Magala and Nortje blow England away in Bloem

Sisanda Magala and Anrich Nortjé produced match-winning spells to secure a thrilling comeback victory against the World Cup holders at a boisterous Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Friday night. 

At 146/0 with Jason Roy and Dawid Malan in full control, it was England who were dishing out a lesson to a Proteas side who have admitted they are seeking a new identity for their limited overs team. Both the new coach Rob Walter, watching from New Zealand and skipper Temba Bavuma have stated that England’s approach is something they want to borrow from. 

However in Bloemfontein South Africa showed the English that they too had some things to teach. They stayed aggressive, thanks to Magala’s opening spell in which a bouncer accounted for Malan and then a nip-backer trapped debutant Harry Brook for nought. 

In between that Nortje had Ben Duckett caught behind by Quinton de Kock to knock the momentum out of the England chase. 

Still they were well ahead of the required rate thanks to the hitherto out-of-form Roy’s brilliance.  

He struck the ball crisply whether he was driving, or pulling, playing on the front foot or off the back. The difference that the extra time the 50-over format provides was superbly utilised by the opener. His final strike rate of 124.17 suggests an all-out assault, but that wasn’t the case initially as he showed patience to get used to the easy pace of the surface and took advantage against the new ball with South Africa’s bowlers just missing their lines and more importantly their lengths.

However that triple strike had lifted the home team’s hopes and they maintained a measure of control as the tourists sought to rebuild. 

Kagiso Rabada, indifferent with the new ball, returned and forced a misjudged pull out of Roy that Wayne Parnell did well to catch while running around the square leg boundary. Roy’s 113 included 11 fours and four sixes, and his dismissal lifted hopes further. 

The key wicket was that of Jos Buttler, who needed to bat until the end but didn’t with Nortje returning and finding the outside edge to end the England skipper’s innings on 36. 

England never recovered with Nortje bowling like the wind, to finish with 4/62, while Magala, was named player of the match for his game-changing spell and finished with 3/46. 

South Africa’s innings featured a fourth hundred for Rassie van der Dussen and other than the opening partnership between De Kock and Bavuma, there was little sign of an aggressive style, which they have hinted at adopting. 

Van der Dussen will state that England’s bowlers, especially Sam Curran, made excellent use of the short ball — something Magala and Nortje mimicked later — to rein in the home team’s scoring rate. 

Van der Dussen scored 111 and David Miller made 53, but a final total of 298/7 felt about 50 runs short of a winning one, particularly given the depth of England’s batting and attitude they play with. 

However South Africa’s aggression with the ball turned the match in their favour and they eventually ran out victors by 27 runs. The automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup remains very much in their own hands.

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