England, South Africa set for decider
AB de Villiers had promised South Africa would ‘fight back’ in the second Twenty20 International against England after a comprehensive defeat in the first, and the team stayed true to its captain’s words, with the bowlers delivering a three-run win at Taunton to level the three-match series.
Both teams will thus go into the deciding match at the Cardiff Wales Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday with the series on the line.
South Africa began its tour to England before the ICC Champions Trophy and lost the One-Day International series 2-1. It will look to bag the T20I series now, before the four Tests that follow, with the first one getting underway from July 6 at Lord’s.
South Africa lost the first T20I by nine wickets, England chasing down the target with 5.3 overs to spare. But in the second match, the visiting side put on a much better show with both bat and ball. De Villiers has looked in good touch in both games, while JJ Smuts, the opener, after missing out in the first match showed his hard-hitting prowess. Reeza Hendricks hasn’t had the best of times with the bat and it remains to be seen if he will get a chance on Sunday. Farhaan Behardien has been stable coming down the order with David Miller. The other plus for South Africa was the return of Chris Morris, who sat out the first T20I. He can use the long handle to good effect, but his real value was apparent with the ball, where he took 2 for 18 to set up South Africa’s thrilling second-match win.
With the likes of Morne Morkel, Dane Paterson and Andile Phehlukwayo, the pace department will be looking to repeat its performance from the last match. Imran Tahir was expensive in the first game and will be keen to be amongst the wickets if he gets a nod in the decider.
The last time England played at Cardiff was in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy. It was beaten comprehensively by Pakistan, and Eoin Morgan said later that his batsmen had been unable to adjust to the nature of the pitch.
This time though, England will be looking to put that loss behind and wrapping up the T20I series.
On paper, England looks formidable despite resting several regulars. The newcomers have been impressive on their debuts. Jason Roy showed signs of returning to form with a sparkling 45-ball 67 in the last game before being given out for obstructing the field. Jonny Bairstow has looked solid coming in at No. 3. In Morgan and Jos Buttler, there is a pair who can accelerate and deliver the final push.
The other item bringing cheer to Morgan will be the spell by Tom Curran, who ran through the South African middle order to finish with his right-arm seamers to take 3 for 33 in four overs. England has both David Willey and Chris Jordan, who can do the job with the new ball and at the death, and Curran is likely to get the nod to partner them ahead of Mason Crane.
The forecast is for partly cloudy skies but no rain, and a full encounter is thus on the cards.
Teams (from):
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Jason Roy, Craig Overton, Liam Plunkett, David Willey, Mark Wood.
**South Africa:**AB de Villiers (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Chris Morris, Dane Paterson, JJ Smuts, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Imran Tahir, Dwaine Pretorius, Morne Morkel, JJ Smuts.