South Africa vs England Cricket Series 2008

World T20, 2nd Semi-Final

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at Mumbai, Mar 31, 2016

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South Africa vs England Cricket Series 2008

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South Africa vs England Cricket Series 2008

ENG vs SA, 5th ODI, Cardiff: England whitewash washed out

England's hopes of inflicting a whitewash on South Africa disappeared in the Cardiff rain as the final NatWest Series match was abandoned, with only three overs possible.
Kevin Pietersen's team would have taken England up to an all-time high second in the one-day international rankings if they had been able to complete a 5-0 clean sweep. Instead, they must settle for 4-0 and third in the International Cricket Council ODI table - behind Australia and South Africa.
On a day of blustery showers and with rain always threatening, the match at the SWALEC Stadium was called off at 6.50pm. In the play possible, South Africa - put in to bat first - lost Herschelle Gibbs to a blinding catch behind by Matt Prior off Stuart Broad, on the way to six for one.
That came after a start delayed by wet surrounds, and preceded the first of the many downpours which were eventually to bring the abandonment.

ENG vs SA, 5th ODI, Cardiff: South Africa 6 for 1 (3.0 overs) v England match abandoned

ENG vs SA, 4th ODI, Lord's: Flintoff stars as England win fourth ODI (4:0)

Andrew Flintoff starred with bat and ball as England won the fourth one-day international against South Africa by seven wickets at Lord's on Sunday.
England, set a revised target of 137 to win off 20 overs after rain disrupted the South African innings of 183 for six in 32.1 overs, made it with 14 balls to spare with Kevin Pietersen making 40, and Owais Shah 44 not out. Flintoff came in and smashed a rapid 31 off 12 deliveries to add to his three for 21 with the ball.
Pietersen was out with 44 still wanted but he and Shah had upped the tempo of England's run chase by hitting a Jacques Kallis over for 20. The England captain eventually holed out in the deep after hitting five fours and a six before Flintoff came in and took the game away from South Africa and give England a 4-0 lead in the series. Pietersen said: "The recalculation probably worked in our favour but we batted really well. But I asked the boys to do a job and they have done it today. Winning becomes a habit and when you start winning game after game after game you learn how to win. "Andrew is playing some of the best cricket of his career."
In the gathering gloom Shah who started off slowly paced his innings to perfection to get England home whilst Flintoff seemingly unaffected by the light hit the South African bowling to all parts. Pietersen added: "I know Owais would come good. He proved what a good player he is. He delivered today and played some fantastic shots."
Kallis said: "The dressing room is down - we pride ourselves on our results. But there are some positives to take out today, we are learning from our mistakes and we have some young players learning about international cricket. "Flintoff has been unbelievable. He has proved he is a good player and he adds balance to the England side. He is a world class performer."
Herschelle Gibbs, 34 and no longer in the Test side, showed he remains a force in one-day international cricket with his 36th one-day half century after South Africa were put into bat in gloomy conditions by Pietersen. The opener was eyeing a 21st one-day century when he was bowled off his pads by Stuart Broad having faced 75 balls and hit five fours for his 74. For England Andrew Flintoff took three for 21 from seven overs before rain interrupted the innings for a second time.
Gibbs and Hashim Amla put on 66 for the first wicket with Amla accelerating after the rain break when he tucked into Steve Harmison and took four fours of the quick bowler in one over. At this stage the South Africans were going at more than six an over but Amla's innings was cut short when he was run out by Owais Shah.
Pietersen's bowlers were not firing on all cylinders as they had at Trent Bridge when South Africa were bundled out for 83 and Harmison was taken out of the attack after conceding 35 runs in four overs but Flintoff was reliable as ever. A 5-0 whitewash of the South Africans, the final match is in Cardiff on Wednesday, would take England to second in the ICC one-day world rankings behind Australia.

