England crush South Africa by nine wickets to claim victory in first T20
England (143/1) beat South Africa (142/3) by nine wickets
Man of the match
... goes to Jonny Bairstow:
I'm pretty pleased. You try and progress all the time and there's a few shots in there that I didn't have 18 months ago. I'm feeling good. Who knows where we can go. I thought the lads bowled outstandingly well. It's fantastic to win - that's what it's all about.
Captains react
AB de Villiers:
It's difficult to sum up a performance like that. I reckon 20 or 30 more would have been a good total. It got a little bit slower after the new ball. I found it quite difficult - didn't time a lot of balls. It was difficult to get it off the square. It was really difficult to clear the inner ring in front of square. Maybe they [England] got the better half. From the 13th over we tried to have a go but didn't get enough. It's not done and dusted. We go to Taunton and expect a reaction.
Eoin Morgan:
To be honest I thought we were excellent. We took early wickets and put them on the back foot. I'm very impressed with the way the spinners went about their business. They never let them get away from us. Full credit to the spinners and our seamers backed it up really well at the end. If Jason (Roy) gets us off to a start like that then we're really happy. If he bats for another four or five overs he can win you a game. He is a major part of our white-ball formula going forward and we value him going forward. Jonny (Bairstow) prides himself on doing well - he's never let us down. He seems to bang on the door every single time.
Comprehensive
That was as simple a victory as you are likely to see in T20 cricket. From the moment Willey struck with the first ball of the match, England were cruising all the way. De Villiers and Behardien just could not get going - not a problem that any England batsman suffered with.
England win by nine wickets!
Just five needed now... and Bairstow levels the scores with a frankly outrageous guide off his nose to the third-man boundary for four. My God, he's good. And a single completes the job with 33 balls remaining. Bairstow finishes unbeaten on 60 (off 35 balls) with Hales on 47 (from 38 balls).
OVER 14: ENG 138/1 (Hales 47* Bairstow 55*)
Well it's almost all done at the Rose Bowl with just 14 more required for the simplest of victories. Shamsi is back with ball in had, but Bairstow steps outside leg and crashes a cover drive for four to bring up his 50 off 29 balls. It's astonishing to think he is not a guaranteed starter in every form of the game for England. Singles and twos all over the place.
OVER 13: ENG 129/1 (Hales 47* Bairstow 46*)
Time for one final push from Tahir, who is back into the attack. But Bairstow just steps back and cuts him four. He really does look in sublime nick. Hales wants to get in on the act but he skies one high, high, high, high into the air. Behardien is under it at long-on. He has to take it. He has to. But he falls over and puts it on the deck!!! Hales then adds to the misery by walloping the final ball for six over that very fielder's head!
Now you see it, now you don't. It's all gone wrong for Behardien:
OVER 12: ENG 112/1 (Hales 36* Bairstow 40*)
Pretorius continues but Bairstow looks in mighty fine form. This time he sees the bouncer coming from a million miles away, steps to the off side and hooks it for four over short fine-leg.
OVER 11: ENG 104/1 (Hales 33* Bairstow 35*)
De Villiers has thrown the ball back to Smuts, which seems slightly desperate at this stage. He doesn't have many options up his sleeve though, with an inexperienced bowling attack to juggle. Smuts' reintroduction does nothing to stem the flow of runs as Bairstow times a reverse-sweep nicely and earns four runs courtesy of a poor misfield out by the boundary rope. It all seems rather inevitable.
OVER 10: ENG 97/1 (Hales 32* Bairstow 30*)
Pretorius (another international T20 debutant) is into the attack and Hales greets him by working three runs off his pads. He's bowls right-arm medium-fast and is also pretty fine batsman, averaging 42 in first-class cricket. There is no pressure whatsoever on the England batsman though and they help themselves to 12 from the over, which ends with a cut to the third-man boundary.
OVER 9: ENG 85/1 (Hales 23* Bairstow 28*)
Shamsi is deceiving Hales nicely here with his wrong'uns, twice thudding into the pads before the England opener manages to get off strike. That allows Bairstow to head down the business end and he creams the ball straight over the bowler's head for another big six.
OVER 8: ENG 76/1 (Hales 21* Bairstow 21*)
Tahir will continue and this time it is Bairstow down on one knee, smacking the ball all the way over the mid-wicket boundary for a big six. South Africa need wickets and they need them rapidly. The runs are flowing freely - 12 off that over.
