his most devastating on the Wanderers ground where he hit a century off 31 balls last year, this time rattling along to 71 off 29 deliveries as England buckled hopelessly under the strain.
It gave South africa their fifth successive victory against England in 50 and 20-over cricket in a fortnight to destroy so much of the good work the tourists produced in winning the Test series and taking a 2-0 one-day lead.
now England will head to India and the World Twenty20 next month with their confidence severely dented by a South africa side who, for all their transition issues at Test level, remain a formidable limitedovers force.
‘It was men against boys,’ admitted England coach Trevor Bayliss yesterday.
again, it was frenetic batting that initially did for England, as a prospective score of at least 200 turned into 29 short of that total with one of those collapses they once specialised in and which have returned with a vengeance on this tour.
Take away the explosive stand of 97 in nine overs from Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan, and England would have been thrashed even more emphatically, so dismal were they in losing their last seven wickets for 14 runs in 21 balls.
It was a procession from the riches of 157 for three that will give Morgan and Bayliss food for thought as they ponder their chances in India, starting at the top with Jason Roy, who has suffered a miserable return to the country of his birth.
Roy’s innings yesterday was horrible from the very first ball — when he was dropped by JP duminy — to his 15th when he was put out of his misery by the extra pace of Kagiso Rabada.
Joe Root threatened to take the game away from South africa but when he and alex Hales fell in successive balls — the latter the victim of a terrible piece of running from his captain — England were already close to a state of disarray.
It was then the enormous potential that remains in this line-up was demonstrated by brilliant hitting from Buttler and Morgan, who struck eight sixes between them and threatened to take England beyond 200.
Two strikes by Buttler, who reached 50 off 27 balls, were extraordinary — a pull off david Wiese and a straight hit off duminy reaching the top tiers of two of the Bull Ring’s enormous stands. But when Buttler went immediatelyi di t l afterft reachinghi hi his half-century and then Morgan was agonisingly run out backing up the very next ball, England simply had to regroup and re-assess their position.
Instead, they were like rabbits caught in the headlights and followed one another rapidly back to the pavilion.
The collapse left England a long way short of where they needed to be and any hopes they entertained of victory were dashed rapidly whenh d de Villi Villiers and dH Hashimhi amla, who finished unbeaten on 69, put the tourists’ efforts into stark perspective.
Reece Topley, who had failed to defend the 15 South africa needed from the last over of the first Twenty20 match, went for 14 off the first over on his 22nd birthday, but the most severe punishment was reserved for Chris Jordan who disappeared for a staggering 41 off his first two overs.
South africa slowed down, at least relatively, after the loss of de Villiers to adil Rashid, but it was still all over with 32 balls remaining as they put down a spectacular marker for when these sides meet in their World Twenty20 group match in Mumbai on March 18.
‘The mistakes we made were basic ones,’ said England captain Morgan. ‘Our execution with the bat was poor and we started badly with the ball and couldn’t claw it back. You can’t allow aB de Villiers to come in like that and take the game to you. It’s important we learn from this.’
England, who head for home today a chastened side, will have to do considerably better than this when they travel to India.