Key events
Jofra left out!
England have made one change to the XI they announced yesterday. Luke Wood comes in for Jofra Archer. So the man who terrorised South Africa on Sunday is rewarded by being dropped! Or perhaps rested, in view of the slippery surface: as Sunday showed, they really need him for the Ashes. Brook said that it was because they felt Wood would get some swing. Up to a point, Lord Copper.
Eoin Morgan, who is on the outfield, says it’s soaking wet. “I wouldn’t run my horse around here.”
Toss: England win and bowl first
“We’re going to have a bowl tonight,” says Harry Brook. “I feel like a chase.” He mentions that England have “a few lads who’ve played T10, so I need to pick their brains.”
The bowlers will be limited to two overs each. And the powerplay will be 16 balls. The England squad are warming up in the style to which they’re accustomed, by playing football. They’ve found a reasonably dry patch of outfield but elsewhere a little truck trundles by, spraying rainwater in all directions.
Game on!
The umpires have decided that the ground will be fit for a nine-over match, starting at 8.50pm. That’s 45 minutes from now, and the toss will be in about 15 minutes. This news bulletin comes with thanks to Andrew Miller of Cricinfo, who had the scoop.
“Hello!” says Tom Bugs. “Not South London, but maybe it’s worth a shout for the Bristol Friendly Cricket Collective?
“They say… ‘We started out by creating the kind of sociable cricket we wanted in South Bristol but couldn’t find. It began with a one-off game for parents at Victoria Park Primary School and has grown into a thriving community, a social side, regular nets sessions, meet-ups and matches.’
“It was suggested to me,” Tom continues, “by my allotment neighbour, who knew I liked listening.” Love it. “So, having not played for 25 years and having never been any good, I tried a couple of nets sessions (very welcoming) and then played a real game – really fun, inclusive and easy-going. Now we’re doing some indoor games & winter nets.
“I know they’re keen to spread the word. It’s been really nice for me to find the group as I can dip in when time allows without any real pressure.”
“It’s probably too far for Alfie,” says Ben Mimmack, “but for anyone looking for a club in North London, I can wholeheartedly recommend my old club Crouch End. They run five men’s teams on Saturday (the first XI plays in the Middlesex premier division) as well as Sunday teams and women’s and kids’ teams, so there’s a place for everyone. I was a distinctly ropey 30-year-old when I started playing there and they made me feel very welcome.”
Thanks! You’re making me wish I was a ropey 30-year-old.
“Spencer CC are very close to Tooting,” says Mark in Wimbledon, “and have many teams. Gus Atkinson played for them about three weeks ago.”
We have some more replies to Alfie Sparrow’s request about South London cricket clubs. “Hi Tim,” says Sid. “Please could you tell Alfie to check out Southbank CC. We share a ground with them, and it’s what Trump would call tremendous.” Is that a recommendation?
“The last completed game we played against them, we beat them (in spite of my return of 1/32 in 3 overs). In my defence, I’m a (pretty poor) wicketkeeper; I don’t know what the skipper was thinking bowling me first change.”
Next inspection at 8pm
Sky has been showing highlights of a famous England victory over South Africa – from last Sunday. Now they turn to the present and treat us to a live-action close-up of the super-sopper. The lights are on, the sky is blue, and the rain has abated. The umpires have held an inspection … and decided to have another one at 8pm.
We have a reply to the plea about cricket clubs in South London (see 19:00 below). “Could you pass on to Alfie Sparrow the details of Ploughmans CC, based in Dulwich,” says Andrew Cosgrove. “It’s an extremely friendly, welcoming and supportive club, with plenty of opportunity to play league or friendly cricket.”
Thanks! A bit of rain in Cardiff, and the OBO reinvents itself as a matchmaking service for club cricketers. TMS, eat your heart out.
“When I read your comment about Brook picking five bowlers, I was briefly optimistic ,” says Tom van der Gucht. “Only to discover his selection policy had a touch of Eric Morecambe about it – all the right notes just not necessarily in the correct order …” Ha.
