yorker, Bosch's best ball is his last ball, dug out to point... and that is the end of that!
England vs South Africa, 1st T20I at Cardiff, ENG vs SA, Sep 10 2025 - Match Result
10.28pm That'll do for one night. Keshav Maharaj's groin injury could be a development that has consequences for the coming games, but for now, his team-mates have done the needful. From Miller, Matt and Ranjith, good night!
Time for some presentations... because why not?
Donovan Ferreira, boasting a brand-new profile pic on Cricinfo, is Player of the Match: "Can go any way, pleased the guys got over the line. Nice doing it for your country, making an impact is a shortened game is nice for me. I wasn't thinking of the boundary sizes, just watching the ball and it suits my game to hit straight. It's for me to express myself... coach has given me freedom, not putting pressure on myself."
Harry Brook: "Can't read into that too much... very wet in patches, didn't execute as we could. The big dogs above me make the decisions [about playability]."
Aiden Markram: "The way things unfolded, it was a hurry-up-and-wait sort of day. It feels like madness but you can think about things. You need one or two guys to have a good cameo and you get a good score. Kesh was going to play but he tweaked his groin. Marco has been out of cricket for a while but to run in with that energy and set the tone is important. Conditions favoured him with pace and bounce in the wicket."
10.18pm So... after a near four-hour delay and a further flurry of rain, a 40-over contest is reduced to 12.5, and South Africa emerge with the early honours in this T20I leg of their tour. Not a massive amount to be read into that... except that South Africa are stacked with seriously impressive powerhitters, with key contributions from Markram, Ferreira, Stubbs and Brevis. A five-over chase was no means to test the genuine competitiveness of these teams, but Marco Jansen's steepling left-arm angles would have been a handful in any circumstances. England were never really in the hunt once Phil Salt had holed out first ball.
low full toss, pumped through the line but only as far as Jansen at long-on. There's no coming back from here
full toss, but Jacks shanks his launch... high on the bat and lands without timing short of mid-on. That ought to be that...
another slot ball, wider line, dropped at point! Williams tried to steady himself, but that had sleet on it, and blew the fielder off his feet... almost overthrows as Rickelton failed to gather, but Jacks had over-run the stumps
blazed down the ground! It was a slot-ball from Bosch, and slotted it was! High and mighty, up into the floodlights and down into the sightscreen!
Hello Sammy C... first-ball wicket on comeback, can he top that?
full toss, into the legs, Banton fluffs his clip across the line! A massive leading edge, plops into Markram's hands at mid-off. This is nearly done now
No Sammy C... Jacks is the new man
huge thrash, thin nick to the keeper! Buttler loses his shape as Jansen hits his length outside off, and it's an inside-edge low to Rickelton... that, surely, is the game for South Africa
bouncer... but too high for the square-leg umpire! 77mph, but well over Buttler's attempted pull, as Jansen''s steepling bounce comes to play again
This, realistically, needs to travel!
pace off again, deceived out of the hand, but very cunningly played in the end, as Banton opens the face and settles for the dink through deep third... excellent running gets them back for two
hits his length outside off, Buttler drills through his drive but only as far as long-off
PietSkiet: "How does Jansen bowl a second over " The rules are as per a nine-over game...
pace off, Buttler can't time his launch with a very open stance again, and drags a pull to square leg
mashed across the line! Buttler sits deep, opens his stance to the angle across his body, and nails his slapped pull high over wide long-on! Astonishing
he goes for the scoop alright... but the ball cannons down off his body behind the stumps... RIckelton gathers well and under-arms at the stumps, but Buttler has made it home
Marco Jansen returns... a tough guy to line up with that leaping bounce... scoops galore?
full and into the toes, clipped calmly to the on-side... 38 needed off two... 19 an over is getting steep!
England need to get a wriggle on here...
MikeJM: "This is not cricket, it is bish, bash, bosh, - just abandon the game " Where's your sense of fun?
steps back and across, slams the length ball hard through the line to long-off
very full, steps across his stumps! This is mighty adjacent ... going down leg maybe? South Africa review. No bat involved as Banton wafted across the line... clipping leg, so he survives!
Brook connects at last... and it is his last! Took on a cramped flick, on the pads and whipping his bat hard across the line, it's a big steepling leading edge, plopping into Rickelton's gloves. Two forgettable knocks in quick succession for the skipper! And his first T20I duck
sits back on the length ball, drags his launch through the line a touch, wide long-on intercepts
bosh! Back of a length, Buttler pivots into a thunderous flat pull, hard through square leg!
Bosch....
another waft at nothing... three air-shots for Brook as Jansen's pace and bounce confounds his alignment
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | |
Toss | England, elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2025 |
Player Of The Match | |
Series result | South Africa led the 3-match series 1-0 |
Match number | T20I no. 3445 |
Hours of play (local time) | 18.30 start, First Session 18.30-20.00, Interval 20.00-20.20, Second Session 20.20-21.50 |
Match days | 10 September 2025 - night (20-over match) |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee |
Over 5 • ENG 54/5