Recent Match Report - South Africa vs England 2nd Test 2022

England 111 for 3 (Bairstow 38*, Crawley 17*) trail South Africa 151 (Rabada 36, Anderson 3-32, Broad 3-37) by 40 runs

Already you can sense England warming to the thrill of the chase, and the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford isn't yet 90 overs old. On another flawed, but captivating day of vibes-driven Test cricket, Ben Stokes' men were handed an opportunity to reprise the match situations that led to their thrilling run of four victories against New Zealand and India earlier in the summer, and by the close of an 13-wicket day, that man Jonny Bairstow was just beginning to tick once again.

At stumps, South Africa's bowlers had chipped off three top-order wickets in reply to their own malfunctioning innings of 151 all out - with Kagiso Rabada's extraction of Joe Root for his third single-figure score of the series the stand-out dismissal of the day. But Bairstow, with a bristling 38 not out from 45 balls, provided the steadying hand that Zak Crawley needed to dig himself through to the close in an uncharacteristically dour 17 not out from 77 balls, to reduce the arrears to a mere 40 runs, and set up the match in the reactive fashion to which England have become rather attached.

For, in a deviation from the tactics that brought South Africa such rampant success in their innings victory at Lord's last week, Dean Elgar chose to bat first after winning the toss, despite cloudy overhead conditions and to the clear delight of his opposite number, Stokes, who gleefully confirmed he'd have bowled first anyway. By the time James Anderson had marked his 100th home Test with England's stand-out figures of 3 for 32, it was shaping up as a very good toss to have lost.

Elgar's logic had been dictated to a large degree by South Africa's team selection, with Simon Harmer restored to the XI as a second spin option alongside Keshav Maharaj, and given his prowess for Essex in the County Championship over the past five years, he could yet come into his own later in the match, on a ground where he has claimed 15 wickets at 17.60 in his three matches against Lancashire.

For the time being, however, Harmer has been limited to an exploratory final over of the day, while the absence of the lanky left-armer Marco Jansen looks like a potential oversight on a pitch offering consistent seam movement as well as extra bounce for England's quicks - not least the restored Ollie Robinson, who utilised his high release point to challenge both edges of the bat, and hinted at a renewed commitment to his fitness levels in the quickest spell of his Test career to date.

Though he claimed a solitary wicket in his first outing since the Hobart Test in January, Robinson was a handful in each of his 14 overs, spread across three spells, not least for the opener, Sarel Erwee. Despite his key contributions to the Lord's win, Erwee was never allowed to settle as Anderson and Robinson hounded him in a probing new-ball pairing, and after playing-and-missing relentlessly in an unconvincing 12-ball stay, Anderson found his inside-edge to carve an opening in the fifth over of the day.

Elgar fared little better, even after a reprieve on 10 when Robinson was denied a catch at short leg after overstepping. After taking 16 balls to get off the mark, Elgar had been limited to a solitary punched boundary through long-off when Broad - entering the attack as the hour mark approached - hit a good length outside off with a hint of away movement. Jonny Bairstow at third slip stooped low to gather, and South Africa's captain was gone for 12.

Ben Stokes appeals successfully for lbw against Rassie van der Dussen•Getty Images

Keegan Petersen connected with a trio of off-side boundaries - two of them firm cuts and one fat edge past the slips - in his innings of 21, but Broad's hungry introduction cut short his progress. This was the first time since the Cape Town Test of 2009-10 that he and Anderson had not shared the new ball when playing together, and in his third over, more steep bounce on a good length kissed the edge of the bat as Petersen got squared up with flat feet. Joe Root at first slip swallowed the edge to leave South Africa wobbing at 41 for 3.

Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen compiled the beginnings of a fourth-wicket stand to restore South Africa's hopes of reaching lunch without further damage. But Stokes, in a typically golden-armed intervention, had other ideas.

Stokes' first breakthrough was reminiscent of Ian Botham's maiden Test wicket in 1977 - a rank long-hop that deserved to get the treatment, but instead induced the error from the batter. Markram swung lustily across the line, but managed only a steepling top-edge to Foakes, running back towards fine leg.

One over later, van der Dussen was gone as well, to an each-way bet of an lbw decision from umpire Chris Gaffaney. The ball thumped the front pad very close to the inside edge, and carried through to the keeper. Van der Dussen reviewed, but the decision stood, with DRS returning an umpire's call verdict on both impact and the top of the leg bail.

It didn't take long after lunch for the wickets to flow again - two in two for Anderson, as first Harmer and Maharaj were nailed on the front pad for plumb lbws. Kyle Verreynne then became Broad's third, as he snicked another off-stump lifter through to Foakes for 21, but England's habitual struggles to see off the tail resurfaced before tea as Rabada took to the long handle with Nortje for company.

Straight after the break, however, Robinson earned his first wicket since the Hobart Test in January as Nortje was pinned plumb lbw, before Rabada - with only Lungi Ngidi for company - aimed a wild hack at Jack Leach to be caught at slip.

That left England with a full session in which to survive or thrive, and given neither of their efforts at Lord's had extended beyond 45 overs, there was no immediate guarantee that South Africa would not be batting again before the close. Sure enough, Alex Lees was caught behind in Ngidi's first over, before Ollie Pope's skittish attempts to force the pace came a familiar cropper at the hands of Nortje's genuine pace.

But it was Root's extraction, at 43 for 3 in the 14th over, that could truly have rattled England's cage. As at Lord's, his dismissal was prefaced by a loud groan of "oh no!" - such is the surety of his shot selection, he's equally sure when he's got his choices wrong - as Erwee at first slip juggled a full four times before clutching a precious chance to his chest.