OVER 7: ENG 64/1 (Hales 20* Bairstow 10*)
Tabraiz Shamsi is on for his first bowl in international T20 cricket. He's a left-arm chinaman and is a little too short to start with but only concedes five off the over.
An aggressive start to our chase #ENGvSA
More clips: https://t.co/5rSUQ8qi6Vpic.twitter.com/vvI2UJSyg5— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 2017
OVER 6: ENG 59/1 (Hales 19* Bairstow 6*)
Tahir is on in place of Parnell... and Hales immediately MUNCHES him for six over cow corner. Bish, bash, bosh. I'm going to level with you: I cannot stand Tahir's footballer-style haircut, his silly celebrations or - worst of all - the fact that he wears number 999 when playing in the IPL. It's all wrong. Good bowler though.
OVER 5: ENG 51/1 (Hales 12* Bairstow 5*)
That just wasn't clever from Roy. He simply had no need to play that shot. No need at all. Phehlukwayo, playing his fifth ODI, is an orthodox right-arm seamer by the way - mid-80s is the pace although he hits the deck pretty hard. Bairstow is the new man and he gets of the mark by cutting fine for four.
WICKET! Roy lbw Phehlukwayo 28
South Africa are really up against it now. Phehlukwayo comes into the attack... and he strikes with his first ball! Roy attempts what can probably be described as a stupid reverse-sweepy-slap-type-thing and is hit bang in front of the stumps. No doubt about that. FOW 45/1
OVER 4: ENG 45/0 (Roy 28* Hales 11*)
You can't bowl there Mr Parnell. It's banged in short at Roy's hip and the opener just helps it on its way with a flick past the diving Mosehle. Or perhaps it came off the hip. No bother, Roy then charges down the track and whacks the ball for a huge six over the mid-on. He then paddles one for four through fine leg, tucks one straight of mid-wicket for four more and then pushes over the cover boundary! Five balls have gone for 22 runs!!! How will it finish? With a pushed single. An enormous over for England.
OVER 3: ENG 22/0 (Roy 9* Hales 11*)
De Villiers opts to give Smuts a second over and Roy responds by slog sweeping hard and high, all the way for six over square leg. Hales then skips down the track and picks up two from a thick edge that loops over the cover fielder's head. England will be happy with this start.
OVER 2: ENG 12/0 (Roy 2* Hales 8*)
Left-hander Parnell will share new ball duties and he starts with a leg-side wide before Hales jumps on a short delivery to pull for four over mid-wicket. He adds two more with a push to the sweeper at cover.
OVER 1: ENG 4/0 (Roy 2* Hales 2*)
"An odd total," is the Sky Sports pundits' verdict on South Africa's 142/3. It will be Smuts to kick things off with his skiddy slow left armers. Opening the batting and opening the bowling - not bad eh (if you ignore the fact that he got a golden duck...)? He does a pretty good job, firing in at the two right-handed batsmen and restricting them to four.
Here comes the reply
The players are out. Here we go...
South Africa close on 142/3
Considering De Villiers and Behardien shared a century partnership, England will certainly be the happier of the two sides going into the interval. The tourists just could not get going at any point - yes, there were some nice shots but they were few and far between. Crane and Dawson were brilliant for England, who will now fancy themselves to chase this. Back soon.
South Africa 142/3 off 20 overs. Good, solid platform. Plenty of batting left. Unfortunately, that's the end of their innings.
— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) June 21, 2017
OVER 20: SA 142/3 (De Villiers 65* Behardien 64*)
Jordan to bowl the final over of the innings and De Villiers is down on one knee again, sweeping him 20 rows back over the square leg boundary for six. What. A. Shot. Jordan just laughs before deceiving De Villiers with the next delivery. The England seamer has responded well to that monster shot. How will the innings end? With a single to the cover sweeper.
OVER 19: SA 131/3 (De Villiers 56* Behardien 62*)
South Africa will need a monster finish to post the type of score they would want to defend. Wood is back for his final over and some stunning work from Billings on the cover-point boundary saves a couple of runs. Behardien finds the gap with the next ball though, pulling in front of mid-wicket for four to bring up his 50, before lifting Wood straight back over his head for six. This is what the tourists wanted, but Wood comes back well to finish with two for 36 off his four overs.