ENG vs SA, 4th ODI, Lord's: England 137 for 3 (17.4 overs) beat South Africa 183 for 6 (32.1 overs) by 7 wickets (D/L)

ENG vs SA, 3rd ODI, The Oval: Patel, Flintoff inspire England win (3:0)

Samit Patel took five wickets and Andrew Flintoff hit 78 not out to inspire England to a 126-run win over South Africa and an unassailable 3-0 series lead at the Oval overnight.
Flintoff's 77-ball innings and 31 from Patel carried England to 7 for 296 from 50 overs and South Africa were never up with the rate as they were bowled out for 170 with Patel taking 5 for 41 to cap a memorable match. The South African chase flickered only briefly when Albie Morkel hit Patel for two sixes in an over but having planted him into the stands for a second time the batsmen offered a low return catch that Patel took low down.
But the tourists were out of the game by the 30th over of their innings when Mark Boucher was fifth man out with only 114 on the board. England are now chasing only the second 5-0 series win in their history, with games at Lord's and Cardiff to come, after they triumphed over Zimbabwe by the same margin in 2001-02. A 5-0 series win would put England second in the one-day world rankings.
Flintoff, adding to the 78 he made in the first game at Headingley, and relishing his role at number five put on a free-scoring partnership of 74 for the sixth wicket with Patel that took the game away from the South Africans. His recent form with the bat is another triumph for new captain Kevin Pietersen who has promoted the all-rounder up the order and persuaded Steve Harmison, a crucial figure in this series, out of one-day international retirement.
Flintoff survived a nasty blow to his temple on 38 when he was late on pulling a Morne Morkel bouncer but recovered to hit nine fours and a six. The pick of the South African bowlers was Johan Botha who took 2 for 35 from nine overs with his spin. After being put in England's Matt Prior played and missed during the early overs but found his range when he clubbed 14 runs off Makhaya Ntini's second over including a six over long on from a free hit.
Ntini's first five overs disappeared for 47 but stand-in captain Jacques Kallis forced a breakthrough when Morne Morkel had Prior caught off a top edged pull that Herschelle Gibbs ran round to catch. Ntini looked a tired bowler at the end of a long tour as he conceded 68 runs in nine overs. Bell, looking for a second one-day international hundred, had a close shave when he was nearly run out on 73 but fell without adding another run when he was leg before to Johan Botha trying to turn the ball to midwicket.
Wickets fell steadily and England were 5 for 182 in the 35th over when Paul Collingwood was out but Flintoff and his tail end partners managed to eke out another 114 from the last 15 overs before Pietersen's bowlers, with Patel to the fore, squeezed the South Africans out of the contest.

ENG vs SA, 3rd ODI, The Oval: England 296 for 7 (50.0 overs) beat South Africa 170 all out (42.4 overs) by 126 runs

ENG vs SA, 2nd ODI, Trent Bridge: Broad inspires England to easy win (2:0)

Stuart Broad inspired England to only their third 10-wicket victory in one-day international history as they defeated South Africa at Trent Bridge.
Broad claimed five for 23 in a 10-over new-ball spell to help dismiss South Africa for a lowly 83 and secure England's emphatic triumph by 5.35pm in a match billed as a day-night international. Those figures were the best of his own career, the fifth best by an England player and completely humiliated a South African side who were briefly rated as the best side in the world earlier this year by dismissing them for the second lowest total in their history. His performance capped another impressive display by an England side galvanised by the appointment of Kevin Pietersen as captain, who is yet to taste defeat since his unveiling after winning the final Test and the opening game of this five-match series at Headingley on Friday.
South Africa's challenge was undermined from the start with Broad given the new ball from the Pavilion End and removed South Africa's leading three batsmen inside the first three overs to set the tone for the remainder of the innings. Sensing an emphatic triumph, Pietersen went for the kill and brought all-rounder Andrew Flintoff into the attack, who accelerated South Africa's demise by winning an lbw appeal against AB de Villiers with a ball which jagged back into his pads.
Flintoff's hostility also accounted for Mark Boucher, who became the latest of many South African batsmen to edge behind, while Broad followed up by claiming his final wicket in his last over. Steve Harmison replaced him from the Pavilion End and quickly wrapped up the tail with two wickets in his only over to leave England facing a modest target in reply.
Propelled by Matt Prior's aggressive approach they raced to their target in just 14.1 overs with England's wicketkeeper accelerating to an unbeaten 45 off only 36 balls, including six fours and a six. He completed the triumph with a pull for four off Andre Nel to complete only England's third 10-wicket victory in 495 one-day international matches to put them firmly in control of the five-match series.