Crawley by this stage was deeply entrenched on a dour 7 from 34 balls - a far cry from the flowing attributes for which he has been retained in the team. And yet, his innings was characterised first and foremost by good choices, a steadfast refusal to be lured outside the eyeline, and a blank-batted resolve to see off anything and everything that challenged the line of off stump.

He struck just one four in his first 69 balls - and that, off Ngidi, was a freebie into his pads - before picking off a sweep against Maharaj in the dying moments of the day. But, with the match situation set in stone by South Africa's early collapse, Crawley's lack of hurry was in itself a positive option, in the truest sense of the mindset shift that Brendon McCullum has set about instilling in his players.

It certainly offered Bairstow a bedrock from which to push into his own evening's work. This was not a return to the dashing displays that had lit up his efforts against New Zealand and India, but nor, in the circumstances, did it need to be. And yet, six peppered boundaries kept his innings ticking along at a strike-rate of 84, to ensure England as a whole were still easing along at a notch under four an over - and to ensure the sight of Broad in his pads on the pavilion balcony, ready to be unleashed as the "Nighthawk" if the need had arisen. In spite of the manifest flaws on display, they could not have dreamed of a match situation that plays more clearly to their strengths.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

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Match Preview - England vs South Africa, South Africa in England 2022, 1st Test

Big Picture

Amidst the tumult, a return to more familiar rhythms - albeit with the expectation of a modernist twist here and there. For five days this week, it might even be possible to pretend it is Situation Normal in the febrile world of international cricket, where a packed house at Lord's will burble and murmur in that inimitably disinterested fashion as England and South Africa do battle once again in the grandest old format.

It is rare, but hardly unique, for the Lord's Test - the traditional centrepiece of the English summer - to begin this late in the season. Last year's India Test got underway on August 12, an early indicator of the sport's direction of travel given the onset of the maiden season of the Hundred, while in 2017, West Indies became the first visiting team to play a Test at the ground in September.

But with the provisional dates for next summer's Ashes suggesting no August Tests at all for the first time in 139 years - thereby clearing the players' decks for full participation in the ECB's new centrepiece event - the challenge to an inherently insecure format seems especially real this year. Just as the County Championship has been condemned in recent years to the margins of the summer, so it seems the parent format is to be shunted the same way. The forecast week of rain, amid the hottest, driest summer on record, feels like an apt comment on such prioritisation.

All of which seems deeply ironic given the narrative of the summer so far. England's world-beating white-ball team has failed to win a home series for the first time since 2013, and while the Hundred has had its moments (where there's a Will, there's a way, as Messrs Smeed and Jacks can attest) it would take a well-remunerated cheerleading commentator to pretend that the contests we've so far witnessed have been the apogee of sporting endeavour.

No, the most visceral thrills and spills of the English summer so far have been invested in the red-ball game - specifically, four humdinging Tests against New Zealand and India, each of them capped by an eye-popping run-chase from an England side that has shed the reticence that condemned it to one win in 17 Tests in the preceding 18 months, and under the thrilling new management of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, has resolved to play like "rockstars".

Captain and coach aside, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have been the pivotal figures of the renaissance - the former by taking McCullum's "see ball, hit ball" mantra as a personal call to arms, to blaze four centuries and an unbeaten 71 in his last five innings; the latter by embodying the true ethos of "Bazball" (to revert to the phrase that dare not be uttered within earshot of any participant), and seeing the art of Test-match batting as one of possibility and positivity, rather than a game of safety-first reticence.

"The Yorkshireman inside me is still saying 'dig in, play straight and get behind it'," Root said after his matchwinning 142 not out against India. "Then there's the captain on the other shoulder saying 'be a rockstar'. So you're fighting between the two of them, sometimes."

Quite apart from the entertainment that England's new attitude has offered, the imperative for such fireworks is equally plain to see. It's not simply the Hundred that is putting the squeeze on Test cricket - the explosion of franchise tournaments is turning the screw like never before, with Cricket South Africa's IPL satellite event and the oil-rich pickings of the UAE-based International League chief among them, meaning that the five-day game needs to adapt to survive.

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum prepare for the first Test against South Africa•Getty Images

The format needs to be entertaining, both to encourage the best players to keep putting themselves forward to play it, but also to be recognisable to the coming generation that might not have the defensive techniques to dig out for a 180-over draw, but possess the range and power of strokes that might even make a 500-run chase seem attainable.

Such are the genre-busting issues that England's new approach has brought bubbling to the surface. Not that South Africa yet seems fully sold on such nonsense, of course. Dean Elgar, their hard-bitten captain whose nuggetty technique so resembles that of his forebear Graeme Smith, has spoken in withering terms about the "Bazball" phenomenon, and having played an integral part in two hugely impressive, albeit old-school, run-chases against India earlier in the year, he's well within his rights to point out that traditional Test values still have their place.

"I don't see that there's longevity in brave cricket," he told Wisden Cricket Monthly. "I see things evening out over time in Test cricket. Had New Zealand taken their opportunities, England would have come away with egg on their faces."

South Africa have every right to be ebullient. They are top of the World Test Championship table, and are full of confidence after a fine display in the preceding white-ball leg of the summer - not least from Rassie van der Dussen whose matchwinning 134 at Chester-le-Street epitomised the sort of measured aggression that this team are capable of bringing to all formats.

And yet, they come into this game off the back of a full-frontal Bazballing against England Lions at Canterbury - defeat by an innings after conceding 672 at close to a run a ball. As the Lions skipper Sam Billings put it afterwards: "You'd be pretty stupid to ignore that, if I'm honest. If that's not a wake-up call…. because we're not even the best XI."

