Fast bowler James Anderson wrecked South Africa’s batting order with a career-best performance as England won the fourth one-day international by seven wickets at St George’s Park yesterday.
The win gave England an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the series. The final match will be played in Durban on Friday.
Anderson took five for 23 as South Africa were bowled out for 119, their lowest total in a home one-day international.
PHOTO: AFP
Jonathan Trott and England captain Andrew Strauss put on 74 for the first wicket before England suffered a wobble when three wickets fell for nine runs.
But the tourists cruised to victory with 18.4 overs to spare with Trott finishing with 52 not out.
It was a remarkable turnaround for England, who conceded 354 runs when they lost the third international by 112 runs in Cape Town two days earlier.
Proteas’ captain Graeme Smith was dismissed by Stuart Broad off the eighth ball of the match and his side never recovered.
Smith gambled by batting first in overcast conditions on a pitch with slightly more grass than usual and the early loss of their leading batsmen exposed a lengthy tail.
England’s bowling was accurate and the South Africans failed to adapt to a slower pitch than that on which they prospered in Cape Town.
Anderson bowled superbly in two spells and benefited from bold captaincy by Strauss. After a first spell of two for 17 in six overs, Strauss brought back his strike bowler in the 21st over to press home his side’s advantage.
Anderson responded by taking three more wickets and had completed his stint by the end of the 27th over. By then, South Africa had lost seven wickets for 85 runs.
Tim Bresnan provided excellent support for Anderson, taking one for 15 in an unbroken spell of eight overs, including the key wicket of A.B. de Villiers leg before for 22.
Alviro Petersen was the only batsman to shine, making 51 off 79 balls before he was the last man out.
Strauss survived a confident appeal for a catch behind off Morne Morkel when he was on 12 but otherwise he and Trott batted comfortably before Strauss fell to recalled off-spinner Johan Botha for 32.
Kevin Pietersen made only three before he chipped Botha to midwicket.
Paul Collingwood failed for the first time in the series when he was caught behind off McLaren for two before Trott and Eoin Morgan took England to victory.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
RSS