OVER 18: SA 116/3 (De Villiers 56* Behardien 47*)
Can South Africa get up to 150 from these final three overs? Jordan will bowl two of them and he's on the money from the outset with his yorkers. Cracking stuff. Bang, bang, bang right in at the feet of the batsmen. Terrific bowling and just four runs off the over.
OVER 17: SA 112/3 (De Villiers 54* Behardien 45*)
Willey, into his final over now, hits De Villiers high on the splice. The South Africa captain has really struggled for timing today. Perhaps this pitch isn't quite as good as first thought. Again, Behardien hooks out to Crane at deep square-leg and, again, he gets away with it. This time the fielder isn't to blame though, diving forward with the ball falling just short. De Villiers then shows how it's done, getting down on one knee and slog sweeping the paceman for six through wide fine-leg. That's his half-century.
OVER 16: SA 102/3 (De Villiers 46* Behardien 43*)
Wood is back. Can he complete a hat-trick of first-ball wickets? No. Behardien pulls for a single and De Villiers then digs out a yorker for another single. England have bowled extremely well so far today. Finally Behardien gets hold of one, hooking hard and well for six. That was right out the middle of the bat.
OVER 15: SA 93/3 (De Villiers 45* Behardien 35*)
So the spinners are done and it's back to pace with Willey into the attack. Behardien pulls the ball high towards Crane at deep square-leg and it has to be caught... but the youngster is 10 yards in from the boundary rope and it drops over his head! It didn't even go for six! Oh dear. That should have been the breakthrough for England. The batsmen are playing their shots now. About time...
OVER 14: SA 84/3 (De Villiers 44* Behardien 27*)
Crane will also bowl out and why not? He almost picks up De Villiers as his first international wicket!! The skipper is deceived by a touch of bounce, top edging high and just over Roy at mid-on. This is fabulous bowling from the 20-year-old leg spinner. He concedes four off his final ball, but ends his spell having shipped just 24 runs. Very well done.
OVER 13: SA 78/3 (De Villiers 39* Behardien 26*)
No surprise to see Dawson bowl out here, having conceded just 12 runs from his first three overs. Some big shots must be in offing... De Villiers cuts hard for two, before inside edging an almighty heave for heave. He is starting to look just a tad desperate, the Saffa skipper. Super bowling from Dawson. No space at all for the batsmen to work with and his four overs end having cost just 17 runs.
OVER 12: SA 73/3 (De Villiers 35* Behardien 25*)
The Hampshire spin twins continue in tandem and Mason continues to impress. He's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve and is not afraid to use them up against De Villiers. I wonder when the South Africa captain is going to have a go. Just five runs off the over.
OVER 11: SA 68/3 (De Villiers 31* Behardien 24*)
Foolish running sees a very fortunate De Villiers survive when not even in the frame as Morgan's throw from short fine-leg just misses the stumps. Dawson has been right on the money today, offering nothing at all in the way of width.
OVER 10: SA 62/3 (De Villiers 27* Behardien 22*)
Mason has started his international career well, but Behardien is smartly back in his crease to work some space through mid-wicket for a couple. No easy runs off the leggie at all so far.
Ps Don't expect to much first up from young Crane but be excited & encourage the young man. The early signs look good as he gives them a rip
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) June 21, 2017
OVER 9: SA 55/3 (De Villiers 25* Behardien 17*)
Dawson is all about darts into the stumps and he almost picks up De Villiers... twice! The SA captain moves to leg to open up the off side and drives inches short of cover. He does the same thing the very next ball, this time driving just short of Dawson for a return catch. Two runs off the over.
OVER 8: SA 53/3 (De Villiers 24* Behardien 16*)
Here comes Crane for his first ever bowl in international cricket and he starts with an ambitious appeal for lbw with the ball going down leg. Crane has played just five T20 matches in his entire career. A decent amount of spin finds the outside edge, but the ball beats the close fielder to give Behardien four runs to the third-man boundary. What will De Villiers do to the newbie though? Respect. Just a push for one. Well done young man. Six runs off the over.
OVER 7: SA 47/3 (De Villiers 23* Behardien 11*)
Dawson (I'll level with you - I'd completely forgotten he was playing today) will offer a first sight of spin today with his slow left armers and he tucks the batsmen up for space right away. He's almost operating at yorker length and concedes just four singles off the over. A very tidy start.
