Ken Borland

The smart money was always on an England Lions victory over the Gauteng Invitation XI in their tour match at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus Oval on Wednesday, but rain ultimately saved the hosts.

Resuming on 43 for three in their second innings, England A captain Jonathan Trott went shopping for runs, scoring a confidence-boosting 79 not out before declaring shortly after lunch on 176 for five, leaving

Gauteng with an impossible target of 441, but, more pertinently, with 55 overs to survive.

Seven of the eight English bowlers used in the afternoon then took a wicket as Gauteng crashed to 120 for eight in 42 overs, before a Highveld thunderstorm came to their rescue.

It was another disappointing batting performance from a team which is largely made up of players in the Gauteng semi-professional programme, with Yaseen Valli (22), Bradley Dial (35) and Brian Barnard (18) the only batsmen to reach double-figures.

Apart from Trott looking solid, the fact that Sam Billings managed to score 53 retired and that leg-spinner Adil Rashid took two for 14 in eight tidy overs will also please the England Lions management.

They were also able to see pace bowlers Matt Dunn and Craig Overton, and off-spinner Adam Riley in action for a few overs in the second innings.

Matthew Arnold claimed two for 24 in 12 overs in a much-improved display in the England Lions second innings, while left-arm quick Cormi le Roux looked like someone who would not be out of place in first-class cricket.

The tourists now travel to the Cape, where they will play South Africa A in the first four-day ‘test’ in Paarl from Sunday.

 http://citizen.co.za/303400/gauteng-invitation-xi-v-england-lions-final-day/

Rain forced the opening one-day international between England and South Africa to be abandoned without ever really getting going at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Friday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120824/Rain_spoils_first_ODI

England openers Ian Bell (26*) and Alastair Cook (10*) had charged to 37 without loss midway through the sixth over when the match was stopped for the last time and eventually abandoned at 3.45pm local time.

South Africa captain AB de Villiers had earlier won the toss and elected to bowl first, but his charges had to wait four-and-three-quarter-hours to eventually get on to the field due to rain.

When play did eventually start at 3pm local time, Morne Morkel was able to bowl just a single delivery – a leg-side wide – before Sophia Gardens was once again enveloped in misty drizzle and the action was stopped for another nine minutes.

An initial reduction in overs to a 24-overs-a-side match then became 23 overs per team, of which England were able to face just 5.3 before the game was called off.

Cook and Bell, neither of whom are in England’s T20 squad, struggled to score in the first three overs before Bell played some inspired strokes as he collected two fours and two sixes in 18 balls.

He certainly seemed pretty clued up about how to go about opening the innings in a 20-odd overs innings.

Morkel conceded 19 runs in his three overs, including a pair of Bell sixes in his last over, while Lonwabo Tsotsobe conceded 18 runs in 2.3 overs.

South Africa had included debutant Dean Elgar and Ryan McLaren in their starting XI, but unfortunately neither of the all-rounders had the chance to further their reputations.

Rain once again killed the action after England reached 37 without loss midway through the sixth over in the first NatWest One-Day International against South Africa at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Friday.

6th over – Clever batting now by Ian Bell as he steps outside off stump and flicks a shortish delivery from Lonwabo Tsotsobe over short fine leg for four.

5th over – Superb batting in the final batting powerplay over by Bell as he continues to come down the pitch, heaving Morne Morkel over midwicket for six and then driving him classically over long-off for another maximum.

4th over – Alastair Cook starts the next over in style as he drives Tsotsobe beautifully through the covers for four. Bell then comes down the pitch and drives the left-arm seamer sweetly over mid-off for another boundary.

3rd over – England are struggling to score and Cook pushes Morkel straight down the pitch and sets off for a suicidal single. Wayne Parnell gathers the ball just behind the bowler’s wicket, but his wild throw results in an astonishing run out miss from no more than five metres away with all three stumps to aim at! Cook was miles out and gets a major let-off before he had scored.

1st over – Play finally gets underway after a delay of four-and-three-quarter hours with a 24-overs-a-side match. Morkel’s first ball is a wide outside off stump and then the rain returns. There is another delay of nine minutes and an over is lost, reducing the game to 23 overs-a-side. Morkel completes his over well, not conceding another run.