ENG vs SA, 2nd ODI, Trent Bridge: England 85 for 0 (14.1 overs) beat South Africa 83 all out (23.0 overs) by 10 wickets

ENG vs SA, 1st ODI, Headingley: Pietersen leads England to ODI win over South Africa (1:0)

Kevin Pietersen's golden start to the England captaincy continued as he hit 90 not out to set up a 20-run win in the first one-day international against South Africa at Headingley on Friday.
Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, who made 78 from 70 balls, hauled England up from 113-3 after 30 overs to 275-4 from 50 with a stand of 158 for the fourth wicket - a record for 50-over internationals on this ground. And Pietersen's Midas touch returned in the South African innings when four bowling changes - Steve Harmison (twice), Samit Patel and the captain himself - produced wickets in their first over as the tourists were all out for 255.
Pietersen ended with figures of 2-22 with his off-spin and Harmison 2-43 whilst Flintoff knocked over the tail. Pietersen said: "The last time Andrew Fintoff batted like that with me was at Edgbaston against Australia in 2005. We gave him a new role at number five. The man is a superstar - I am fortunate to have a bloke like that who I can throw the ball to say knock over the stumps.' "We asked a lot of the players but we won't be resting on our laurels. The team were brilliant - we started off well and built a good foundation. "And this is the stage where Steve Harmison belongs. He should be playing in front of 30,000, 40,000, 50,000."
South African captain Graeme Smith added: "We know they can hit the ball but if we get our execution right we should never be going for 98 in the last ten. There is a feeling in the dressing room we can do a lot better. "We pride ourselves on being better than that. But England deserved their win - they played with a lot more skill."
In contrast to England, South Africa set off at pace in pursuit of their target with Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith taking the score to 50 before Pietersen called up Harmison for his first one-day international bowl for nearly two years. Four balls later the Durham quick had Smith caught behind and Gibbs was then bowled by Patel to leave South Africa 93-2 in the 15th over. And a steady flow of wickets saw England to victory.
It was with the bat that Pietersen made his most telling contribution. After playing themselves in carefully, Flintoff and Pietersen unleashed a torrent of boundaries to demolarise the South Africans. For Flintoff, it was his highest score in one-day internationals since 2005 and he hit nine fours before being bowled backing away by Sale Steyn in the final over.
Pietersen escaped two big leg before appeals and a close run out when his bat appeared to bounce over the crease when he was on 23 and took 52 balls to hit his first four. But once he had found his range Pietersen and Flintoff took the score from 150 to 200 in just 38 balls before accelerating once more towards the end of the innings.

ENG vs SA, 1st ODI, Headingley: England 275-4 (50 overs) beat South Africa 255 (49.4 overs) by 20 runs

SA v ENG, Twenty20, Riverside: Twenty20 game canceled after heavy rain

England and South Africa will not play a Twenty20 international on Wednesday because the pitch is waterlogged.
The match was canceled Tuesday after heavy rain at Chester-le-Street ground in northeast England. England's next competitive Twenty20 fixture is its one-off match against the Stanford Superstars in Antigua on November 1, when prize money of US$20 million is at stake.
England next plays South Africa on Friday at Headingley in the first of five one-day internationals.

