Key events
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Australia win by 17 runs
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WICKET! Rickelton c Maxwell b Dwarshuis 71, SA 158-8
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WICKET! Muthusamy lbw Zampa 0, 123-7
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WICKET! Bosch b Zampa 2, SA 123-6
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WICKET! Linde c Maxwell b Hazlewood 0, SA 120-5
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WICKET! Stubbs c Inglis b Hazlewood 37, SA 120-4
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WICKET! Brevis c sub (Abbott) b Dwarshuis 2, SA 48-3
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WICKET! Pretorius c Owen b Maxwell 14, SA 40-2
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WICKET! Markram c Green b Hazlewood 12, SA 1-12
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South Africa need 179 to win
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WICKET! Zampa c Brevis b Maphaka 1, Australia 166-9
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WICKET! David c Stubbs b Maphaka 83, Australia 164-7
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WICKET! Dwarshuis c Markram b Maphaka 17, Australia 134-7
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Half century! David 51 from 29 balls
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WICKET! Maxwell c Linde b Muthusamy, Australia 76-6
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WICKET! Owen b Maphaka 2, Australia 73-5
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WICKET! Green c Rickelton b Ngidi 35, Australia 70-4
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WICKET! Marsh c Maphaka b Rabada 13, Australia 30-3
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WICKET! Inglis c Muthusamy b Linde 0, Australia 16-2
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WICKET! Head c Maphaka b Rabada 2, Australia 15-1
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South Africa win the toss and bowl
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Preamble
Australia win by 17 runs
Geoff Lemon
They really shouldn’t have won, after Maphaka’s 4-wicket performance and being so many wickets down so early, but Tim David’s 83 saved the day. Then it was really South Africa’s game again when Stubbs and Rickelton were together during the chance, making 60 off the last six overs is pretty standard T20 fare, but Hazlewood and Zampa blew that away. Rickelton top scored and got moving late, but his struggles earlier meant there was too much left to do. Impressive by Australia to fight out of trouble, and I think we’ve seen that they intend to be an all-out-attack team in this format. Could be some dynamic viewing coming up.
The second match is one Tuesday, we’ll be back with you then.
20th over: South Africa 161-9 (Maphaka 3) Smart last over from Dwarshuis. His slow bouncer is quality, it gets up high, but so slow, painfully slow, it rolls out the side of Dwarshuis’ hand, off the little finger almost, and floats up like a jellyfish. A couple of those in this over, then pitches up last ball to beat Rabada’s swing and hit his off stump. Rabada out for 10.
WICKET! Rickelton c Maxwell b Dwarshuis 71, SA 158-8
What a catch from Glenn Maxwell! That’s the matchwinner. Rickelton smashed that. It was six all the way, after an initial dot ball. And then it would have been 15 required from four balls, and possible. But Maxwell toys with gravity. He’s the bubbles in the champagne. We’ve seen him take so many of those boundary line catches, but this one he has to get serious distance in his leap, a couple of metres beyond the rope as he takes the two-handed catch stretched out in front of him, reaches one arm back to flick the ball up just before his feet hit the ground, then jumps back inside the field of play to complete the catch at the second point of contact. Magnificent. Never retire.
19th over: South Africa 158-7 (Rickelton 71, Rabada 10) SA need something huge. It starts with a Rickelton outside edge, heaving drive at Ellis that flies for four. Slower ball hit to cover, they run hard for two. Two more squeezing out the yorker fine of deep third, four more reaching for the wide full ball to slice the drive!
Ok, handy. Getting that last-over target down into the realm of the possible, the deficit is 25 now. Ellis helps SA with a wide. Lands his wide yorker from the next ball, Rickelton gets one run. Free hit for Rabada, needs to smash this last ball. Not quite, but he finds two runs to deep cover, gets the ask down to 21. It’s possible…
18th over: South Africa 142-7 (Rickelton 58, Rabada 8) Finally, Rickelton gets onto one! Can’t hit the first ball of the Hazlewood over but he heaves into the second, lifts it over the leg side for six. Slices behind point to follow, but the fielder’s there, he takes two. Then a single to the leg side. High full toss and Rabada can only skew one run to cover. Rickelton cloughs an attempted pull, it lobs to long on for one.
Hazlewood ends his night with 3 for 26, fine work.
SA need 37 from two overs.
17th over: South Africa 133-7 (Rickelton 50, Rabada 7) Wide yorker from Ellis, Rickelton can’t reach it. Short ball but it’s slower to follow, so Rickelton can smack it but can only find the midwicket sweeper. Ellis masterclass in variations here. Rabada doesn’t have any such troubles though. Rocks back and punishes six over midwicket, a high bouncer but he gets u on his toes and collects it. That’s the cleanest sound off the bat for any South African tonight, it’s their first six of the night, and their No9 did it first ball he faced.