OVER 6: SA 43/3 (De Villiers 21* Behardien 9*)
Morgan has gone from three slips to one and Behardien capitalises by working Jordan past the lone survivor of the corden for four. South Africa, aware of the precariousness of the situation, seem to have put any risks away and instead opt to knock around a few singles.
OVER 5: SA 33/3 (De Villiers 19* Behardien 1*)
This is fiery stuff from Wood, who removes Miller and then greets Behardien with a couple of nasty bouncers straight up. Oof. Cracking pace around the 90mph-mark. A lot of pressure on De Villiers now with the all-rounders at the crease already. A brilliant over with just one run conceded.
Here's that wicket:
WICKET! @MAWood33 does Miller for pace and @josbuttler takes the catch!
SA 32-3 #ENGvSA
Match centre ➡️ https://t.co/5rSUQ8qi6Vpic.twitter.com/PjNiqDVATg— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 2017
WICKET! Miller c Buttler b Wood 9
Wood changes ends and does the business with his first ball again! It's a rapid delivery that catches Miller out for pace and takes the inside edge on the way through to the keeper. FOW 32/3
OVER 4: SA 32/2 (De Villiers 19* Miller 9*)
An immediate bowling change at the Pavilion End with Jordan on in place of Wood. England will be well aware that these two blokes at the crease are the gun batsmen for South Africa. Jordan is straight into his bag of tricks, mixing it up with bouncers and cutters to deceive De Villiers on a couple of occasions before the SA captain picks up the last ball of the over and lifts it for four to the vacant extra cover boundary.
OVER 3: SA 26/2 (De Villiers 14* Miller 8*)
Ha. These two batsmen are not going to let something as trivial as a couple of wickets stop them. After De Villiers' flurry in the last over, Miller steps down the track off the first ball of Willey's second over and eases (he really does make it look so easy) him over mid-off for six. Juicy.
OVER 2: SA 18/2 (De Villiers 13* Miller 1*)
Both seamers are right on the money from their very first deliveries and Wood is rewarded with a wicket and three men in the slip corden. De Villiers will not miss out on any opportunity though, latching onto the slightest bit of width to crunch a glorious four off the back foot through point. And another boundary through extra cover. The wickets haven't stemmed the flow of runs.
WICKET! Hendricks c Willey b Wood 3
Wood has got a wicket with his first ball as well! He digs one in halfway down the track at 89mph, Hendricks eyes up the leg-side boundary but doesn't get hold of his attempted pull and loops it into the hands of Willey at mid-wicket. FOW 7/2
OVER 1: SA 7/1 (Hendricks 3* De Villiers 3*)
What a start for England! Poor old JJ Smuts becomes the first Saffa in international T20 history to be dismissed off the first ball of a match. There's plenty of swing in these early stages for Willey, but Hendricks gets off the mark with a lovely push off the back foot through extra cover for three.
Here's that wicket:
WICKET! @david_willey with the first ball of the match! #ENGvSA
Live: https://t.co/5rSUQ8qi6Vpic.twitter.com/pXU8stFxRf— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 2017
WICKET! Smuts b Willey 0
He's gone first ball of the match!!!! Willey, left arm over, is on the money right from the outset, tempting Smuts into a big off-drive only for the ball to come off the inside edge and whack straight into his stumps. What a start for England! FOW 0/1
Ready to go
It's the big one. The one they've all been waiting for...
Here come the players for South Africa vs NatWest.
Line-ups
Here are your teams:
SA bat first
AB de Villiers wins the toss and South Africa will bat first. The tourists bring in four new faces who have not yet been involved in this tour.
Eoin Morgan says he's not bothered about chasing as the pitch looks a blinder. The England captain confirms Mason Crane is the only England debutant today.
Confirmation
Mason Crane plays. Full team news coming up...
Congratulations @masoncrane32 on your first England cap! �� pic.twitter.com/KV3fInFyzE
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) 21 June 2017
Can't kick, won't kick
Breaking news: South Africa's cricket team might be the worst bunch of footballers in lackadaisical warm-up history.
The South Africa warm up is in full flow with less than an hour until the start of play. #ENGvSA from 6pm on Sky Sports 2. pic.twitter.com/ZjUvtMhslF
— Sky Sports Cricket�� (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2017
Roy-boss
0, 20, 1, 8, 4, 1, 13, 4.
Jason Roy's digits in ODIs this summer do not make pleasant viewing and resulted in his exclusion for England's Champions Trophy semi-final.
