Key events
James Wallace
That’s it from us, a damp squib to end the home summer unfortunately. We’ll be back to OBO the Ireland series which gets underway in Malahide on Wednesday. Enjoy your Sunday evening, goodbye.
The Captains Speak:
Harry Brook: “It’s a shame that the weather has ruined it again. We only played one T20 game, but the way that we played the other night was phenomenal. For us to do that against a very strong side gives us a lot of confidence. The batting line-up that we’ve got, we could score over 300 three or four times.”
He describes his first summer as white ball captain as good fun. “It’s different but we’ve got a good group.(Brook is missing the Ireland trip) I’ve got about a month off now. I’ll go on holiday, soak up the sun ahead of New Zealand and the Ashes.”
Aiden Markram “We had a lot of motivation today to put in a good performance and rectify a few things, but it is frustrating with the weather.”
“We’re tracking towards that World Cup… the other night was a tough performance, we were completely outplayed. Today was an exciting opportunity, a must-win game. It’s as close as you can get to a World Cup. But when the weather is like this, there’s not much you can do.”
Phil Salt is named player of the series:
He’s a little bit frustrated with the weather deciding the series but reflects on a remarkable innings in Manchester whilst looking forward to the Ireland tour. “It’ll be a very good trip. They’re a good team and have had some good results at home, so we’ve got a job on our hands.”
Match abandoned
The rain wins out at Trent Bridge, which means the series is drawn 1-1. I doubt the captains will come out to do a joint trophy lift, it is hosing it down in Nottingham.
On Joe Root, McCullum says: “In this game, statistics are held in such high regard… Joe has been unbelievable. It takes a very strong, giving character to come away from the captaincy, fall back into the ranks, and give what he’s given to the group… I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a huge series down there.”
On Harry Brook next, McCullum says: “He’s good. He’s coming towards the end of the season. He’ll definitely benefit from the freshen-up before we head down to New Zealand then onto Australia… He’s a great bloke, great cricketing mind, great connections throughout the group. I think he’s going to do a wonderful job in the role that he’s in.”
McCullum says Shoaib Bashir has been “superb” for England and predicts he will be well-suited to bowling in Australia adding that his average of 39 reflects the fact that he hasn’t been given favourable conditions for spin, particularly with England’s preference to bowl first. McCullum then suggests that Leach, Dawson and Rehan are all in the mix to be England’s second spinner. “Whoever we pick, we’ll be confident, if needed, that they’ll all perform… We’ll let you know in a week or so.”
Hussain then asks McCullum how he is, about his own workload and how he’s finding the job as coach across formats:
“My putting’s gone, but everything else is pretty good,” he joshes. “I’m sound. It’s an incredible position to be in, to be able to work with some of the most talented players in the world… I’ve got a great boss in Rob Key, we’ve got great captains in Ben Stokes and Harry Brook. I feel very humbled to be in this position. There’s always a balance with the family stuff… But I’m thoroughly enjoying it.”
McCullum then gives a bit of an update on the fitness of Ben Stokes and Mark Wood:
Stokes is “progressing well”, McCullum says, “He’ll be ready to go… I anticipate that he’ll be fully fit and ready to go in that series.” He’s then asked whether England could cope without their captain and talisman if was unfit. “There’s a multitude of things which can unfold. We’ve got a few thoughts in our head… We’ve got a few options up our sleeve.” God forbid.
Not quite so rosy with Mark Wood it seems. “We’ve taken things pretty carefully. He’s had a couple of minor setbacks,” McCullum says. “When he’s at his best, he terrifies opposition batters.”
He’s then asked whether England might pick Archer and Wood together for the first Test in Perth, fitness pending?
“You need to land an early blow… But you’ve got to work out which conditions suit which bowlers, knowing that it’s a five-Test series. In principle, yes, you’d like to unleash some fast bowlers early in the series.”
England Head Coach Brendon McCullum has been in the Sky Pod chatting to Ian Ward and Nasser Hussain.