Rickelton gets strike back, slides his 50th run down to deep third, but he’s made that 50 off 43 balls, so he hasn’t been able to give his team any impetus tonight. They need 46 from 18.
16th over: South Africa 123-7 (Rickelton 48, Rabada 0) Four wickets in two overs from Hazlewood and Zampa. SA need 56 in four overs.
WICKET! Muthusamy lbw Zampa 0, 123-7
Two in two for Zampa. Muthusamy plays the reverse sweep, over the top of this ball, hitting low on the shin in front of middle and leg. He reviews but walks off immediately, and the video shows three reds. No hat-trick attempt for Zampa because that’s the end of his allotment.
WICKET! Bosch b Zampa 2, SA 123-6
And one for Zampa! The skiddy straight one, Bosch lining up a big cut shot but fooled by the ball that stays low and comes on straight rather than turning. Not sure how he was fooled, that is Zampa’s bread and butter. It hits off stump.
15th over: South Africa 120-5 (Rickelton 47, Bosch 0) What a luxury as a captain. You feel the game slipping, so you hand the ball to Hazlewood whose over gives you two wickets for one run. That takes the pressure of Zampa at the other end.
WICKET! Linde c Maxwell b Hazlewood 0, SA 120-5
Two in the over! Stubbs gone just as he was getting going, then the left-handed George Linde follows, a six-hitter who couldn’t get going. Hazlewood bowled that tough Test-match length, cramps him for room, first playing and missing, then hitting back to the bowler, and finally one a little shorter that seams away, squares him up, and Marsh has been smart enough to bring in a slip.
WICKET! Stubbs c Inglis b Hazlewood 37, SA 120-4
Hazlewood makes the difference! Marsh goes to his blue-chip bowler and gets the desired result. Comes back, gets away with a wide full toss because Rickelton went the other way and couldn’t reach it. Slices a run to deep backward, bringing Stubbs on strike, and a cross-seam delivery from deep in the hand takes some pace off it, the bounce doesn’t get up, and Stubbs plays over it with his pull, bottom edging it to the keeper.
14th over: South Africa 119-3 (Rickelton 46, Stubbs 37) Zampa’s third over, and Stubbs gets onto one. Drags the lofted on drive and lands it just inside the rope for four rather than six, Green wasn’t that far away either. Hits his batting partner’s foot with his next shot, keeps the scoring to two. And carves the next over cover for four! Here comes Stubbs, he’s got set. A couple of singles, they’ve taken him for 13 from that over, 30 from three, it’s been a good night against Zampa for the visitors.
60 from 36 needed.
13th over: South Africa 106-3 (Rickelton 44, Stubbs 26) Maxwell’s last over starts with a run to deep point. Then another streaky boundary, Rickelton dragging it to fine leg as he tries to play across the line of the ball. Picks off a couple of doubles, they help, either side of the wicket. Maxwell driving the ball into the surface, both of which are damp. No run from the last ball, 10 from the over, 1 for 29 for Maxwell, 73 from 42 the equation. Totally doable with a big over somewhere, but they haven’t had one yet.
12th over: South Africa 96-3 (Rickelton 35, Stubbs 25) Can’t time a thing. Both batters wheezing at a run a ball. Stubbs tries to smack a pull from Ellis but drags it straight for one. Rickelton drags a drive to mid on that Marsh keeps to one, diving. Then finally, one sounds sweet off the middle! Stubbs off his pads meets a ball with more pace from Ellis, through midwicket. Then luck! Bottom edge past the stumps, four after nearly bowling him. Spoons back a leading edge past the bowler. So, 11 from it, of which one shot was convincing.
SA need 83 from 48.
11th over: South Africa 85-3 (Rickelton 34, Stubbs 15) The South Africans still can’t get away, Dwarshuis keeps the parachute attached to the back of the innings with some slower balls and an angled into the pads. Single, leg bye, two, two…
10th over: South Africa 78-3 (Rickelton 30, Stubbs 13) Gives the ball some air, Zampa, and Stubbs drills it back past him. It clips Zampa’s thumb, then clips the stump, and Rickelton was aware enough to get his foot back into his ground, but the bail didn’t come off. Might have skimmed the umpire’s trouser leg, too? But none of those contacts took enough pace off the ball to stop four.
That helps SA. A brace and a single to follow for Stubbs, Rickelton can’t follow his lead though, twice kept scoreless before a single. Barely above a run a ball is Rickelton, 30 from 27.
Halfway, they need 101 from 60 balls.
9th over: South Africa 69-3 (Rickelton 28, Stubbs 6) Ellis to begin his work for the night, back of the hand, seam up, right on the money, Stubbs can’t score from it. A single to deep square to follow. Slower ball dips into the blockhole like a homing missile. Finally Rickelton manages a boundary, dragging a pull through the leg side, but only 7 from the over. They need 10 an over from here.
