England beat South Africa in rain-affected tie, New Zealand seal win in a thriller

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South Africa 230 all out (49.2 overs) v England 137/2 (28.3 overs) in Potchefstroom

Scorecard

Toss: England won the toss and opted to field

England captain Ben McKinney preferred to chase on a newly laid wicket after winning the toss. After a brilliant start from Steve Stolk, South Africa collapsed in the middle overs, before Dewan Marais took the lead with his aggressive strokeplay.

Stolk had already closed up on his fifty by the end of the first Powerplay. Along with Lhuan-dre Pretorius, the batter added 67 runs by the 10-over mark. Their stand included 12 fours, nine of which came off Stolk's willow. Both Dominic Kelly and Farhan Ahmed were taken for runs.

Jack Carney struck back for England in the 11th over, getting Pretorius to nick one behind the wicket. Jaydn Denly made it two when he trapped David Teeger leg before in the very next over.

After a few quiet overs, Stolk got among runs again, welcoming Luc Benkenstein with a four and a six. However, England had the last laugh when they ran out Stolk. The batter tried to steal a single after a Tazeem Ali delivery deflected off his pad towards the leg-side. Jack Carney paced towards the ball and then broke the stumps with an accurate throw before Stolk could make it back.

Tazeem's leg-break yielded two more wickets in no time, and England were right on top. Marais took over then, and along with Richard Seletswane, got the South African innings on track. This reconstruction job was halted once more when Seletswane was castled by a peach of a delivery from Eddie Jack.

After flourishing with his attacking shots, Marais fell to the same tact when he lofted Denly into the deep and was caught by Noah Thain. The tail stuck around but failed to make a substantial addition to the total. Merely 62 runs were added from the 31st to the 50th over.

In response, South Africa struck early with the wicket of Denly. Skipper Ben McKinney and Noah Thain then came together to stitch a crucial stand of 92 runs as England made long strides towards their target.

Romashan Pillay's beat McKinney's defences in the 23rd over to provide South Africa with their second breakthrough. The left-handed batter had scored 48 from 67 with five fours and a six.

Thain then lifted England's scoring pace with a flurry of fours. Along with Hamza Shaikh, the duo added 37 runs at better than run a ball before lightning interrupted play in Potchefstroom. England were placed at 137/2 in 28.3 overs.

No further play was possible due to rain, and England, who were ahead of the required rate as per the DLS method were declared the winners.

Read about the New Zealand-Afghanistan run out drama here

New Zealand beat Afghanistan by one wicket in East London

Scorecard

Toss: Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first.

Afghanistan chose to bat in overcast conditions against New Zealand. However, sharp work from the Kiwi pacers ensured that the Asian side were bowled out for a modest total. The Black Caps had their chase derailed by Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Khalil Ahmed and Arab Gul Momand, before they crossed the line by the barest of margins.

The Kiwis had an early success at the back of a stunning catch from skipper Oscar Jackson. After Hassan Eisakhil lifted a Ryan Tsourgas delivery towards the mid-wicket, Jackson ran backward before taking a fine diving catch. Tsourgas struck again in his next over, where a mistimed pull from Khalid Taniwal landed safely in Zac Cumming's hands.

Matt Rowe, who went wicketless for his first 23 balls, then joined the party. Equipped with accurate line and length, he derived movement and bounce off the surface and scythed through the Afghan middle-order. It began with him cleaning up Sohail Khan Zurmatai in the eighth over. In his next over, he got Jamshid Zadran, who had got a start, to play on. An impeccable short-of-length delivery in the same over accounted for newcomer Rahimullah Zurmati for a duck.

It wasn't long before he secured a five-wicket haul within 16 balls of his first scalp. Ewald Schreuder (2/15) and Jackson (1/13) joined in on the fun, and Afghanistan were bowled out for just 91.

Rowe finished with 5/21.

Afghanistan bowlers made an impact with the new ball, with off-spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar drawing first blood by cleaning up Luke Watson for a duck. Ghazanfar continued making his presence felt on a wicket where pacers had thrived by bowling Tom Jones and Oliver Tewatiya for zero in the sixth over. Khalil Ahmed then struck with his medium pace, getting Robson Foulkes and Lachlan Stackpole caught in the seventh and ninth over. The Black Caps were in deep peril with half their side back in the hut at 42.

Afghanistan continued to confound New Zealand with their spinners. Leg-spinner Arab Gul Momand had Zac Cumming caught in his very first over. New Zealand's seventh-wicket pair survived a number of close calls against Momand and Ghazanfar over the next few overs.

Jackson (26) took the lead by hitting three crucial fours, as New Zealand added 30 runs to close in on the target. However, the game took another turn in the 25th over, when Naseer Khan Maroofkhil cleaned up Sam Clode. Momand followed with the wicket of Jackson in the very next over, and the game was tantalisingly poised.

In a game of small margins, New Zealand had the advantage when Schreuder hit a four in the 27th over. Along with Rowe, he helped the Black Caps inch in towards the target. However, there was another twist in the tale, when Maroofkhil ran out Schreuder at the non-striker end, to leave the Kiwis nine down with just two runs needed.

It was Rowe, New Zealand's hero with the ball, who fought the nerves and hit Maroofkhil through the covers off the very next ball to seal a tense win.