South Africa v England Twenty20I series preview: Roy, Bairstow, Buttler and Malan set to battle it out for opening role February 11, 2020 A short-format series tacked onto the end of a long tour can sometimes carry little significance, but England’s run of three Twenty20 Internationals with South Africa, starting today, is not one of them. Having won the 50-over Cricket World Cup last year, England’s attention is now firmly fixed on repeating that feat at the 20-over [...]
Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali remind everyone of their worth as England draw South Africa ODI series 1-1 February 9, 2020 The series may have suffered from an after-the-Lord-Mayor’s-show feel but, thanks to their win on Sunday, England did at least extend a proud record. Victory by two wickets over South Africa in Johannesburg meant that England ensured the three-match One-Day International series was drawn 1-1 and their three-year unbeaten record remains intact. England’s domination of [...]
Defeat in the first ODI against South Africa is not worrying – England are working towards bigger goals February 5, 2020 England’s seven-wicket defeat by South Africa in the first One-Day International on Tuesday caused a bit of a stir, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about. With the Twenty20 World Cup approaching later this year and improvement in the Test arena an ongoing priority, ODIs have understandably taken a back seat for [...]
South Africa send England back to earth win a bump in seven-wicket ODI defeat in Cape Town February 4, 2020 After 205 days, it was back to earth with a bump for England in Cape Town on Tuesday. The last time Eoin Morgan’s side had played a One-Day International it was that wonderful sun-soaked July evening at Lord’s when the most unbelievable sequence of events saw them beat New Zealand in a super over and [...]
Mark Wood’s comeback from injury shows the strength in depth England’s bowling attack now has January 29, 2020 England won the fourth Test match against South Africa on Monday to seal a 3-1 series victory and there are a lot of positives for them to take out of the last six weeks. South Africa are in a transitional phase and are clearly not what they used to be, but the fact England bounced [...]
Five conclusions from England’s thumping 3-1 series win over South Africa January 27, 2020 England bowled South Africa out for 274 on day four of the fourth Test in Johannesburg on MonsY to complete a 191-run win and wrap up a 3-1 series victory. Having gone 1-0 down at Centurion, the visitors surged back to dominate the next three Tests and earn only their second overseas series win in [...]
South Africa v England: How Mark Wood battled injuries and lengthened his run-up to ease the strain on his body January 26, 2020 Before this week Mark Wood had not played consecutive Test matches since July 2017. As much as he wanted to, his body simply would not allow it. Since making his Test debut for England in May 2015, Wood’s career has been defined as much by injuries as his talent. This, after all, is only his [...]
South Africa v England fourth Test preview: Home captain Faf du Plessis under pressure both on and off the field as series reaches its climax January 23, 2020 How quickly things can change. After the first Test of the series against England in Centurion, South Africa were left to reflect on a first victory in six attempts in which Kagiso Rabada had taken seven wickets to settle their nerves and given the new coaching team a near-perfect start. Just under a month later [...]
England should not rush Ollie Pope up the batting order – let him develop his game at No6 January 22, 2020 England’s win over South Africa in the third Test in Port Elizabeth came by a margin of an innings and 53 runs and gave them a 2-1 lead in the series and yet some people still were not happy. I saw some criticism of England’s top-order batting, with people saying openers Dom Sibley and Zak [...]
Dom Bess and Ollie Pope the stars as England thrash South Africa in third Test to take unassailable 2-1 series lead January 20, 2020 The back-slapping may have been delayed, and the winning moment may have come in an oddly subdued fashion against a worn-out side on their last legs, but England’s crushing victory over South Africa in the third Test was no less momentous. When Sam Curran threw down the stumps at the non-strikers’ end to run out [...]