Still, you'd back South Africa to take that indignity on the chin and process it - much as England themselves did in a similarly comprehensive A-team battering on their victorious 2004-05 tour, which the then-captain Michael Vaughan succinctly described as a "kick up the arse". That is what practice matches are for, after all. Dress rehearsals for the real thing. And, irrespective of the hype and drama flying around elsewhere in the world game, things don't get much more real than a Lord's Test at the height of the summer.

Dean Elgar trains with his South Africa team at Lord's•Getty Images

Form guide

England: WWWWL (last five completed matches; most recent first)
South Africa: WLWWL

In the spotlight

Forty and still fabulous, James Anderson will once again lead the line for England, as he takes the Test field for the 173rd time, including an incredible 27 matches at Lord's, which is more games on a single ground than many mighty players managed in their entire careers. Speaking on the eve of the match, Anderson struck a mildly lugubrious note as he reflected on the reality that he is the last of a breed - with the growth of T20 leagues, no-one else "will be stupid enough" to play until they are 40, he said (although he admitted his similarly one-formatted team-mate Stuart Broad would have a shot at it). But, having set up England's fourth victory of the summer with his 32nd Test five-for against India at Edgbaston last month, Anderson remains unchallenged as the kingpin of the attack, and moreover, he has bought into the new team ethos with unflinching enthusiasm. Incredibly, it is 20 seasons since his first Test encounter with South Africa.

Of all of the returnees to South Africa's Test fold post-Kolpak, none comes back with a reputation more enhanced than Simon Harmer's, at least in the eyes of his English opponents. Harmer's arrival at Essex in 2017 coincided with an exponential run of success for the then-newly promoted county - he has harvested a total of 354 wickets at 20.65 in the past six seasons, 28 five-fors, nine ten-wicket hauls, two County Championships titles and the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020. Oh, and he hit the winning runs in the T20 Blast final too. South Africa does not have a great reputation for spin bowling, but Harmer's attributes include height, aggression, a fierce ability to tweak the ball on any surface and a competitive edge that captains adore. His first-class record at Lord's, as it happens, is some way shy of his overall impact in England - just eight wickets at 40.12 in two visits. But he'll be itching to improve on that this week.

Team news

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Alex Lees, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt.), 7 Ben Foakes, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Matthew Potts, 11 James Anderson

England's solitary change from the Edgbaston Test is the return of Ben Foakes behind the stumps, in place of Sam Billings, the Lions captain, who had initially stepped into the wicketkeeper's role as a Covid substitute during the New Zealand series before keeping his place during Foakes' recuperation. "Everyone in the starting XI, the shirt is theirs at the moment," Stokes explained while announcing the team.

South Africa (probable): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Sarel Erwee, 3 Keegan Petersen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 Kyle Verreynne, 7 Keshav Maharaj, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Anrich Nortje

Kagiso Rabada underwent a fitness test on Tuesday and is due another check-up after straining the medial ligament on his right ankle. With Duanne Olivier already ruled out of the series with a torn hip flexor muscle, South Africa will be particularly keen for their attack leader to come through fit and firing, and signs were promising on match eve. Beyond that assessment, the main decision could come down to the selection of an extra batter if they choose to overlook the up-and-coming allrounder Marco Jansen. Ryan Rickelton has been in fine form in the Championship for Northamptonshire, although there's the outside chance that Khaya Zondo could be called up for his second cap, having not batted on debut against Bangladesh in April.

Pitch and conditions

Rain is in the offing after weeks of drought in London, with the contest set to traverse the downpours over the coming five days. That may, in turn, play a part in the conditions, with Lord's traditionally a venue where you look up, not down, at the toss. To date, the pitch looks fairly green, although a lot of that grass is likely to be removed before the first ball is bowled.

Stats and Trivia

Jonny Bairstow needs just six more runs to reach 1000 in Tests for the calendar year, having already scored six centuries in his haul of 994 at 76.46 in eight matches since the start of 2022.

Joe Root isn't far behind that tally himself. He has 927 at 61.80 in nine matches so far this year, including five centuries. With six Tests to come this year, against South Africa and Pakistan, he could yet surpass the six hundreds he made in 2021, although matching his England-record tally of 1708 could be a long-shot.

Dean Elgar needs 136 runs to become the eighth South African to reach 5000 in Tests.

Elgar is the only specialist batter in South Africa's ranks to have played a Test at Lord's, while Rabada and Keshav Maharaj are the only other survivors from their last appearance at the ground in 2017.

Tickets for the fifth day of the Test will be available for a donation of £5, via the Lord's website from 2pm on Wednesday. Proceeds will be split between two charities, the MCC Foundation and the Ruth Strauss Foundation.

The second day of the Test will once again be "Red for Ruth Day", when the ground will turn red in memory of Ruth Strauss, the wife of the former England captain, Andrew, who died of a rare form of lung cancer in 2018.

Quotes

"The opposition seem to be doing a lot of talking about it. We don't really speak about it that much. They've got a style of play, we've got a style of play." Stokes on Elgar's criticism of the term "Bazball"

"With all due respect, I am really not going to entertain that anymore. We've chatted about it long and hard. I just want to crack on with the cricket. I think the game deserves that respect. Mudslinging is a thing of the past for me and we are not going to go back and forth on that." Elgar's last word on the B-word

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

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Recent Match Report - South Africa vs England 3rd T20I 2022

South Africa 191 for 5 (Hendricks 70, Markram 51*, Willey 3-25) beat England 101 (Bairstow 27, Shamsi 5-24) by 90 runs

For the first time since 2013, England will end a home summer without winning a white-ball trophy. They lost both the ODI and T20I series to India, shared the ODI series with South Africa and were beaten 2-1 in the T20I series, after crashing to a big defeat in decider in Southampton.

