CRICKET : England gave themselves a good chance of beating South Africa for the first time in a Twenty20 international after half-centuries from Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan helped set the hosts 203 for victory at the Wanderers.
England gave themselves a good chance of beating South Africa for the first time in a Twenty20 international after half-centuries from Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan helped set the hosts 203 for victory at the Wanderers.
Morgan hit an unbeaten 85 and his captain 57 as the pair put on 98 from 57 balls, while Jonathan Trott also impressed on his return to his country of birth with a quickfire 33 as England reached their highest ever 20-over total.
Morgan’s effort – the highest individual total by an Englishman in the shortest format of the game, surpassing Collingwood’s 79 against West Indies in 2007 – came after the tourists lost the toss and were asked to bat first.
South Africa started well with Charl Langeveldt trapping Joe Denly leg before wicket with the first ball of the innings.
The first runs off the bat came early in the next over when Alastair Cook cut Ryan McLaren down to third man, but the Essex batsman was slightly fortunate with his first boundary two balls later – edged just wide of first slip.
Trott looked unflustered in his first innings against his former countrymen and, after getting off the mark with a single, he walked down the wicket to Langeveldt and smashed his first four through the covers, but just as England looked like they were building some momentum, they lost Cook (11), who missed a low full toss and was trapped lbw.
Dale Steyn was introduced in the fifth over and was punished by Trott, who twice drove, cut and then pulled the Proteas’ strike bowler for four boundaries in a row to claim 18 off the over.
A six from Collingwood over backward square leg off Albie Morkel took his side past the 50 in just the sixth over, but a needless run out in the next over meant England were three wickets down.
Trott was the victim, attempting to steal a quick single to Graeme Smith – whose fast and accurate throw gave Roelof van der Merwe sufficient time to remove the bails, even though the bowler looked to have missed the stumps at first attempt.
Collingwood and Morgan took up the mantle helping England reach the halfway stage at 87 for three. The 100 came up from 72 balls with another boundary off the expensive Steyn at the start of a 12th over which went for 14 – including a mighty six which flew out of the ground over deep square leg.
