England’s seven-run defeat to South Africa in St Lucia ended their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Jos Buttler’s side had begun their Super 8 campaign with a huge win over West Indies at the same ground but could only manage 156-6 on a slow surface while chasing 164 for victory.
Harry Brook (53 off 37 balls) and Liam Livingstone (33 off 17 balls) put together an audacious 78-run stand off 42 balls in the 11th over to revive England from a slump of 61-4 to reduce the required run to 25 off 18 balls.
Summary scores – England v South Africa
South Africa 163-6 in 20 overs: Quinton de Kock (65 off 38 balls), David Miller (43 off 28 balls), Jofra Archer (3-40), Adil Rashid (1-20), Moeen Ali (1-25)
England 165-6 in 20 overs: Harry Brook (53 for 37), Liam Livingstone (33 for 17), Keshav Maharaj (2-25), Kagiso Rabada (2-32)
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England and South Africa produced some impressive performances on the field in the Super 8 match in St Lucia.
However, both players were run out subsequently, with Brook being run out with a superb running catch by Aiden Markram off the first ball of the final over, while trio Kagiso Rabada, Marco Janssen and Anrich Nortje sealed victory for South Africa, putting the Proteas on the brink of a place in the last four and Markram’s team at 2-2 in the Super 8s.
A win over the United States in Barbados on Sunday could see England reach the semi-finals, but their progress may depend on net run rate, the measure that secured England’s place in the Super Eights with their win over Scotland in the first place.
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Jos Buttler was in action for England with some fantastic one-handed catches and run-outs.
Earlier, Buttler had leapt to his left to take a brilliant one-handed catch to get out Quinton de Kock (65 off 38) and then got out Heinrich Klaassen (8) with a precise hit to the non-striker’s side.
De Kock produced a spectacular innings in the powerplay, taking the Proteas to 63 for 0 and hitting three successive boundaries off Jofra Archer, but England then piled on the pressure and defended impeccably to restrict South Africa to 163 for 6.
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Quinton de Kock hit two sixes and one four to help Jofra Archer get 16 off three balls.
Buttler (17 off 20) was one of several England batsmen to be in and out, along with Phil Salt (11 off 8), who made 87 off 47 balls against the West Indies but was unable to extend his tally when he was taken by a superb sprawling catch by Reeza Hendricks at cover.
A dashing De Kock plays the match innings
De Kock and David Miller were the only South African batsmen who managed to regain their form, with Miller smashing 43 off 28 balls before being dismissed in the 20th over after Archer gave up eight.
De Kock’s opening partner Hendricks (25 off 19) endured a tough innings but was the first to get out in the 10th over with the team score at 86, hitting Moeen Ali (1-25) over mid-on.
England thought they had dismissed de Kock for 58 an over when he swept the impressive Adil Rashid (1-20) deep backwards square to Mark Wood, but the third umpire adjudged that the ball had hit the turf.
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De Kock was bailed out on 58 after a catch by Mark Wood at deep backwards square was adjudged not to have been clean.
De Kock added seven more runs before trying to cut off a short, slow ball from Archer, the bowler who had two sixes and a four in the fourth over, but was caught by Buttler.
Two overs later, errors from Klaassen and Miller allowed Buttler to fall at stump at the bowler’s end, while in the 15th over Rashid forced Markram (1) to chop on to put South Africa at 113-4.
Miller gave the Proteas some late momentum but, like de Kock and Klaassen, he fell victim to some excellent fielding from England when Brook caught Miller running at long-off in the 20th over and one ball later Sam Curran took a brilliant catch over the shoulder at covers to get Jansen out (0).
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Harry Brook and Sam Curran took diving catches in the final over as England restricted South Africa to 163-6.
Brook, Livingston stand not good enough for England
When England were up to bat, the catching spree continued with Hendricks catching Salt off a Rabada delivery.
Klaassen failed to produce a highlight reel after beating Bairstow (20) for nine at deep third base, but the same batsman then clipped Keshav Maharaj (2-25) to backward point.
Buttler bowled Maharaj to Klaassen on the deep midwicket fence and by the time Morne (9 off 10) holed out off an Ottoneil Baartman delivery, England were teetering at 3-18 down.
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Reeza Hendricks took a brilliant diving catch from cover to get Phil Salt out early in the run chase.
But Baartman was completely out of form after that, bowling four full tosses in the 17th over, with Brook and Livingstone both scoring 21. Earlier, Rabada and Nortje had scored 18, conceding 13 as England were whisked away to 52 for the third innings.
But Rabada, Jansen and Nortje made their mark: Livingstone pulled Rabada to deep backwards square in the 18th over for four, Jansen could only manage seven in the 19th over and Brook was brilliantly caught by Markram at long-off at the start of the 20th over for six.
Every match of the T20 World Cup will be shown live on Sky Sports, including the final in Barbados on Saturday 29 June.
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Butler: De Kock makes the difference
England captain Jos Buttler:
“I think the powerplay cost us. De Kock came out with a lot of determination and gave it his all in the powerplay and we just couldn’t counter it. His innings made the difference between winning and losing.”
“It was still a good wicket but slower than we expected. I thought we got the ball back well and it was some great partnership between Brook and Livingstone that kept it close.”
Image: Buttler feels England lost the powerplay
Markram: The win reflects the skill and mentality of our bowlers
South African captain Aiden Markram:
“In the last three overs it looked like we might be in a bad situation but our bowlers persevered, executed their plan and got through which shows their skill and mentality.
“If we were to be greedy, maybe we would have liked 10 or 20 more runs after that good start. We knew we had to bowl well and defend to prevent them scoring, but overall we are approaching a game of complete cricket.”
What’s next?
England travel to Barbados to take on the USA on Sunday (3.30pm, UK & Ireland), while South Africa travel to Antigua to take on co-hosts the West Indies on Monday (1.30am).
