21/06Result
1st T20I (N), South Africa tour of England at Southampton, Jun 21 2017
England won by 9 wkts (33b rem)
Player of the Match
Jonny Bairstow
Jonny BairstowEngland
21/06Result
1st T20I (N), South Africa tour of England at Southampton, Jun 21 2017
England won by 9 wkts (33b rem)
Player of the Match
Jonny Bairstow
Jonny BairstowEngland

9.18pm So, that's it for now. AB de Villiers admits he and his batsmen found it difficult to get it off the square today, which is putting it mildly. A very strange performance all round. See you on Friday for match No. 2!

9.10pm Well, that was comprehensive. AB de Villiers and Farhaan Berhardien ground out a puzzling slow century stand that gave the impression of demons in the wicket. But England just put their feet down the track and battered the ball to all parts. But for an aberration from Jason Roy, who was looking in top form for his 28 from 14, England would surely have backed themselves to win this by ten wickets. Not a resounding omen for the coming couple of games.

Hypocaust: "What a strange match. England turned up but I think South Africa's performance bordered on unprofessional. Wonder what associate and affiliate nations think when they see a full member treat an official T20 International with such disinterest?"

Matt: "Well played Sam Billings" Quite so. A resounding winner of the #ThanksForComing Trophy. The other contender, Eoin Morgan, at least made the one big call of the night, getting Mason Crane into the attack at precisely the right moment to settle the nerves of a young legspinner who looked the part in four very tidy overs.

Anonymous: "Bairstow better than Root? I think so." Careful, you can get charged with sedition for such anti-establishment cricketing opinions these days...

14.3
1
Phehlukwayo to Bairstow, 1 run, tip and run, into the off side, a quick glance at Hales, who is on his way, and there it is. England have utterly shellacked South Africa in the first of three T20s!
14.2
0
Phehlukwayo to Bairstow, no run, short, and through to the keeper. That's called as one for the over, but it's not a wide. Good ball
14.1
4
Phehlukwayo to Bairstow, FOUR, dinked over the wicketkeeper's head, that's stunning batting. A decent bouncer, angling into the batsman, who leans out of line and dabs it to the fence. Scores level!

END OF OVER:
14 | 9 Runs | ENG: 138/1 (5 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 9.85, RRR: 0.83)

  • Jonny Bairstow55 (32b)
  • Alex Hales47 (38b)
  • Tabraiz Shamsi3-0-23-0
  • Imran Tahir3-0-37-0

Safferabroad: "I can't take it anymore. This SA team is hopeless, no spine, no guts, no point. De Villiers hasn't the foggiest idea of how to be a captain. I've been offered seats for one of the tests and am wondering if it's worth the bother. Please put a stop to this!!!" Don't despair, AB won't be captain for the Tests. (Or, actually, in the side at all ... ah... hold that thought...)

13.6
1
Shamsi to Bairstow, 1 run, skids through a touch this time. But the game is long gone
13.5
2
Shamsi to Bairstow, 2 runs, lofted drive, down to wide long off
13.4
0
Shamsi to Bairstow, no run, a huge wipe across the line and for once there's no connection. Even the keeper is startled as the ball burrows through his gloves
13.3
4
Shamsi to Bairstow, FOUR, loose, not very loose, but Bairstow banjaxes that one through the covers, to bring up a rocket-speed fifty!
13.2
0
Shamsi to Bairstow, no run, good delivery, tweaking from middle and off, and defended

Farrukh : "I can bet a million that this isn't a used pitch! " You're not wrong...

13.1
2
Shamsi to Bairstow, 2 runs, on the pads, whipped square, and Bairstow shows no ill-effects as he sprints back for two

Bairstow is taking a breather, he's down on one knee, and looking a bit glum. Has he tweaked something? It might be the heat... he's taking a glug of something isotonic. I think he'll live

END OF OVER:
13 | 17 Runs | ENG: 129/1 (14 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 9.92, RRR: 2.00)

  • Alex Hales47 (38b)
  • Jonny Bairstow46 (26b)
  • Imran Tahir3-0-37-0
  • Dwaine Pretorius2-0-20-0

Liam: "Bairstow's good at singles and boundaries. Literally suited to any format, any situation"

12.6
6
Imran Tahir to Hales, SIX, no mistake this time from Hales! This one goes where the first was intended, 20 rows back over long-on!
12.5
4
Imran Tahir to Hales, FOUR, high, too high, and dropped! Oh, that's terrible. Hales was right underneath the ball, and so too was the fielder at long on, but he buttered the ball straight through his fingers and over the rope
12.4
1
Imran Tahir to Bairstow, 1 run, tidy wicket-to-wicket delivery. Blocked
12.3
1
Imran Tahir to Hales, 1 run, drilled into the covers once more
12.2
1
Imran Tahir to Bairstow, 1 run, ironic cheers as the ball is successfully gathered this time

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