Hosts England have gotten off to a flier after South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first. England who have already lost the series and are down 0-2 in the series are fighting for pride and trying to avoid the whitewash. On a good pitch and slightly overcast conditions, England have given a good account of themselves and are in good position to post a good total.
Play started 15 minutes late due to a sharp shower after toss, but once it did, there was no trouble for the English batters as they scored without breaking a sweat and are in pole position to score a lot of runs. They will need it as well as England needs to score an above par score considering the bowling contingent that they are working with. The fifth bowling options consists of part-timers so a good score is needed.
England get off to a roaring start despite losing Ben Duckett in the powerplay
Put into bat first under slightly overcast conditions, Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett walked out to bat while Nandre Burger had ball in hand for South Africa. Burger started off well as Smith’s upper cut almost carried to third man fielder but it fell short of him. Codi Yusuf on debut bowled from the other end and started decently as well. Duckett got the first boundary of the game away by hitting Burger for a boundary through square leg.
Jamie Smith got into the act as he hit Burger for consecutive boundaries one through covers and one through midwicket. Duckett then took on the debutant Yusuf hitting him for boundaries through deep third man as runs started to flow for England. He hit him through point for a boundary again. Smith was complimenting Duckett well by hitting a boundary through covers. Smith also hit Yusuf for a boundary through forward square leg.
Corbin Bosch came into the attack as Duckett slapped him past diving backward point for a boundary. Two balls later another boundary was hit by Duckett through mid-on. Smith hit Yusuf past mid-off for another boundary as South Africa lost control with the ball. Duckett slapped him through the point region for another boundary. But against the run of play, Bosch got rid of Duckett for 31 off 33 balls with 6 fours to his name.
Bosch bowled a hard length delivery outside off-stump with extra bounce off the surface and the away angle. Duckett looked to pull it away and got a top edge to the right of short midwicket where Aiden Markram took the catch. Joe Root came into bat next and got off the mark with a triple. Wiaan Mulder came into the attack and gifted a ball on the legs, Root flicked him for a boundary through the fine leg region. England were great and steady at 67/1 in 10 overs after the mandatory powerplay.
Jamie Smith gets a reprieve and carries England forward with Root till Drinks
There was a big moment in the game post the powerplay. England were 68/1 and Jamie Smith was batting on 23 when he got a leading edge and hit it uppishly to Matthew Breetzke at extra cover who put down a sitter as the dimunitive right-hander got a reprieve. He will surely make South Africa regret now as in the next over he hit Mulder for a boundary through vacant fine leg through a loose ball.
Smith next took on Bosch as he hooked him over fine leg for the maximum. The next ball from Bosch went for a boundary through mid-on. Soon, Smith hit another boundary through mid-off and extra cover as England brought up their 100 in 13.4 overs. Smith brought up his fifty off 38 balls with a brace behind square on the leg side. Keshav Maharaj came into the attack as Smith was in his zone to flick him past midwicket for a boundary.
Mulder bowled a decent 16th over as England reached 116/1 in 16 overs and players took break as the Umpires called for the Drinks Break.
Joe Root and Jacob Bethell drive England forward after Jamie Smith falls as England reaches 179/2 in 25 overs
Keshav Maharaj struck after the Break as Jamie Smith was dismissed for 62 off 48 balls with 9 fours and a maximum to his name. Maharaj bowled a length delivery outside off-stump to which Smith ran down the pitch and looked to go big but he mistimed it completely off the leading edge to long-on where Corbin Bosch did well to come in from the fence to complete the catch. Jacob Bethell came out to bat at 4.
Bethell soon got himself going by hitting a boundary between fine leg and deep square leg. Bethell soon took on Maharaj and deposited him down the ground for the maximum even as Root was slowly building his innings. Burger came back and bowled a decent over. Bethell once again took Maharaj on and hit him through cover point for a boundary. The 150 came up for England in 21.3 overs and now have a solid base to get to a big total. Bethell pulled it in front of square for a boundary.
Bethell reverse swept Maharaj for a boundary through backward point region. He was the aggressor of the two as Bethell once again hit Yusuf through third man for a boundary. Bosch bowled a decent 25th over with a few wides in it as England reached 179/2 in 25 overs at the halfway stage of the innings and looked good to get a huge total.
What Lies Ahead
So, England are in a commanding position and would like to drive home the advantage. With 25 overs to go, and 8 wickets in hand, they will aim for somewhere around 350 as a minimum. We feel they will get somewhere around 370-380. South Africa needs wickets in clusters and must hold their catches in particular to come back in the game and keep England down to 320-330 as that is bare minimum at this stage.
So, the stage is set for England to score a humungous total and put pressure on South Africa as they look to avoid the whitewash in Southampton.
Also Read: ENG vs SA: Will This Series End In A Clean Sweep Or Can England Get Revenge?