*** Official*** South Africa in England 2017

[grecian]

TBH, us getting Behardien out nearly lost us the game. Poor first 10 overs too. Will be interesting if we go majorly different in the next match.

Billings, Bairstow and Willey for Roy, Root (give him a rest FFS), Ball for me. Maybe rest Wood too.

 

[Burner]

This has actually been good preparation from South Africa. They've selected Behardien, fielded ****ly and had a choke big enough to satisfy their appetite for the whole year. They are ready for the big thing.

 

[ImpatientLime]

lol at all these original comments, must have taken a long time to think of it

probably as long as it took for south africa to decide to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[ImpatientLime]

not getting jake ball though.

i'm no mark wood fan but understand why england are persisting with him.

ball just has nothing exceptional to his game. just runs in, hits a length and gets murdered. was like watching phehlukwayo again.

 

[burr]

This has actually been good preparation from South Africa. They've selected Behardien, fielded ****ly and had a choke big enough to satisfy their appetite for the whole year. They are ready for the big thing.

Surely the point is they can't win big things. No matter their preparation.

 

[Gnske]

Wow that looks like a disaster. Not even bowled out and they fall 2 runs short?

What is this, 2007?

 

[Energetic]

England have become one of the best ODI sides in the world now regardless of what the rankings say. Their batting gives me nightmares. They are one of the few sides that can start hitting boundaries from the first ball: their batting quality and depth is immense. Bowling is actually mediocre, but that doesn't matter considering they can rack up the runs. They will definitely reach the final. I actually won't be surprised if it's a repeat of the last Champions Trophy final between India and England, and I have a funny feeling India will retain it somehow.

 

[morgieb]

Yeez, that's a nasty choke. If you're 5 down at the end of an innings you really should've chased down the target in modern ODI's.

 

[Prince EWS]

South Africa likely would've won if Behardien had got himself out first ball, or even hung around for five or six ball duck. One of the all time terrible innings.

 

[weldone]

South Africa likely would've won if Behardien had got himself out first ball, or even hung around for five or six ball duck. One of the all time terrible innings.

It was a terrible inning alright, but the ending was unbelievable - they needed 9 runs off 9 balls with 5 wickets remaining and they lost without losing any wicket - not sure when was the last time I saw such an ending

 

[Niall]

South Africa likely would've won if Behardien had got himself out first ball, or even hung around for five or six ball duck. One of the all time terrible innings.

Up there with this?

2nd T20I: South Africa v West Indies at Johannesburg, Jan 11, 2015 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[YorksLanka]

Well done England, looking really good at the moment..the attacking intention is really entertaining to watch..Morgan has silenced his critics hopefully..

 

[Energetic]

AB should bat at 4. He needs to lower his strike rate a bit, so South Africa will win all the games. He is equivalent to 2 specialist batsman. South Africa bowling attack looks one of the weakest to me.

 

[harsh.ag]

He's batting at 4.

 

[Black_Warrior]

South Africa will need someone from their top 4 of Amla, QDK, Faf or AB to carry on and finish the game if they are to win games chasing. Their lower order is hopeless.

And just to highlight Miller at closing games

2nd ODI: South Africa v Pakistan at Port Elizabeth, Nov 27, 2013 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[StephenZA]

South Africa will need someone from their top 4 of Amla, QDK, Faf or AB to carry on and finish the game if they are to win games chasing. Their lower order is hopeless.

And just to highlight Miller at closing games

2nd ODI: South Africa v Pakistan at Port Elizabeth, Nov 27, 2013 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

I'm not gonna blame Miller on that one... that was all Duminy.

Simply put SA have NO number 6 anywhere in SA domestic structure that is consistently finishing off innings, while people keep talking smack about Berhardien he has been the best at it for his franchise. So based on current form SA has nobody else they could pick. We have top order batsmen galore though, getting into SA top order is a pretty tough task though! This is why I keep saying we need to bat ABdV at 5 cause he is the only one who has the ability to consistently finish innings. This is also why Morris at 7 is needed.

We do have a couple of youngsters that have potential but that does not help us for this CT.

As for the bowling, listening to Boucher and the Supersport team here in SA, after the last game. I have been convinced that we should play Maharaj and Tahir, along with Morkel, Rabada and Morris. The rest just are not penetrative enough to take wickets in the middle overs.

 

[StephenZA]

I Rabada....

 

[Tom Flint]

Such a risk closing the face of the bat to the new ball trying to play a straight one through mid wicket. No blame on root though as he usually plays it so well but always is a risky shot, especially in conditions like today

 

[Howe_zat]

that wasn't part of the plan

 

[fredfertang]

It's very considerate of England to think about me but I am quite happy to take time out of this game when the play off final starts - they don't have to get the game over by 3 o'clock