Ben Stokes’ ODI career ended quietly with bat and ball as England were well beaten by an impressive South Africa in Durham
4th over: South Africa 27-0 (Malan 14, de Kock 11) Just when he seemed to have got through his early nerves, Potts has a shocker. He hands Malan two friendly length balls, both driven for four, one past cover, the other straight. And then he follows up with a wide. When you play with a different ball, as Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow have shown in the past week, it’s suddenly a different ball game.
3rd over: South Africa 16-0 (Malan 5, de Kock 10) Sam Curran ties de Kock down well for four balls, then spoils it by giving him a freebie – a wide half-volley, duly despatched to the cover boundary. Kumar Sangakkara spots that the offside ring is not in the right place: “they need to be a triangle”.
Continue reading...