ENGV SA, 1ST ODI
Maharaj picked four wickets © Getty
Keshav Maharaj (4-22) and Wiaan Mulder (3-33) starred with the ball as South Africa crushed England by seven wickets in the ODI series opener at Headingley, Leeds. The duo shared seven wickets between them as England dramatically collapsed from 82/2 to 131 all out inside 25 overs, before the visitors romped home with more than 29 overs to spare courtesy a blistering 55-ball 85 from Aiden Markram.
Opting to bowl first under overcast skies, South Africa made the most of ideal conditions. England were off to a jittery start with Ben Duckett undone by late movement. Nandre Burger got one to shape away and just about kiss the opener’s bat on its way to the ‘keeper. Jamie Smith, the only half-centurion in the innings, put on two promising stands – worth 31 with Joe Root (14 off 17) and added 38 more with skipper Harry Brook (12 off 18). But the collapse thereafter was swift and fatal, owing to poor shot-selection.
Root, though, fell to a terrific catch behind the stumps, to a similar delivery from Lungi Ngidi that shaped away after pitching and took an edge. Ryan Rickelton pulled off a low grab on second attempt to see the back of the in-form batter, and Brook was run-out risking a needless second run.
Smith, the only man to offer any real resistance in England’s innings, made a composed 54 off 47 balls amidst losing partners at regular intervals. He had accounted for more than 50 per cent of the team’s runs by the time he was dismissed with 102 runs on the board. The lower order only jotted together 29 more.
After Mulder prised out the half-centurion, Maharaj sent back the dangerous duo of Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks in succeeding overs to leave England in tatters. Mulder then produced a double-wicket over that broke the back of the English middle-order as Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer fell in consecutive balls. Maharaj lapped up the remaining two – trapping Adil Rashid LBW and handing Sonny Baker a golden duck on debut – to finish with an impressive 4 for 22.
The 131 they mustered was also the second-lowest total for England at Headingley in the format, only behind 93 all-out against Australia in the 1975 World Cup. South Africa made short work of that modest target courtesy Markram’s blazing fifty. The opener reached the milestone in a mere 23 balls – a country record in the format against England.
Baker’s maiden over in English colours wasn’t memorable either with Markram taking full toll of both the short and overpitched stuff to collect 14 runs, including three boundaries. In his next, Markram unleashed the maximums against the short balls, making it a 20-run over. By the time he was done with his four-over opening spell, Baker had leaked 56 runs and three more boundaries to Markram – the last of which brought up his half-century.
At the other end was Rickleton, who in sharp contrast was batting with a strike-rate just over 50 for the most part of his stay. He did overcome early jitters to put on a 121-run opening stand. Rickleton was almost adjudged out for an outside edge that went low to the left of Root at first slip. But it took multiple replays to confirm the ball had actually touched the ground. The very next ball, Archer went for a loud LBW appeal that England chose not to review eventually, but the ball-tracking later turned three reds.
Even with their contrasting approaches, South Africa had knocked off 67 runs in PowerPlay alone. Markram could have been dismissed soon after the fifty if not for the free-hit after Brydon Carse had overstepped the previous ball. A pull to midwicket fence raised the century of the opening stand between Markram and Rickleton – a first for South Africa against England since Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock added 239 runs at Centurion in 2016.
At one point Markram seemed set for a century, but Adil Rashid sent him packing 14 short of the landmark while England only 12 more. Rashid picked up two more consolation wickets – that of Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs – in successive deliveries when the scores were levelled. But Dewald Brevis polished off the chase with a six after surviving the hat-trick ball, overhauling the target in under 21 overs to help South Africa take a 1-0 lead.
Brief scores: England 131 all out in 24.3 overs (Jamie Smith 54; Keshav Maharaj 4-22, Wiaan Mulder 3-33) lost to South Africa 137/3 in 20.5 overs (Aiden Markram 86; Adil Rashid 3-26) by 7 wickets
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