It was mildly absurd in one sense, a day of rain showers in Cardiff turning the first T20 international between England and South Africa into a shortened thrash that did not get under way until 8.50pm.
But the hardy spectators who stuck around were at least rewarded for their patience with something resembling a match; a bit of fun, chiefly, albeit one that now sees the tourists go into Friday’s second outing at Old Trafford with a 1-0 lead in this three-match end-of-summer series.
The result was a 14-run victory for South Africa via Duckworth-Lewis-Stern and thus how they got there requires some explaining. This was initially set up as a nine-over contest, only for a further shower to cut short the tourists’ innings at 97 for five from 7.5. With any extra time already spent, the upshot was England being tasked with chasing 69 in just five overs.
It proved too great an ask, ultimately, with the need for Harry Brook’s side to go hard from the outset resulting in a succession of mis-hit dismissals caught in the ring. In the end, despite Jos Buttler clearing the rope three times for an 11-ball 25, they stuttered to 54 for five from their allocation.
“It was a bit of a shambles of a night,” said Brook, unhappy that the match went ahead and still stewing on a fourth-ball duck. “You can’t take much from that. It was very wet but that’s down to the match officials , we don’t get to decide.” Kudos to South Africa, who put a low price on their wickets and cleared the rope nine times after being inserted. Aiden Markram led the charge with 28 from 14, before Dewald Brevis, 23 from 10, and Donovan Ferreira, 25 not out from 11, ensured an early wobble was not ruinous. Even with a short straight hit available at Sophia Gardens, all three are serious ball-strikers.
And save for one ultimately inconsequential drop off Sam Curran late on in the chase, the tourists held their nerve in the field. Kagiso Rabada struck with his first ball of the tour , he missed the ODIs with an ankle issue , followed by two wickets apiece for Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch. Despite the drop in overs, two bowlers could still send down two apiece.
England named a spin-heavy XI a day out from the match but given the quickfire nature of the contest, there was a strong case to bring in a fourth seamer. There was also the risk of injury on the greasy outfield to consider, not least for a player like Jofra Archer so close to the winter’s Ashes tour.
Not that Brook could say as much when he won the toss, elected to bowl first, and announced Luke Wood for Archer as the one change. “We felt like we wanted Luke to come in and hit the poles early with his swing,” said the England captain, as if this was a genuine tactical switch rather than a precious commodity being stuck in bubble wrap.
Still, despite the implication he was more expendable, Wood delivered the impact that Brook ordered (if not the stumplosion) with figures of two for 22 from two overs. First went Ryan Rickelton with the second ball of the match, caught behind off a ball that hooped away, then Lhuan-dre Pretorius in Wood’s second over courtesy of a fine diving catch by Brook at mid-off.
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It felt like a statement catch from the England captain, having seen two chances go down off Markram. Either way, a response from his fielders followed, with some slick work in the deep followed by Wood holding a fine swirling effort off Markram. As well as handing Adil Rashid a wicket, it reduced South Africa to 37 for three from 3.4 overs.
Enter Brevis, the wunderkind fresh from securing a record £700,000 contract in the SA20 a day earlier and celebrating with three audacious sixes that put the tourists back in the ascendancy. That was until Curran came on for his first England appearance this year and induced a skewed wipe to short third courtesy of a 51mph slower ball.
But despite the further loss of Tristan Stubbs to a Jamie Overton yorker, Ferreira continued with the long-handle and South Africa had muscled their way to a strong total. When Phil Salt followed an earlier drop by pulling Rabada’s first ball to long leg, it set the tone for what was to follow.