SA v ENG, Twenty20, Riverside: Match abandoned due to rain

SA v ENG Lions, Practice Match, Derby: England Lions beat South Africa by 6 wickets

Samit Patel proved his credentials as a potential international one-day batsman, making a fine half-century to guide England Lions to a thumping victory over South Africa.
Although there have been question marks over the 23-year-old Nottinghamshire man's fielding and fitness, it was his batting that did the talking as he built on a good start made by England hopefuls Owais Shah (46) and Matt Prior (33) to complete a comfortable six-wicket win, Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan also chipping in with 47 not out. Prior, who played his last ODI for England back in September last year, staked his claim to fill the problematic opening spot for England as he got his side off to a flying start, as both he and Shah produced some inventive hitting to get the Lions ahead of the run rate inside the power-plays and from then on they were always favourites for the win
Earlier in the day, South Africa captain, Graeme Smith, hit a fluent half-century, after having been dropped by Lions captain Ed Joyce on 17. Mark Boucher also impressed with the bat for the tourists, the wicketkeeper who has played over 250 ODIs hit an impressive unbeaten 63 at almost a run a ball to ensure a competitive total.
The Lions bowlers rarely allowed the South African batsmen to produce any fluency, bowling consistently tight lines that made scoring very difficult. Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas was particularly impressive, varying his pace to great effect as he picked up the prize wickets of Jacques Kallis and captain Smith. Mascarenhas only played in one of England's ODIs in the recent series against New Zealand, but after this display with the ball and an average of more than 100 with the bat in this season's Pro 40, he has staked his claim for a more regular place.
This was South Africa's final warm-up before their five-match series against England and a Twenty20 international on Wednesday.

SA v ENG Lions, Practice Match, Derby: England Lions beat South Africa by 6 wickets

SA v ENG Lions, Practice Match, Leicester: South Africa thrash England Lions in warm-up match

South Africa warmed up for next week's Twenty20 international against England with a four-wicket win over the England Lions at Grace Road on Thursday.
England Lions face South Africa again at Derby on Saturday, when they will be led by Middlesex's Ed Joyce, before the tourists start the one-day series with a Twenty20 International against England at Chester-le-Street next Wednesday. The tourists, who did not field captain Graeme Smith, all-rounder Jacques Kallis, seamer Morne Morkel and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, got the required runs with 11 overs remaining in this first warm-up match against the Lions.
Lions captain Rob Key, whose side have six members of England's one-day squad, said: "That was pretty much a drubbing really and that's not a true reflection of the two sides - I think we're a better side than that. "Whoever you're playing for, it's always disappointed to get beaten like that when you know you should have done better because you walk off the field thinking we mucked up today and it should have been a lot tighter than that.
"We're probably more used to that sort of pitch than those guys are. It was a little damp in the morning but even so we should have been a little bit smarter with bat and ball."
Put into bat, the Lions were dismissed for a lowly 184 with captain Key top-scoring with 51 and Herschelle Gibbs effectively settled the issue with a patient 81 off 104 balls, which included six fours and a six, for their final score of 185-6.

SA v ENG Lions, Practice Match, Leicester: South Africa 185 for 6 (38.4 overs) beat England Lions 184 all out (46.5 overs) by 4 wickets

SA v ENG, 4th Test, The Oval: England cruise to victory in final Test (1-2)

A century opening partnership between Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook set England on the way to a six-wicket win on the fifth day of the fourth and final Test against South Africa at the Oval Monday.
Strauss (58) and Cook (67) put on 123 to take England a long way towards their target of 197. Four wickets fell cheaply but after such a start there was never any real doubt that Kevin Pietersen's first match as captain would end with a win, although South Africa took the series 2-1.
Cook was the senior partner as he and Strauss laid the foundation for their team after a cautious start. Only 11 runs were scored in the first 11 overs as Makhaya Ntini bowled accurately and Morne Morkel erratically.
When the total was on nine a plan to dismiss Strauss almost worked. Ashwell Prince was moved to leg slip, with Morkel bowling around the wicket. Strauss, on four, obliged by glancing the ball straight to Prince but umpire Aleem Dar called no-ball because Morkel had over-stepped.
The scoring rate picked up in the 12th over when Cook off-drove and pulled Ntini for boundaries. Left-arm spinner Paul Harris came on as first change and Cook on 16 jabbed him close to Hashim Amla at short leg. But after that the batsmen looked comfortable until Ntini came back into the attack after lunch and had Cook caught at first slip by South African captain Graeme Smith.
Ian Bell was bowled by Ntini when he went across his stumps and left his leg stump exposed and he was followed two balls later by Strauss, caught at leg slip by Smith off bat and pad. Pietersen and Paul Collingwood took England within 15 runs of the target but Pietersen, who made a century in the first innings, was denied the satisfaction of being at the crease when the winning runs were scored.
The England captain was caught off bat and pad at short leg by Neil McKenzie off Harris for 13. Andrew Flintoff joined Collingwood and ended the match with a straight six off Harris.