Both South Africa and India’s batsmen plundered runs before rain had the final say and gave the hosts an 11-run victory on the Duckworth/Lewis Method in the New Age Friendship Cup T20 at the BidVest Wanderers Stadium on Friday.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120330/Rain_returns_and_SA_win_on_DL

Jacques Kallis and Colin Ingram blazed half-centuries to lay the foundation for South Africa’s total of 219 for four, and Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa were making a very good fist of the chase as they took India to 71 without loss in just 7.5 overs before rain stopped play.

After ending their innings on a tremendous high, Justin Ontong and Albie Morkel lashing 26 runs off the final over, South Africa were unable to make a breakthrough with the ball, but Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s three overs for just 15 runs were ultimately the difference as India were behind according to the Duckworth/Lewis calculation, but in control in many people’s eyes.

Gambhir hit seven fours and a six in his 49 not out off just 28 balls. It was a stunning mix of stylish strokeplay and awesome power from the left-hander and it definitely had South Africa on the back foot.

Uthappa had made it to 18 not out off 19 balls when the rain arrived to end the match.

Tsotsobe was the only bowler to keep the batsmen quiet, not conceding a boundary. The other four bowlers used by South Africa conceded 53 runs in 4.5 overs.

South Africa had earlier charged to the fourth-highest T20 international total ever as they plundered 219 for four.

Kallis – who was being “honoured” by the game – and Ingram established South Africa’s dominance with a record second-wicket stand of 119 off 81 balls, before Ontong and Morkel provided an emphatic conclusion by taking 26 runs off the final over bowled by Suresh Raina.

With overcast, rainy skies over the Wanderers only clearing a couple of hours before the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni called correctly and then sent South Africa in. Richard Levi hit four of his first six balls to the boundary, but his cameo was over almost before it had begun as left-armer Irfan Pathan switched to over the wicket and immediately had him caught at slip by Rohit Sharma for 19.

The colder weather in Johannesburg may have helped the amazing Kallis, but having flown halfway around the world from chilly New Zealand just 48 hours previously, the great all-rounder produced another remarkable innings to celebrate his own party.

Showing his usual ice-cool judgment, Kallis was content to push singles, until he found the length he wanted. He would then positively murder the ball, lashing five fours and two sixes in his 61 off 42 balls.

Ingram, battling to establish himself at international level, had a dream evening as he blasted a career-best 78 off 50 balls, with eight fours and three sixes.

Their century stand – coming off 72 balls – was the sixth by a pair of South African batsmen and the first against India. They batted through until the end of the 15th over, when Kallis was eventually caught by Rohit on the midwicket boundary off Ravichandran Ashwin.

That just seemed to bring out the best in Ingram as the last five overs produced a great finish by the South Africans – 78 runs being scored in the last five overs!

Ingram cut loose by scoring his last 28 runs off just 12 balls, finishing with eight fours and three sixes, most of his strokes being in keeping with the MCC Coaching Manual.

Off-spinner Raina had been the one Indian bowler to police the South Africans up till then and he removed Ingram at the start of the 18th over, Rohit taking his third catch of the innings – the first Indian to do so – diving forward at deep midwicket.

Only five runs had come from the over, before Ontong ended it with a slog-swept six over midwicket.

Irfan was then tidy in the 19th, conceding just a single Ontong boundary, before the experienced right-hander went into overdrive by hitting the first two balls of Raina’s final over for four and six. Ontong then missed a cunning quicker, flatter delivery from Raina to be bowled for a quickfire 22 off seven balls, but Morkel was just the man to close the innings, going six-four-six to finish with 16 not out off three balls.

Debutant Farhaan Behardien kept the momentum going with his 20 not out off 11 balls and these are exciting days for South African batting when one considers Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis weren’t even playing!

The end result was South Africa’s highest total against India, beating the 172-5 in the 2010 T20 World Cup in the West Indies, and the second-highest score they have ever made, behind the 241-6 against England at SuperSport Park in 2009/10.

The off-spinner Ashwin was the most economical of the visiting bowlers, with one for 33 in his four overs.