It was a case of so near yet so far for South Africa once again. They fought tooth and nail and pushed Australia all the way, but couldn’t get over the line. Despite losing, South Africa had a lot to gain and one of their notable performers with ball in hand was Corbin Bosch. Corbin Bosch may have missed out with the bat in hand, but came to the party with the ball as his wickets kept South Africa’s glimmer of hopes alive.
We all know Corbin Bosch is a great striker with the ball, but with bat in hand he missed out and could muster only 1. But with the ball in hand, he stood up and be counted as his spell especially wickets in the end overs kept South Africa’s slender hopes alive before Maxwell won it for the home team. Bosch used his height and more importantly the pace to great effect to get the job done as the faster balls were troubling the batters.
Corbin Bosch’s 3-wicket haul almost floors Australia
Corbin Bosch failed to live up to expectations with bat in hand as he couldn’t finish the job and he knew a target of 173 was at best a par score and not a winning score. But South Africa know how to fight and they did so although Bosch was the last bowler to be introduced into the attack. He was the 6th and final bowler to be called onto bowl and he came out with flying colours. He first knocked over Josh Inglis for a golden duck and we know Inglis can be dangerous.
Then he kept bowling well and did not give much runs away. He was one of the few bowlers who kept Maxwell quiet as well bowling at the right lines and lengths and with the ideal pace. While the other South African bowlers went for runs, Bosch kept things tight and it was his wickets in the end overs that brought South Africa back in the game. Australia managed to bring the equation down to 12 off 12 balls and we thought it will be a cakewalk for the home side. But the game had a twist thanks to Bosch.
He got rid of Ben Dwarshuis by knocking him over for 1 and then bowled a fuller length delivery to get rid of Nathan Ellis for a golden duck as he was on a hat-trick at this point. Adam Zampa did well to negotiate the last two balls but Bosch gave away 2 runs and picked up 2 wickets in that particular over and made sure Australia needed 10 off 6 balls which Glenn Maxwell achieved it to provide heartbreak to Proteas fans once again.
But it was his spell that almost floored Australia as he finished with 3/26 but the Aussies showed great resolve and character to win the contest by 2 wickets with a ball to spare. It was heart-breaking for Bosch but that is how cricket is played.
Corbin Bosch’s Performance in Recent Times
Corbin Bosch has had a decent series with ball in hand for South Africa. He picked up 3/26 in the third game and before that as well he had another three-wicket haul as he picked up 3/20 in Game 2 after being expensive in Game 1. He had a decent Tri-Series in Zimbabwe as he has picked regular wickets. It is still early days in his T20I career as he has picked up 8 wickets in 7 games with an economy rate of 8.19 and average of 26.62.
But Bosch is managing to get in performances now for the senior side and he is also pushing for a place in the marquee 2026 T20 World Cup to be played in the Indian sub-continent. Bosch can and should be treated as an all-rounder as he can strike big by using the long handle. He needs to be consistent with bat in hand and finish games off whenever required and the way he bowled in the last two games augurs well for him and South Africa looking at the bigger picture.
Corbin Bosch will definitely push for a place in the T20I side for the marquee event. South Africa have games before that to fine tune their squad. If Bosch can continue taking wickets the way he is doing, then we feel he will make the trip to the sub-continent for the multi-nation event. Let’s see how things pan out for him.
What Lies Ahead
The stage is set for the ODI series to get underway after the highly competitive T20I series ended 2-1 in favour of hosts Australia. The first ODI will be held at Cairns on August 19th at 10AM IST as South Africa is set to be led by Temba Bavuma while Mitchell Marsh will lead Australia in ODIS as well.
Who will come out on top is anyone’s guess at the moment? Will Australia continue their winning run or will South Africa create history by winning a series in Australia after a long time? Only time will tell as we expect closely contested games in the ODI series as well.
Also Read: AUS vs SA: Questions Aplenty On Future Of Marcus Stoinis T20I Career