SA v ENG, 4th Test, The Oval, day five: England 316 & 198-4 beat South Africa 194 & 318 by six wickets

SA v ENG, 3rd Test, Edgbaston: South Africa wins third Test by five wickets, takes series (2-0)

Graeme Smith played one of the great rearguard innings Saturday as South Africa chased 281 to win the third Test by five wickets and capture its first series win over in England for 43 years.
The South Africa captain finished unbeaten on 154 at Edgbaston after putting on 112 for the sixth wicket with Mark Boucher (45 not out), who came in with the team in trouble at 171-5. Smith finished the game with a pull shot through midwicket off part-time offspinner Kevin Pietersen, holding his arms aloft in triumph as South Africa took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Resuming after tea on 111-4, Smith survived an excellent leg-before-wicket shout from Monty Panesar when he shouldered arms to a sharply spinning delivery. Despite cutting and driving powerfully and hooking fiercely, Smith rode his luck at times, beating a run out opportunity on 78 when Ian Bell fumbled wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose's throw with the captain short of his ground. Smith then gloved a catch on 85 to Ambrose off Panesar, but the English fielders had little option but to give the batsman the benefit of the doubt.
A.B. de Villiers and Smith added 78 before Paul Collingwood caught De Villiers at first slip for 27 off Panesar to leave the tourists on 171-5. Smith and Boucher set about grinding down the attack to claim the team's first series win in England since 1965.
Earlier, England was dismissed for 363 with Paul Collingwood likely saving his Test career by scoring 135 after the team had resumed on 297-6. England had a bad start when Ambrose was bowled by Morne Morkel on the second ball of the day for 19. Ambrose and Collingwood had added 76 for the seventh wicket and the wicketkeeper's departure brought Ryan Sidebottom in. Collingwood and Sidebottom continued to frustrate the South Africa bowlers by compiling a 65-run partnership, before Sidebottom became Morkel's second victim of the morning when he gloved a catch to Hashim Amla at short leg.
Anderson was bowled by Kallis for 1, and Collingwood was out when his cut shot at Morkel was edged to Boucher. Smith and Neil McKenzie had to face a tricky 20-minute spell before lunch, taking the score to 11-0.
England then took four wickets in the second session for only 28 runs to leave the Proteas on 111-4 at tea, still requiring 170 for victory. McKenzie and Smith had made serene progress to reach 65-0 with few alarms. But Andrew Flintoff struck when McKenzie lost sight of a yorker that caught him flush on the toe and umpire Steve Davis gave him out lbw for 22.
Panesar then trapped Amla in front for 6, before Jacques Kallis on 5 became the third lbw victim of the innings when he also lost sight of Flintoff's full toss and was hit on the thigh. Kallis stood his ground in disbelief, but Davis raised his finger to leave South Africa on 83-3.
Ashwell Prince made 2 before James Anderson slanted a ball across to have him caught behind by Tim Ambrose to leave the tourists on 93-4.
The fourth Test starts Thursday at The Oval in London. South Africa won the second Test at Headingley by 10 wickets last week after the first match at Lord's was drawn.