England's batting was in the spotlight after they were asked to complete the highest successful chase at the Ageas Bowl in all T20s, and fell far short. They lost 10 wickets for 73 between the fourth and 17th over to hand South Africa's their second-biggest win after their 130-run victory over Scotland in 2009. It is also South Africa's first T20I series win in England and first white-ball series win in the country since 1998.

South Africa defended skilfully, as none of their bowlers conceded at more than six runs an over and Tabraiz Shamsi picked up a career-best 5 for 24 but their win was built on a big total. They accumulated steadily, from a strong powerplay of 53 for 1, through some fairly sedate middle overs (they scored 84 runs in 10 overs), before a flourish at the end. David Miller, in his 100th T20I for South Africa, led the late charge of 64 runs in the final five overs and shared in a 41-run fourth-wicket stand, in 23 balls, with Aiden Markram. South Africa's only six came in the penultimate over, testament to their ability to make use of a large outfield to find twos and the skill with which they found gaps for their 25 fours.

In his first appearance in this series, Markram scored his seventh T20I fifty, after Reeza Hendricks brought up his 10th, and third successive half-century in this series, to set South Africa up. Hendricks finished as the leading run-scorer in the series, with an average of 60.00. Shamsi, after a wicket-less first outing in Bristol, was the leading wicket-taker with eight at 12.50.

A valid question after that first over. David Willey was rotated out of the playing XI for the first two T20Is but made an immediate impact on his return when he removed Quinton de Kock with the third ball of the innings. Willey pitched it up from the get-go, de Kock defended, then he prodded and then he attempted a lazy drive, with no foot movement and dragged the ball on to his leg stump. For the third match in succession, de Kock was the first man out and he could so very nearly have been followed by Rilee Rossouw. Willey got the ball to move away from the left-hander twice and then to straighten and hit his back pad. Jos Buttler was convinced to review but ball-tracking showed it was just going over leg stump and Rossouw survived. Still, it was an impressive opening over, the first scoreless one of the series. Willey bowled three overs up front and returned at the death, where he took two wickets in the final over.

The two former Knights team-mates (the franchise that played out of Bloemfontein in South Africa) came together again for the first time in Cardiff, with 73 for the second-wicket, before they put South Africa on track with a 55-run stand in this match. Hendricks and Rossouw complement each other well, with Rossouw the more powerful hitter and Hendricks able to thread through gaps. Their right-left combination and athleticism between the wickets means they're constantly keeping the opposition attack on their toes. Rossouw was particularly severe on Chris Jordan, who he hit for four fours in the final over of the Powerplay in a demonstration of finesse - the dab through backward point - and luck - the chop past the stumps - and power - the back-to-back drills through the offside. Just as the pair looked fairly immovable, Moeen Ali drew Rossouw forward with a delivery that spun past the outside edge and bowled him. Strangely, that was the only over Moeen bowled.

And then Markram makes his point

England put the brakes immediately after the powerplay and South Africa went 6.2 overs without a boundary before Markram pulled Jordan through midwicket for four. In the same period, they only faced three dot balls. Markram was left out of the first two matches in favour of Heinrich Klaasen but showed why his presence in the middle-order is so essential to South Africa's line-up. He shared in an 87-run third-wicket stand with Hendricks, and a 41-run fourth wicket partnership with Miller to push South Africa over 180. Most of Markram's innings was about strike rotation, with 21 singles and five twos in his innings, reaching fifty from 36 balls.

Maharaj-Nortje one-two does for openers

South Africa made clever use of their left-arm spinner and fastest bowler in England's powerplay and both were rewarded with wickets. They shared the new ball for a combination of slow strangle on one end and absolute gas at the other, with Nortje reaching a pace of up to 93mph/149kph before Maharaj switched to Nortje's end. Buttler tried to make room for himself to cut Maharaj through the off side but sent a thick edge to Lungi Ngidi at backward point. Nortje then came back on, hurled down a 91mph/146kph fireball, Jason Roy swiped across the line, top-edged and de Kock did the rest. Roy averages 12.67 from six home T20Is this summer and last scored a fifty eight innings ago. Nortje went on to pepper Jonny Bairstow with quick ones and touched 94mph/151kph in that over.

He did it with the bat in Bristol, and scooped a spectacular catch in Southampton to all but end England's chances. Tristan Stubbs was at cover when Moeen hit Markram to his left, and seemed to have found a gap. Stubbs moved quickly and then launched himself full-length, stuck out his left hand and snatched the ball from almost behind him to leave England 59 for 4 after 10 overs. They needed 133 runs off the last ten overs and were bowled out in 17 overs.

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Recent Match Report - South Africa vs England 2nd T20I 2022

South Africa 207 for 3 (Rossouw 96*, Hendricks 53) beat England 149 (Shamsi 3-27, Phehlukwayo 3-39) by 58 runs

South Africa unfurled a near-perfect short-form display to beat England by 58 runs in Cardiff, squaring the T20I series ahead of Sunday's decider at the Ageas Bowl.

Just 24 hours after defeat by 41 runs in Bristol on Wednesday evening, it was a redemptive performance from the Proteas to draw level at 1-1. Rilee Rossouw's 96 not out spearheaded a total of 207 for three, before Tabraiz Shamsi (three for 27) and Andile Phehlukwayo (three for 39) successfully defended their score by skittling their opponents with 20 balls to spare.