“Archer and Curran, makes sense – different bowling types and speeds, plus batting nous from Curran. But I’m disappointed to see Dawson over Ahmed and Overton over Mahmood. We seem obsessed with a hefty batting line-up at the expense of bowling variety, in the hope there’s enough six-hitting in the tank to chase down any score. I’d probably have been happier to see Jacks and Dawson dropped for Ahmed (with his batting and bowling improvements) and having both Overton and another seamer.”
Very good points. The policy with Rehan Ahmed seems to be: the better he plays, the fewer games they give him. It’s puzzling about Saqib Mahmood too. In England’s T20s over the past two years, he has the best average of any bowler with ten wickets. And he’s in this squad – along with Luke Wood, who has the best average full stop, albeit from only two games.
“Shame (but very predictable) about the current weather,” says Alfie Sparrow, although his email is actually about something else. “I’ve just moved into London, living in Tooting with some old uni mates. I was wondering if any readers have local cricket club recommendations? Played alongside Bas de Leede growing up in the Netherlands, winning 3 national titles in our age group. Wish I could say I was still near his quality but that’s far from the case – just after a friendly club for next summer.” Hope you find one.
“My girlfriend has very tentatively started to get into cricket,” reports Charles Aspden. “And we discussed potential telly programmes which would further entice her in. In true Alan Partridge fashion, she wants to see ‘Tea with Amol Rajan,’ a show somewhere between Bake Off and Grandstand. Amol travels the country to try the best and worst teas around the village, county and international grounds, interviewing the local eccentrics and giving tea ladies up and down the country some of the plaudits they deserve.”
This is an inspired idea, but are you sure about Amol Rajan? He’s on everything already! Whereas the great David (Bumble) Lloyd is a bit under-used these days.
It turns out there’s a silver lining in those dark Welsh clouds. The mailbag is bulging!
The first email is talking about … the weather. “Nearly 25 days of unaffected Test cricket for the India series,” says Andy in Moray, “and now comes the rain for T20I – safe to say which format Mother Nature is backing for the future of the sport?” Ha.
The latest the game can start is 9.16pm, which would leave just enough time for a five-over thrash. The word from the officials is that there’s unlikely to be any action for an hour and a half. That would take us to about 8pm and might allow a ten-over game. Good old cricket.
If you’re one of those people who read the OBO and never send in an email, now might be a good time.
“It’s still raining,” says Ian Ward, “but it’s a lot less intense than it was.” The super-sopper has been in action. It could be a long night and a short game.
My optimism about the Cardiff weather may have been misplaced. The cameras are showing the outfield, which is doing an impersonation of Grimsby Town’s home turf when they beat Man United. “Looks like a paddy field,” says Ian Ward. The umpires venture out for a look in their pink cagoules, and soon put their umbrellas up.
Some team news: Lungi Ngidi is out of the series. He has a hamstring strain, according to our friends at Cricinfo. His place in South Africa’s battery of seamers will go to Nandre Burger, but not until the second game at Old Trafford on Friday.
Sure enough, the toss has been delayed. But on the telly, over Nasser Hussain’s shoulder, it looks reasonably bright.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to yet another international cricket series. Yes, just three days after England’s biggest win ever in one format, they’re switching to a different one – 20 overs a side rather than 50. The ball will still be white, but we can say with some certainty that England will not beat South Africa by 342 runs again. In fact, they’d probably settle for a win by the barest of margins.
Are England favourites? The ICC’s T20 team rankings would say so: they have England third in the world (behind only India and Australia), with South Africa fifth (behind New Zealand). But South Africa are on the up and have just seen off England in an ODI series. That 342-run thrashing wasn’t just the biggest victory ever, it was a Pyrrhic one too. And South Africa’s firepower, already formidable on a good day, may well be boosted tonight by Donovan Ferreira, who was last seen running hot in his role as The Heater for the Oval Invincibles.
England are resting their ODI openers, Jamie Smith and the patently exhausted Ben Duckett, so it’s back to the future with Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. They could do with some runs and some street wisdom from their young captain, Harry Brook, who seems to have been persuaded that he needs five proper bowlers. He can get there painlessly now that the selectors have finally recalled Sam Curran, who, if he brings his form from The Hundred and the Blast, should strengthen both England’s batting and their bowling, not to mention their ability to make you laugh with a slower ball.
Play starts at 6.30 BST, as long as the showers hold off. All being well I’ll be back soon with news of the toss and the teams.
