It was so near yet so far for hosts England at the Mecca of Cricket at Lord’s as they went down fighting by 5 runs to South Africa to lose the series 2-0 with a game to spare. England who were absolutely hammered in the first game fought really hard and took South Africa to the limit. But the Proteas did well to hang on and eke out a nervy 5-run win. While it was jubilation for South Africa as they won another ODI series, England had a few areas they still need to work on and we will list three reasons for their loss to South Africa.
Conceding 90 runs in the final 10 overs pegged England back
England won the toss and elected to bowl first. While they did not get a wicket in the first powerplay of 10 overs, the hosts came back well in the middle phase and chipped away at the wickets keeping the run rate down. While South Africa also played well through Matthew Breetzke who scored a fine 85, England had the run rate under control. South Africa after 40 overs had 240 runs on the board and England would have hoped to concede as less runs as possible.
England to their credit picked up a bunch of wickets in the death overs but runs were also flowing from Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch to name a few. It meant that South Africa got to their highest score at Lord’s and second highest overall at the venue getting to 330/8. At one stage, yes 350 looked possible and England pegged it back a bit. But 330 was still a huge score to be put on the board and it needed a record chase at Lord’s to achieve this feet.
The fact of the matter is England conceded 90 runs in overs 31-40 as well. So, 180 runs were scored in the back 20 overs which is quite a lot. We know England’s bowling is not the best and not their strength, but in a game of fine margins which was the case here, a little better bowling may have made sure that England end on the right side of the result. 5 runs is a narrow margin and had England restricted South Africa to even 320, it was their game but it was not to be. England needs to address these issues as quickly as possible.
Losing both openers cheaply hurt England at the start
Chasing 331 for a series-levelling win, it was important that England get a platform and get off to a solid start. But it was far from the truth as Jamie Smith was dismissed first ball by Nandre Burger. His opening partner Ben Duckett may have scored 14 but he lacked timing and looked really scratchy out there. He was eventually dismissed for 14 off 33 balls with a boundary to his name.
This meant that England lost two early wickets in the chase and they had to rebuild a bit. They couldn’t get off to an accelerating start. Yes, England recovered through Joe Root and then Jacob Bethell with others after that trying their best but to no avail in the end. It was important that one of the openers ideally gets a big score in a run chase like this, if not a big score at least a fifty and solid foundation, but England failed to have that and credit to South Africa for bowling well at them.
Going forward, England needs their opening partnership to fire in all cylinders to lay the platform and make things easier for the middle and lower middle order. While Smith got a fifty in Game 1, Duckett has been in horrible form in the last two games, and needs to step up soon. Let’s see if in Southampton on Sunday England gets these things right and performs as a unit to avoid the possibility of a whitewash.
Losing wickets at the wrong time hurt England in the chase
Despite the early setbacks, England roared back in the contest and fought till the end. First Joe Root and Jacob Bethell with the partnership of 77 off 64 balls brought England back in the game with Bethell the aggressor of the two. But the problem was England lost wickets at the wrong time which added to the pressure. First Bethell fell and then Root also fell soon after both at the wrong time.
Then captain Harry Brook joined forces with former captain and keeper batter Jos Buttler and the duo put on 69 runs off 70 balls in no time before Brook too fell to leave the game open. Jos Buttler the finisher of the England team added 40 off 36 balls with Will Jacks before he too fell for 61. Jacks and Carse added 32 off 21 balls before both fell in quick succession. Jofra Archer tried his best with the bat towards the end, took the game deep but fell short in the end.
Cricket is a game of fine margins, and England missed out on these clutch moments in the chase of 331. The batters failed to finish the innings under pressure as they choked. It is known that England plays the pressure moments better but that was definitely not the case at Lord’s. Going forward in Southampton on Sunday, England needs to play the one percenters better and seize the opportunity of closing the game whenever there is one. It was a much improved performance from the first ODI but still not enough to take them over the line.
What Lies Ahead.
So, South Africa have won the series 2-0 with a game to spare. The 3rd and final ODI of this series is set to be played at Southampton on Sunday 7th September at 3:30 PM IST which means it is a day game. South Africa will want to complete the whitewash 3-0 against England while England would like to avoid that in their home ground by coming out strongly against the visitors.
Which team will come out on top on Sunday? Only time will tell in a couple of days time in Southampton with all still to play for in a dead rubber if you may call it that.
Also Read: ENG vs SA: Can The Proteas Win This Series Without Even Having To Wait Till Their Final Match?