Cape Town - The Proteas went down to England by 41 runs in Bristol. They won’t have much time to rectify anything before Thursday’s second match at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
IOL Sport’s Zaahier Adams highlights five important factors from the series opener.
Catches win matches
It’s the oldest cliche’ in cricket, but it remains arguably the most relevant. South Africa dropped Jonny Bairstow three times and Moeen Ali once. That’s equal to a criminal offence. The bowlers were under enough pressure on such a small ground and needed the support of the fielders. Dropping catches allows teams to maintain momentum without a new batter coming in and utilising a few balls to assess the conditions. Poor catching is simply inexcusable at this level.
No fairytale comeback for Rilee
Rilee Rossouw’s return to the Proteas after a six-year sabbatical did not quite go as planned. The 32-year-old quickly discovered the pressures of international cricket is vastly different from franchise league cricket. A dropped catch and an innings that lasted just four balls was not the intended script. It is the pure intensity that Rossouw needs to acclimatise himself with. But he will be back, and will go again in Cardiff on Thursday.
What to do with Reeza?
Just when everyone had signed off Reeza Hendricks’ international cricket death certificate, the Lions batter produces an innings that reminds everyone of his class and style. The 32-year-old played with all the panache that he’s capable of in striking 57 off just 33 balls. It’s just so frustrating that he can’t deliver such performances on a more consistent basis.
Has the magician lost his tricks?
It was unbelievably difficult for any bowler on the pocket-sized Bristol ground to keep the batters’ in check. Even more so for the spinners. However, Tabraiz Shamsi completely lost the plot on Wednesday evening as he became obsessed with the short straight boundary and delivered a string of long-hops that were dispatched over mid-wicket for a six. Heinrich Klaasen, of course, did Shamsi no favours by dropping a rampant Jonny Bairstow in his first over. It is becoming worrying, though, that Shami struggled on the previous tour of India and now also in the opening T20I in England. It’s a T20 World Cup year and the Proteas need their No 1 spinner to rediscover his magic formula.
Book Stubbs’ ticket to Australia
It is not often that David Miller stands at the non-striker’s end and looks on in awe at another’s batter’s amazing power-hitting ability. But that’s just what the Proteas stand-in skipper was resigned to on Wednesday evening when Tristan Stubbs was blasting the ball to all areas. If last night was an audition for a place in the Proteas’ T20 World Cup squad, Stubbs nailed it with a thunderous display of power-hitting. The youngster is a thrill--a-minute. Enjoy the ride. There’s sure to be much more entertainment in the future.
@ZaahierAdams