“We balanced things a little bit better,” he says of England’s tempo with the bat in the Test series v India. “We grew up quite a lot through that series… We saw the emergence of the fast-bowling cartel we’ve been trying to build over the last couple of years. I left the series thinking we’d become a better team, despite the 2-2 result.”
He’s then asked about Jofra Archer and how he is tracking for the Ashes:
“Jof knows what the big prize is,” McCullum says. “As we look forward to the New Zealand series, we’ll have to be careful to make sure he’s cherry-ripe.” The needle in the India series is described by the softly spoken Kiwi as “good spice” which “added to the theatre and the drama… I was delighted with the way the guys reacted. It was a great sign of the unity in the team.”
Saqib Mahmood injury: There has been some news from the England squad today and it’s not good for Saqib Mahmood. The pace bowler will undergo knee surgery which also rules him out of the Ireland tour and also the white-ball tour of New Zealand in October.
Hampshire seamer Scott Currie has been called up as his replacement for the Ireland series, having previously represented Scotland in three ODIs.
Weather Watch: We’ll start losing overs from 3.30pm. We are yet to hear about a cut-off time for a five-over slogathon. That’s probably the best we can hope for at the moment.
Weather Watch: It is still raining. I’m going to make a brew and have a shout at the clouds. Back soon.
The rain is now pouring in Nottingham so we will have a wait on our hands to see if and when it relents and whether a game is possible.
Time aplenty to catch up on some things you might’ve missed across the site in the last week.
First up, Ali Martin sat down with James Vince the other day, the conversation heading off in a few different directions – don’t mention that crack!
Tanya Aldred was at Edgbaston yesterday for Blast finals day as Somerset emerged victorious over Hampshire in front of a capacity crowd.
Bad news! The covers are now being dragged back on as the rain starts up again, this time a bit heavier. It’s going to be one of those afternoons I fear.
Good news! The covers are coming off at Trent Bridge though Stuart Broad is the local lad and he is worried about the rain radar. We can do a five overs a side game if it comes to it and Shaun Pollock jokes that South Africa won’t want to bowl twenty overs at England while they are in this blistering form.
The players are warming up on the Trent Bridge outfield, the rain is falling lightly, if steadily. Apparently there will be a toss in five minutes so everyone is obviously keen to get a game started with a break in the weather coming. It looks a bit Biblical later on mind.
Ian Ward, Shaun Pollock and Stuart Broad are in the studio waxing lyrical about Phil Salt and England’s batting in Manchester. Simon Burnton was there for us the other night, getting RSI of the neck as the boundaries were peppered.
England made history, and for the first time more than 300 runs, on an extraordinary night in Manchester as they buried South Africa under a mountain of runs and shredded statistics. Their highest T20 total was turbocharged by a brilliant opening stand of 126 between Phil Salt and Jos Buttler and by their highest individual score, Salt knocking himself off the top of that chart with an unbeaten 141. Within a week and against the same opponents they have set new national records for winning margins in both one-day internationals and now T20s, the final difference here an almost comic 146 runs.
Salt described his evening as “really good fun” but the experience for Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s head coach, was anything but. He described a bowling performance that – having invited England to bat first – “was way off, bereft of ideas” as England were allowed to plunder 30 fours and 18 sixes en route to a score of 304 for two, with nearly twice as many boundaries (48) across the innings as there were dot balls (25).”
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the third T20I between England and South Africa. It’s England’s last home match of a long international summer… but cricket waits for no one and they’ll touch down in Ireland for a short white ball series that begins on Wednesday. Just in case you were worried about having withdrawal symptoms.
Jacob Bethell will captain them for that series but Harry Brook remains at the helm for today’s fixture, if the weather relents and they can get a game on in Notttingham that is.
The radar looks a bit grim currently, which is a shame as the series is tied one apiece after the five over soggy slogathon went the Proteas way in Cardiff and Phil Salt’s record breaking century at Old Trafford levelled things up for England.
I’ll be back shortly to bring you news of the teams and the toss, not to mention that pesky weather. Please do get in touch with your thoughts, theories and ruminations on the universe. We might need them.