He returned to county duty last week though, hitting 92 off 81 balls to set up a huge Surrey victory in the Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final against Worcestershire, and he is likely to reclaim his place at the top of the order for England tonight.
Looks like he's not lacking in timing the ball...
.@JasonRoy20 getting ready �� #ENGvSApic.twitter.com/YSNET2uLPH
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 2017
Hot stuff
In case you were not already aware, it is currently in excess of 30 degrees at the Rose Bowl. Scorcher.
What a day for international cricket! ☀️��#ENGvSApic.twitter.com/AZtIiqtUkJ
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 2017
New era II
And what of the Saffas?
Well, it's likely to be something of an experimental line-up for the tourists as well. Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Kagiso Rabada are all being held back for the Test series, while AB de Villiers will lead the side in the absence of Faf du Plessis, whose wife is expecting their first child.
That should see the likes of Andile Phehlukwayo, Mangaliso Mosehle, Jon-Jon Smuts, Dane Paterson and Dwaine Pretorius given the chance to advance their fledgling international careers.
Things did not go to plan for South Africa or their skipper during the Champions Trophy (where they failed to advance from the group stage) and - having opted out of the forthcoming Test series - these three matches are the only remaining chances De Villiers has to score some runs in England this summer. Here's what he has been saying:
It was a tough few days after we got knocked out of the Champions Trophy. But I’ve always been a guy to see these things as an opportunity to improve and these matches do that.
I don’t have to prove anything, I just want to play. I feel like a youngster starting my career, I’m full of energy – I now want to score some runs and captain my side to a couple of wins.
New era
In fact, Mason Crane is one of five uncapped players called into England's T20 squad for this series with the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Jake Ball all rested after their Champions Trophy exertions.
Eoin Morgan has confirmed that all five (the others are Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton) will be given some playing time over the next week, although the suggestion is that Mason might be the only one of them to feature today.
Here's a little something that Nick Hoult wrote about some of the new boys (and Sam Billings):
Spin hope
Who is this Mason Crane? Allow our cricket news correspondent Nick Hoult to explain:
England have called up Hampshire leg-spinner Mason Crane for the Twenty20 series against South Africa.
Crane’s first international call up was announced by the selectors and continues his rapid rise through the ranks. The 20 year-old only made his first team debut for Hampshire two years ago but has since become one of the most exciting spin bowling prospects in the country.
Last winter he became the first overseas cricketer for 30 years to play Sheffield Shield for New South Wales and starred in the north v south matches in the UAE watched by England coach Trevor Bayliss and director of cricket Andrew Strauss.
The selectors were angered by Hampshire’s decision to leave him out of the first three rounds of Championship matches but after a consistent run of form in the Royal London Cup he has played four first-class matches.
Are. You. Ready?
Right, hands up who knew this match was taking place today.
I mean, I suspect most of us were aware that England and South Africa were due to play T20s at some point. But in terms of when - I dunno, maybe at the end of the Test series. Or just some unspecified time in the future. But now???
Surely I can't be the only one who's been taken by surprise. And it's literally my job.
Now that I have come back down to earth after that shock news I'm rather looking forward to it. Mainly because of one young man: Mason Crane.
Match preview
What is it?
It's the first of three T20 matches between England and South Africa. This one takes place at the Rose Bowl.
When is it?
It's on Wednesday June 21.
What time does it start?
The first ball will be bowled, weather permitting, at around 6.30pm BST.
What TV channel is it on?
Sky Sports will be broadcasting each of the three matches. This one is on Sky Sports 2, with coverage beginning at 6.00pm. Should you not have access to Sky Sports, you can follow all the action right here on this live blog.
What is the team news?
England will pick from the following:
Squad: Eoin Morgan* , Jonny Bairstow (first two matches of series), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton (last two matches of series), Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy, David Willey, Mark Wood (first match of series)
What are they saying?
England captain Eoin Morgan:
This is an opportunity, we don't have a T20 World Cup for two and a bit years, until 2020, so it is an opportunity particularly when the senior players are rested, to have a look at these new guys.
We have had two sessions together, the potential the guys have is huge. The reports back we are getting form the start of the season and the North-South games, the guys did impress.
The positive is we do have strength in depth and now matching that with opportunity is something we will see in the series.
What are the odds?
England win: 8/11
South Africa win: 11/10
What's our prediction?
England to sneak this first one - but expect it to be incredibly tight.