8th over: South Africa 62-3 (Rickelton 23, Stubbs 4) Time for Adam Zampa, who celebrated his 100th T20 for Australia in his last start. Gives a little air, then a little flat one. Googly, cut off middle stump for one. Dries the ball, top edged sweep… oh, unlucky, it goes fine for four. Shoulder of the bat? Reverse sweep from Rickelton, just got a corner of timber on it. And unlucky for Zampa on the regular sweep, top edge again, Ellis at deep backward square is a couple of metres too deep to try diving forward. Eight from the over.
7th over: South Africa 54-3 (Rickelton 17, Stubbs 2) More from Maxwell, interestingly. More fielders outside the circle now. Unlike the Australians, who just kept swinging as wickets fell, South Africa are keeping their powder dry. Needing about 10 an over, as they dink a few singles from the spinner. Dew a factor, Maxwell drying the ball with a towel between deliveries. Six from that over, three from his previous.
6th over: South Africa 48-3 (Rickelton 14, Stubbs 0) Stubbs to the middle now.
WICKET! Brevis c sub (Abbott) b Dwarshuis 2, SA 48-3
Last over of the Powerplay. Maxwell has quietened it down. Dwarshuis doesn’t continue that trajectory at first, getting big lift from a bouncer that costs him five wides over the keeper. But he does the job as Brevis plays a bad shot, trying to whip length through the leg side, through the shot too early, wrong line, and it comes off the leading edge high and not very far into the off side, where sub fielder Sean Abbott takes the catch. The two top wicket-takers for the Sydney Sixers combining for Australia.
5th over: South Africa 42-2 (Rickelton 13, Brevis 2) Dewald Brevis the next in, and almost the next out, just skewing his square drive over the infield with two players running back. Close to being caught.
WICKET! Pretorius c Owen b Maxwell 14, SA 40-2
Maxwell with another Powerplay over, and it bears fruit. A few quiet deliveries, then Pretorius plays a halfway shot, chips it in the air, very little swing or follow through, but times it so well that it sails to long off. Halfway between knocking the single or attempting a six, and he falls into that gap. Out.
4th over: South Africa 39-1 (Rickelton 12, Pretorius 14) Almost a run out! Pretorius is a liability with his pace. Should have been a straightforward single with Rickelton knocking the ball away, he’s slow getting through, and would have been out had Maxwell’s fast flat throw been on a slightly different line from backward point. Very bottom-handed player, diverts a straight ball over backward square for one, then Rickelton drags Dwarshuis away for a couple of leg-side boundaries.
3rd over: South Africa 28-1 (Rickelton 2, Pretorius 13) Hazlewood gets through a good over, pulled for four by Pretorius but he can’t score from the three balls following that.
2nd over: South Africa 23-1 (Rickelton 1, Pretorius 9) So it’s time for Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who was poor in the field and has some ground to make up with the bat. Glenn Maxwell to bowl his off-spin early in the innings. Pretorius dinks him over short fine for three runs, dicey shot that popped into the air. Maxwell goes upstairs for an lbw review against Rickelton that is umpire’s call on leg stump, the ball sneaking through on the angle to hit the left-hander’s back leg, but slightly too much angle. Maxwell around the wicket to him if you’re picturing it. They get a leg bye, and the other left-hander drives two and then four. The over costs 11 including the extra.
WICKET! Markram c Green b Hazlewood 12, SA 1-12
1st over: South Africa 12-1 (Rickelton 0) Oh, skipper. Blazing start for Markram. He times Hazlewood through cover first ball of the innings, flicks off leg stump when Hazlewood changes the line, then pulls when Hazlewood changes the length, three boundaries in the first five balls. But the sixth, Markram tries to punch off the back foot, the ball moves a touch, outside half of the bat, and it spins off the bat face towards cover, in the air. Green goes down on his knees to take the catch.
We’re away with the reply.
South Africa need 179 to win
So… is that good? South Africa bowled Australia out, but 178 looks a very tall score after 75 for 6. Maybe South Africa mow that down in 16 overs, but it gives the home team a proper chance. A bit of grip in the wicket for changes of pace, but it might get more dewy for the Australians and make bowling tougher.
20th over: Australia 178-10 (Ellis 12, Hazlewood 0) Bosch to bowl the last, and Ellis starts it with a crisp straight drive for four. Misses a big swing at a full toss from the next. Now it’s his turn to refuse singles, after hitting down the ground. But he gets another full toss, high, and edges it into his body. No-ball, free hit, but the free hit is a good yorker, inside edged into the toe. Finally Ellis gets onto one, driven straight for six! Front foot out the way and essays the high elbow. Last ball of the innings, dragged into the leg side while a flying chunk of the corner of the bat spins away, takes the first, risks the second, and Bosch nails the direct hit at the striker’s end to deny him an extra run and to bowl Australia out.
