Eoin Morgan
swore allegiance to England's Test team this week ahead of all other
temptations. In the current climate he would be foolish to suggest
anything else. There may be suitors from the IPL who do not entirely
believe it and their appetite to find out more will only have been
whetted by his dashing intervention at The Oval which took England back
to the top of the ODI rankings.
England beat South Africa for the first time this summer as their
four-wicket victory with two overs to spare levelled the series at 1-1
with two to play. They also reclaimed the title of the No. 1 one-day
side in the world, although this accolade could be short-lived. South
Africa's reign lasted three days and they may reign again by Sunday
evening. Fortunately, the players keep these things in perspective. Some
of the more rabid fans would be well advised to follow suit or their
emotional highs and lows may prove terminal.
Morgan made 73 from 67 balls, but he had a rock to lean on: Jonathan Trott,
met by a target well within his comfort zone and bent upon batting
through the innings. When the game was in the balance, at 64 for 3 in
the 18th over, it would have been a toss-up which batsman South Africa
most wished to dismiss next. Morgan could fearlessly slash and burn but
Trott was the smouldering menace.
By the time they removed either of them - Morgan offering a return catch
to Robin Peterson, aiming over midwicket - England's alliance of
opposites had garnered 108 in 20 overs and the match was almost spent.
The only surprise was that Trott did not see it through. He was out with
England five runs short, 71 from 125 balls, as Wayne Parnell had him
caught at the wicket. Parnell completed a niggardly spell but for Dale
Steyn, back in the side, the pitch offered little encouragement.
England's chase had never looked entirely comfortable against a
persistent attack and on a low, holding surface. But Trott created order
out of discomfort; approaching his task like a librarian, ticking off
every ball and stacking it neatly in alphabetical order. South Africa,
probably 30 runs shy, could do little about it. "We were hoping for
250-odd," said AB de Villiers, South Africa's captain. "Most of the
senior players got in and got out. That was the big sin."
Ravi Bopara was not so composed. He left to the sound of booing from the
crowd, adjudged by umpire Kumar Dharmasena to be caught at the wicket
for nought off Morne Morkel. He immediately turned to the DRS and the
crowd only witnessed the fact that Hot Spot showed no edge. But the
sound as the ball passed the bat was clearly audible - convincingly so -
and the third umpire, Simon Taufel, correctly concluded that he had no
clear evidence to overturn the on-field umpire's decision.
Bopara had bowled his bothersome medium pace skilfully in South Africa's
innings, conceding only 31 runs and claiming the wicket of Faf du
Plessis in only his second completed bowling stint for England,
following a full shift against Bangladesh at Edgbaston two years ago.
It has been a fraught period for Bopara, his cricketing summer affected
by domestic issues, and this will have helped to persuade him that much
of his England career, especially at one-day level, remains ahead of
him, but his pressing need in the last two matches is runs.
Until Morgan shook the duvet, the cautious nature of England's reply was
summed up in the dismissal of Alastair Cook, who reached 20 from 47
balls when he pulled Peterson gently to deep midwicket, an nondescript
delivery but a wicket achieved through a gradual build up of pressure.
South Africa had to put in a workmanlike performance to post anything like a competitive total. Jade Dernbach
held them back. His opportunities for England in limited-overs cricket
this summer have extended no further than south London, but the moment
he dismissed Hashim Amla, England's scourge all season, ensured him of
an influential day. South Africa's last eight wickets slipped away for
91. England were sharper than they had been at the Ageas Bowl.
Fresh from his 150 in the second ODI in Southampton, Amla made
unflustered progress to 43 from 51 balls before Dernbach took advantage
of limited footwork in his first over to bowl him between bat and pad.
Until then, he had batted with tranquillity and purpose, his runs
advance unnoticed like a night-time tide. One whip behind square
against James Anderson was so wristy that you could swear he played it
with the back of the bat.
Dernbach, whose only other one-day appearance came against Australia ,
also on his home ground, was given an opportunity after England left out
Tim Bresnan and overlooked the man who might have been viewed as his
most like-for-like replacement, Chris Woakes. Dernbach has twice the
forearms - as muscular and tattooed as a coal miner - but he is not
twice the cricketer.
Away from The Oval, it would have been a debatable choice. But on this
slow surface he was in his element. He dismissed Dean Elgar for 42, an
innings that never really took shape, with a delivery bowled out of the
back of the hand leaving the batsman motionless and bowling him through
the gate. He later had Parnell caught at the wicket in an over when the
batsman had twice nicked him for boundaries through the vacant slip
cordon.
As the ball softened, South Africa laboured. Six players in all were
bowled, emphasising that this was a pitch that rewarded a
wicket-to-wicket attack. JP Duminy held things together until he fell
at long off as he went big against the offspin of James Tredwell, who
had also accounted for de Villiers as he sought out his favourite flick
to deep midwicket.
With Parnell on the card at No. 7, recovery was always liable to be
painstaking for South Africa and they never broke free, Anderson
wrapping up the innings with the last three wickets in seven balls to
leave 20 deliveries unused.