Jos Buttler said he wanted to see how his team went chasing after winning a first toss in eight and opting to bowl first, and the Proteas were more than happy to oblige. A brisk start - 32 for none after three overs, then 58 for the loss of Quinton de Kock at the end of the powerplay - was maintained throughout.

Rossouw was the main event, but Reeza Hendricks provided the perfect warm-up act, backing up Bristol's half-century with another here, before eventually falling for 53. That ended a stand of 73 between himself and Rossouw, who had 39 at this point, with 8.3 overs to go. With Tristan Stubbs struggling to replicate the hitting from his six-heavy 72 from 28 deliveries, 57 of the remaining 95 runs came from the senior man.

England were poor in the field, with wayward lines and lengths, and a variety of fielding errors. Gleeson was able to make amends for dropping Hendricks around the corner at fine leg for 51 by taking the right-hander's wicket in the next over. However, Buttler's grounded catch down the leg side off Rossouw - who had just 37 - was far more costly.

Tabraiz Shamsi produced a three-wicket spell•Getty Images

That being said, Chris Jordan's concession of just four runs in the 20th over gave the hosts a spring in their step going into he break. And when Buttler became the first batter of the night to find the stands beyond the longest boundary, and then struck six-six-four off Phehlukwayo, England were in the mix. But Phehlukwayo held his fourth delivery back, resulting in a skier from Buttler taken well by Hendricks running to mid-on, and as four England wickets fell for 51 runs in 6.4 overs, the required rate began to spiral above 12.

With 100 needed off the remaining 42 balls, the only reason to sniff an England victory was the presence of Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone at the crease. The ability to smash boundaries at will - as per Bairstow's eight sixes in his 53-ball 90 on Wednesday - was the only way out of this hole. Unfortunately for England, within 14 balls, the pair had been dismissed - caught at backward point off Rabada and behind off Phehlukwayo, respectively - with 67 left for the tail.

The final three wickets fell for just eight, the last of them, Richard Gleeson, off the back of a DRS call seemingly taken on a whim by the fielding side. As with everything else in the match, it went South Africa's way.

Reaping Rossouw

It might not have been a century, but Rossouw's score was a reminder of both his talents and what South Africa have missed out on over the last six years. That he became a Kolpak in his prime, smashing 122 in an ODI against Australia in October 2016, his last appearance for the Proteas before Wednesday's T20I, was a particularly sore point as he remained visible elsewhere, notable in England for Hampshire and now Somerset.

But the prodigal son is now a man, and his innings here typified an underlying sense of maturity to his game. It was particularly evident against those he didn't target: Reece Topley started well to him and the off spin of Moeen Ali was always going to be tricky for the left-hander to go after. But he struck well against Gleeson, Jordan and particularly Adil Rashid, taking 18 runs off the nine deliveries he faced from the legspinner. But for Stubbs chewing up half of the final over, Rossouw probably would have reached a maiden international T20I hundred. Nevertheless, off the back of a stunning Vitality Blast season for Somerset (623 runs at a strike rate of 192.28), it's abundantly clear the 32-year-old is making up for lost time.

Right-hand, left-hand - overthinking?

No sooner had Eoin Morgan posited that it would take a brave man to shunt Bairstow down the order, Buttler did just that. By no means the more ruthless of the two, it was an example of how both teams were persisting with right-hand-left-hand combinations.

It's nothing new, and in this instance was down to the disparity between the two square boundaries. With the leftie Rossouw batting through the innings from the fourth over, David Miller waved a procession of right-handers through, including Stubbs who came in ahead of the stand-in captain. Similarly, Bairstow was held back for Moeen to enter at No.4 in England's innings after Dawid Malan had fallen. Then, when Moeen himself was dismissed for an enterprising 28, Sam Curran came in at six ahead of Liam Livingstone.

None of them really came off, though the reasons for the promotions were totally justified given the form of Stubbs (72 off 28) and Moeen (52 off 18) from the night before. Not to mention the fact that Bairstow was in by the ninth over anyway, and Rossouw was always going to come in at No.3 to accompany Hendricks. On this occasion, it was a tactic that made a lot of sense but did not produce any tangible reward.

Roy ...

The good news for Jason Roy is, barring injury, he will get the series-decider on Sunday to see if he can improve on the 59 runs off 80 he's managed across the international T20 summer.

The bad news is it looks like it may just be another opportunity to fail. Since a century in the final ODI against Netherlands in Amsterdam, Roy has struggled to get going on home soil. Barring a 41 in the third ODI against India, he has struggled to get the measure of the white Kookaburra ball, occasionally showing flashes of timing amid plenty of mishits and lapses in judgement.

The issue that affects Roy more than others is aesthetics: his very nature is to go after attacks, and it is counted as an upside of his character that, even when struggling, he never shies away from a battle. That, however, means in the midst of this kind of run, he looks like a man pushed into the corner swinging haymakers with his eyes closed.

Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor for ESPNcricinfo

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-south-africa-vs-england-2nd-t20i-2022/?feed_id=3578&_unique_id=62e31f9ee1d2b

Recent Match Report - England vs South Africa 1st T20I 2022

England 234 for 6 (Bairstow 90, Moeen 52, Ngidi 5-39) beat South Africa 193 for 8 (Stubbs 72, Hendricks 57, Gleeson 3-51) by 41 runs

Jonny Bairstow hit a career-best 90 and Moeen Ali scored England's fastest T20I fifty as the hosts racked up their second-biggest score in the format in a high-scoring clash. As a result, South Africa were asked to complete their highest successful chase and stayed in it until the 18th over, thanks to Tristan Stubbs' first international innings in his third match. He scored a 28-ball 72 and shared in stands of 65 with Heinrich Klaasen and 50 with David Miller but it was not quite enough.