SA v ENG, 3rd Test, Edgbaston: South Africa 314 & 283-5 beat England 231 & 363 by 5 wickets

SA v ENG, 2nd Test, Leeds: South Africa coasts to a ten-wicket victory (1-0)

South Africa won the second test by 10 wickets Monday, after bowling England out for 327 in their second innings and then hitting the nine runs required for victory on the fourth day.
England resumed at 50-2 overnight and needed to bat for at least five more sessions to save the game, but managed less than three. South Africa, which dominated the test from the first session of day one, took a 1-0 lead in the series. England started the final session 182-6, still 137 runs short of making South Africa bat again. Andrew Flintoff and wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose briefly threatened to extend the game into the fifth day until Ambrose was caught behind off Dale Steyn for 36. Flintoff was then caught by Jacques Kallis at slip off Morne Morkel for 38.
Monty Panesar made 10 before being bowled by Dale Steyn, before Stuart Broad livened up the Headingley crowd with a quick-fire 50 to make South Africa bat again. Broad put on 61 with Darren Pattinson for the last wicket but it was only delaying the inevitable as Pattinson was eventually bowled by Morkel to wrap up the innings. South Africa openers Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie took just 1.1 overs to knock off the nine runs required to seal victory.
South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher took nine catches in the game, while Ashwell Prince was named man-of-the-match for his first innings hundred.
Earlier, England lost two wickets for 52 runs in the afternoon session to add to the two it lost in the morning. Resuming after lunch on 130-4, England lost Ian Bell for 4 when he was brilliantly caught by A.B. de Villiers at gully off the bowling of Morne Morkel with 10 runs added. Alastair Cook spooned a catch to Hashim Amla off Jacques Kallis to depart for 60, as England slipped to 152-6 midway through the session. England lost night watchman James Anderson (34) and the vital wicket of Kevin Pietersen for the addition of 80 runs in the opening session.
Anderson and Cook extended their partnership to 59, before Anderson was out for his highest test score after being hit by successive deliveries from fast bowler Dale Steyn. The second blow crashed into the side of his helmet and resulted in an 11-minute delay as Anderson received treatment from the England physiotherapist. He was out the following over, leg before wicket to Steyn to leave England on 109-3 and bringing Pietersen to the crease.
Pietersen proceeded to hit three boundaries in his first four balls before edging a rising delivery from Kallis to be caught by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher for 13 off five balls. South Africa was all out for 522 late Sunday for a first-innings lead of 319. The opening match at Lord's last week finished in a draw.

SA v ENG, 2nd Test, Leeds: South Africa 522 & 9-0 beat England 203 & 327 by 10 wickets

SA v ENG, 1st Test, Lords: South Africa earn a draw against England

Neil McKenzie's tour de force hundred and a second three-figure exercise in determination from Hashim Amla completed South Africa's escapology act in the first Test at Lord's.
McKenzie (138) shut out England for nine-and-a-quarter hours, and his second-wicket partner Amla (104no) outlasted him for a five-and-a-half-hour hundred of his own as South Africa secured a draw by closing out the match on 393 for three.
South Africa's safety was a far cry from the peril of following on two days ago 346 runs behind, apparently certain to lose and go 1-0 down in this four-match series. But McKenzie and his captain Graeme Smith responded with an opening stand of 204, and the former was then joined by Amla to add 125 more.
Suffering with a groin strain towards the end of his 447-ball 138 and batting with Smith as a runner, McKenzie eventually went when he was unable to move his feet towards an attempted cut shot and edged a ball from James Anderson behind. By that time, though, the tourists knew the job was almost done - and even after Jacques Kallis had been yorked by Ryan Sidebottom to go cheaply, Amla still would not be moved. He reached a 231-ball hundred and was still in situ, in company with first-innings centurion Ashwell Prince when the umpires unexpectedly offered the batsmen the opportunity of going off for bad light. It appeared an expedient decision which found little favour with the last-day crowd.
When the players returned shortly afterwards, there was a farcical epilogue as - with the third new ball only four overs old - part-time off-spinners Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen completed bowling duties until the stalemate was confirmed at 4.50pm. England batsman Ian Bell was named as man of the match after his superb innings of 199.

SA v ENG, 1st Test, Lords: England 593-8 drew with South Africa 247 & 393-3

West Indies vs England Cricket Series 2008-09

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