Bairstow continued a golden 2022, which has been headlined by four Test centuries, and shared in two explosive stands. He put on 71 in 45 balls with Dawid Malan but that was just the start. Bairstow and Moeen plundered 101 in 35 balls, the second-fastest century stand in a T20I, at a rate of 18.17. In the process, England hit 18 sixes, their most in a T20I. South Africa responded with half that number, eight from Stubbs' bat.

In hindsight, South Africa may blame their fielding display for their defeat in this match. They dropped Bairstow three times, two of them simple catches, which will lead to questions about their ability to handle pressure. The same could be asked of their attack, who appeared spooked by the short, straight boundaries, bowled too short, and lost their shape. Andile Phehlukwayo conceded the second-most runs by a South African in a T20I and Lungi Ngidi picked up the most expensive five-for, a career-best 5 for 39.

South Africa may have been stunned, more so when they were reduced to 7 for 2 in the second over of the reply. But Reeza Hendricks showed some mettle with his eighth T20I fifty and Stubbs proved the find of the night, albeit it not enough to get a win.

Are we worried about Jason Roy?

A question that seems moot given the way England batted, but let's go there. Roy has only scored one fifty in nine T20I innings this year, and has been dismissed in single figures five times, including today. Ngidi's slower ball has had the better of several batters in the last few months and he delivered a particularly skilful one in his second over which tricked Roy into thinking he could heave over the off-side. He didn't account for the lack of pace, was through the shot early and ended up only top-edging an ugly swipe to be caught at point. England were 41 for 2 in the fifth over.

It looks like those lunges with Sam Curran sitting on his shoulders have helped Bairstow build extra strength for his T20 game. He moved on from Roy's dismissal by targeting South Africa's spinners. His first boundary came with a pull off Keshav Maharaj through mid-wicket and his second, a smash through cow corner that was hit so hard Heinrich Klaasen didn't pick it up as it sailed over his head. Shamsi took a tonking his next over too, as Dawid Malan hit him over extra cover and then Bairstow flat-batted him for four and swung him into the stands on the legside to take England to halfway on 98 for 2. Bairstow went on to his eighth T20 fifty, off 36 balls, in his first T20I of the year. It's also Bairstow's first fifty in ten T20I innings, and he had only been given one (tough) chance at that point, Bairstow went on to be dropped on 56, 72 and 77.

Welcome to it, Tristan Stubbs

Picked as a big-hitting batter, Stubbs had yet to face a ball in international cricket (he did not bat in the first two games he played) before his offspin was asked to come into action. South Africa went into the match with only five frontline bowling options and no Aiden Markram, so when David Miller wanted to try something different, his only choice was Stubbs.

Miller chose a pressure moment, with England were on 148 for 3 after 15 overs, to introduce Stubbs and his first two balls went well before Bairstow smoked his third ball over long-on and then tried to clear deep mid-wicket but didn't get enough to go over the square boundary. Rilee Rossouw ran in and got to the ball but it slipped through his fingers. Bairstow was on 56, and Stubbs' nightmare was not over. He was called for a back-foot no-ball on what should have been the last ball of the over, Moeen Ali hit him for six but mercifully the free hit only resulted in two runs.

Stubbs' over cost 20. But he more than made up for it with a power-hitting display that, on another day, might have made the main headline. Stubbs hit eight sixes and two fours in the 28 balls he faced and has provided South Africa with another finishing option.

And welcome back to it, Rilee Rossouw

After a nightmare in the field including that Bairstow drop, Rossouw didn't give himself the chance to make up for it with the bat. He pulled the second ball he faced but then tried to cut the fourth and top-edged to third man to depart for four. After six years out of the national side, and a stellar season in the T20 Blast with Somerset, that's not the return Rossouw would have wanted to make, especially as it gave Reece Topley a second wicket in his opening over and left South Africa with a massive job to do.

If England were worried about having the rug pulled from under them, Chris Jordan ensured it was firmly plugged in with an exceptional third over, the 18th of South Africa's innings. Jordan nailed the yorker three times and tested Phehlukwayo with outswing to deny South Africa a boundary for the first time since the 11th over and effectively end the contest. South Africa needed 54 runs off 18 balls before his over and 51 off 12 balls afterwards. He also bowled the last over and finished with 0 for 30.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-england-vs-south-africa-1st-t20i-2022/?feed_id=3070&_unique_id=62e1ccbe47b59

Match Preview - England vs South Africa, South Africa in England 2022, 1st T20I

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Right, we are on to the stuff that matters. After an ODI series that not even the weather wanted to be completed, we are entering the T20I season with all eyes on the World Cup. England have a whopping 13 fixtures before the tournament; South Africa have only eight matches, the bulk of which are in the next ten days, and without regular captain Temba Bavuma.

You may think that puts England in a more stable place to prepare from, but they are at the tail-end of 12 white-ball matches in 24 days and will have to be careful to avoid flagging at the end, especially as they have only just entered a new white-ball era. These T20Is are Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler's final opportunity to win a white-ball series at home after they lost both rubbers against India, and shared the spoils in the ODIs against South Africa.

South Africa were on a similar hot streak and had won three T20I series in succession before the World Cup in 2021, but have since been rocked by the unavailability of key personnel. Anrich Nortje spent six months recovering from a hip and back issue after that but has made a strong return, and now Bavuma is out until at least September with an elbow injury.

David Miller will lead in his absence after a stunning run at the IPL, where he won the trophy with Gujarat Titans. But with a glut of top-order batters, one can't help but feel there could be a bottleneck once Bavuma returns.

At the same time, South Africa have chosen not to continue with Keshav Maharaj in charge, though he has done the job even in T20Is when Bavuma was previously injured, which suggests they want to keep their options of playing only one specialist spinner in Tabraiz Shamsi open.

Meanwhile, Miller is their most experienced batter, as is his counterpart Buttler, as both will want to show their value by leading from the front.

Form guide

(Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)

England WLLLW
South Africa LLWWW

It is a much-anticipated return to South Africa colours for Rilee Rossouw•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Dawid Malan has had a slightly tougher time than usual in this format recently, and broke a year-long drought without a half-century in T20Is with 77 in the final T20I against India. He was the leading run-scorer when England toured South Africa late in 2020, and was England's best batter recently against India too.

Malan's first fifty in 11 innings since mid-2021 meant he had slipped from No.1 to No.4 on the T20I batting rankings, and will be keen to regain some ground as he faces South Africa, against whom he averages 59.

Whether he plays immediately or not, there will be plenty of interest in Rilee Rossouw, who makes his return to the South African squad after a Kolpak hiatus which he used to make his name in T20 leagues. Rossouw has enjoyed success at PSL and BPL, and finished as the second-highest run-scorer in this year's T20 Blast. And before his success there, he was back in South Africa, where he was the leading run-scorer in the provincial T20 cup.

But it remains to be seen whether all has been forgiven and forgotten after the way he left. Of all those who chose to cut their international careers short, Rossouw's was the most puzzling, not least because South Africa's selectors had stuck with him after he was dismissed for four ducks in his first six ODI innings and there was talk of him being promoted to the Test side.

Jonny Bairstow is expected to continue at No. 4, as he has been doing in this format over last 18 months•ECB/Getty Images

Team news

Jonny Bairstow had some ice on his knee for what seemed to be a swelling, although he played a full part in practice before the game. Fit to play which he should, he is expected to continue at No. 4, as he has been doing in this format over the last 18 months, albeit with mixed results. England are likely to stick with the extra batter as they did for the third T20I against India, and may rotate their seamers to minimise risk of injury.

England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Phil Salt/Harry Brook, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran/David Willey, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley

Rossouw could edge out Reeza Hendricks at the top of the order. Also, Aiden Markram's return after he missed the India series with Covid-19 may mean there is room only for either an allrounder or a second spinner.

South Africa will have to chose between Dwaine Pretorius, who also operates as a pinch hitter; Andile Phehlukwayo, who is coming back from a mild concussion and will be assessed ahead of the game; and Wayne Parnell in the allrounders' role. In the pace attack, Kagiso Rabada is back after being rested from the ODIs.

South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rilee Rossouw, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller (capt), 7 Dwaine Pretorius 8 Keshav Maharaj/Tabraiz Shamsi, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi

Pitch and conditions

In this year's T20 Blast, the average first innings score in Bristol was 171, while in Cardiff - the venue for the second T20I just a day after - it sits at 147. That could mean bowlers who have worked on their variations will have a big role to play in taking pace off the ball and getting movement off the seam.

Also, the good news is that the rain that affected the ODIs is not likely to interrupt the T20Is. Wednesday is due to be cloudy and cool, with temperatures of around 22 degrees.

Stats and trivia

England and South Africa are neck-and-neck in T20Is against each other. They have played 22, with England winning 11 and South Africa ten, with one no result. However, England have won the last three series between the two sides, including a 3-0 sweep in November 2020.

Quotes

"Why would we change it? We have been doing well with it over the past few years, so I think we will continue doing what we have been doing."
England will keep going in guns blazing, according to Adil Rashid, who does not see any need to alter their approach

"Things do get a little bit crazy and frantic out there, but it's just about having your clear plans and staying as calm as possible."
David Miller is preparing for his second stint as stand-in captain

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/match-preview-england-vs-south-africa-south-africa-in-england-2022-1st-t20i/?feed_id=2734&_unique_id=62e0eb0e46a1f

Match Preview - England vs South Africa, South Africa in England 2022, 3rd ODI

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Determining who will come out on top in Sunday's third ODI is a tough call to make. And by the end of this page, you probably won't be any closer to knowing.

That's probably a bad way to start a match preview for this winner-takes-all affair. But over the last few days, England and South Africa have played twice and produced two wildly different results. Such have been the margins of victory - the Proteas by 62 runs in the first ODI, the hosts by 118 in the second - it's hard to gauge just how good these two teams really are. At the very least, the events at Headingley will give us the confidence to say one team is better, even if purely based on the scoreline from a short series.

Perhaps England are slight favourites? The quick turnaround from Friday's ODI in Manchester was expected to work against Matthew Mott's troops. But the rain-reduced 29-over match, which was essentially won nine overs into the Proteas chase, has created a modicum of room in the schedule. Enough for an earlier night and a well-deserved lie-in on Saturday ahead of Sunday's 11am start.

It's worth remembering it was only last Sunday that England failed in the third ODI against India, which had just as much on the line. They were short of a competitive total (259), Siraj-ed early and then Rishabh-ed in the case to lose by five wickets with almost eight overs spare. Did they ch… actually, let's not use that word in present company. But arguably, they did, even if India were superior in almost every department for all but that second ODI at Lord's.

As we get to the three-quarter stage of an absurd 12 white-ball games in 24 days, it is only natural for enthusiasm to wane. But the manner of the equalising victory at Emirates Old Trafford - Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran's rescue act to get England to 201, then an exemplary left-arm-seam-bowling performance to remove five of the top six for just 27 - has created a sense of returning to the old, best-in-the-world days. That kind of domination, particularly from off the ropes (England were 62 for 4) was a staple of the 2015-19 vintage. At the very least, the familiarity of who England once were will be a shot of adrenaline that'll get them through the weekend.

There are plenty of improvements still to be made, particularly on the batting front, but it was noteworthy that Sam Curran - player of the match with a quickfire 38 and the wicket of David Miller - spoke of reassessing in-play to go big and using those learnings to take apart South Africa's attack in the first six overs: "The situation I came in at (101 for 6 in the 18th over), me and Livi had a conversation about match-ups. You saw the way Livi exploded, we know what he can do, it was fun to be out there with him. Obviously, the message from Jonny was that the powerplay was a big part and the guys had them 6 for 4."

The flip side to Friday was South Africa were so blown out of the water that they could pop on the blinkers and view this as an anomaly, as most professional outfits do. Any self-flagellation off the back of recording their joint-second-worst ODI total should be meek given they smoked a cool 333 for 5 a few days earlier in the baking Chester-le-Heat.

Dwaine Pretorius' nibbly seamers proved more than useful with a career-best 4 for 36 in helpful conditions both overhead and underfoot that are likely to be replicated on Sunday. The forecast suggests we will definitely get rain and be in line for another reduced encounter, which will provide an interesting contrast at a venue that has been one of the fastest-scoring T20 grounds in the world in recent years. Whether 50 overs apiece or otherwise, expect an engaging contest.

Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj could play a key role in the middle overs•Getty Images

Form guide

England WLLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LWLWL

In the spotlight

Liam Livingstone's 38 was as brutal as it was overdue in the second ODI. The characteristic six-hitting lifted those in the stands at Manchester who braved the rain, at their loudest when he swung his third consecutive six off Anrich Nortje. The South African isn't usually the type to be put under that kind of duress, and there was a moment after the fourth ball of that over scuttled away for four over the wicketkeeper that it felt like he was being mocked. Livingstone has a knack of making the very best look very apologetic, and the knock reinforced what we have come to know of him. But the overriding sense is there is so much more he can give in the 50-over format. Without wishing to be a cynic, or even a tad ungrateful, the 28-year-old's habit of clearing the fences more or less on command can sometimes feel like a party trick. His ODI career is only 11 matches old, but the fact he has just a single half-century in 10 innings feels like a waste of a cricketer who could have it all.

When Joe Root said he has preferred facing the red rather than the white ball this summer, he wasn't lying. A subdued Dukes has been countered by a white Kookaburra singing thanks to relatively un-English limited overs pitches. In turn, expansive opener batters who have gotten used to occupying the prime short-format batting spots have been tamed accordingly. Quinton de Kock is the latest to find himself hindered, with scores of 19 off 27 and 5 off 17 in his first two knocks. It's not so much he needs a score - at the time of writing, he is averaging 46.71 with a strike rate of 103.15 this year, exceeding the career numbers in those metrics - but there is a sense he can only be kept quiet for so long. He'll have three T20Is to come against England and two against Ireland, followed by a stint with Southern Brave in the Hundred to take something of worth from this English summer. Provided he can find a way to make it beyond the opening quicks, the first of his 2022 souvenirs could come on Sunday.

Team news

Jos Buttler is likely to put out the same XI as much by design as circumstance. A top three of Roy-Bairstow-Salt is exactly the amount of sustained firepower England would like in theory before Root, replicating a previous top trio of Roy-Bairstow-Hales, bearing more teeth than Cerberus. Then again, changes are hard to make when there are no spare batters (Harry Brook left to play Championship cricket for Yorkshire) and Brydon Carse has been ruled out after bruising his big toe in the first ODI. Matthew Potts, who sat out the second, will warm the bench again.

England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Phil Salt, 4 Joe Root, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.

Keshav Maharaj was phlegmatic following defeat in the second ODI and the messaging within the South Africa squad - primarily among the coaches - was there is no need to panic. As such, expect the same starting XI barring any late injury concerns.

South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Keshav Maharaj (capt), 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi.

Pitch and conditions

As discussed earlier, the heatwave has well and truly passed and normal service will be resuming up in Leeds. This was supposed to be the ground that would be a change from the bowler-friendly limited-overs tracks served up throughout the last month. England have no excuse not to pool all their knowledge and experience accrued over the previous five ODIs into the last one of the season.

Should South Africa win, this would be England's second ODI series defeat this summer - the same number of home series they lost between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.

Aiden Markram needs 24 more runs for 1,000 in ODIs. Rassie van der Dussen is one away from 1,500 in the format.

Quotes

"I just want us to continue on that path that we're on and play that positive brand of cricket - but we can do it better. We haven't fired with the bat in our whole white-ball summer and we know how dangerous we'll be when we do that."
Jos Buttler hopes his batters close out the ODI summer with a much-needed bang on Sunday

"I don't think we need to change a lot. We need to keep up our confidence and believe in our cricket. We believe in our game and the brand of cricket we play and we've got to stick to it as much as possible."
Panto-villain of the moment for his sightscreen antics, Henrich Klassen urges his teammates to stick to their normal gameplan

Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor for ESPNcricinfo

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/match-preview-england-vs-south-africa-south-africa-in-england-2022-3rd-odi/?feed_id=1046&_unique_id=62dc8034488be