6.48pm Remarkable stuff. A mighty chase from South Africa, and a vastly impressive win. The final match of this brief stop-over is in Kimberley on Wednesday. It's a dead-rubber but with World Cup qualification up for grabs, there's still plenty on it for South Africa. From Alan, Miller and Thilak, good night!
Presentation time. "SA bowled really well, picked up early wickets, thought 340 was a fantastic effort, but a great chase," says Jos Buttler. "The wicket may have got tougher as it got older, but Markram, Klaasen and Miller had great momentum when they came in.
"There's a bigger picture in terms of building towards the World Cup, but we want to build confidence by winning games too."
The Player of the Match is Temba Bavuma: "Very special, playing against England is always a tough ask, a good opportunity to test our way of playing, chasing 340 like that gives us a lot of confidence. Very enjoyable century, these wickets suit the way we want to play. Good to remind myself how to count to 100 too. The guys were quite calm, something miraculous could have happened for us to lose that game. We tried to dominate the first ten overs, they lifted their intensity but we stayed in it. We took the situation out of it and played the conditions. Lovely crowd, to see all the people in the stands was magnificent. We're looking forward to Kimberley, it will be another opportunity to execute our plan."
6.35pm So, some ugly analyses for England's bowlers, Woakes and Topley in particular. Credit due to Stone, who went at less than 5 an over, which is quite something in this context. They must have thought 342 would be ample. But not in the brave new world of T20-inspired run-chases!
Gopal Purohit: "Phew, gotta say, Ollie Stone made me mighty nervous. Really happy for South Africa, especially Temba Bavuma. Hope this marks a sensational comeback for him like Kohli's."
George Macphers: "There you go. A series loss for England. They were 15-20 runs short of a defendable total. Back to the drawing by board for them. Need to perform a lot better in order to prevent a 3-0 loss. " Not sure it's right back to square one, in all seriousness. England know what they are lacking... and it's most of their 2019 batting order, plus their two fastest bowlers
Senzo: "Well, it seems like having a good local T20 league could pay off for SA. Contrary to what the doomsayers are saying " Indeed. It's actually what they've needed... it's fired up the crowds, and created a buzz that has been palpably lacking in recent years. Finding space in the schedule is the other matter...
6.31pm What a chase from South Africa! The highest on this ground, and one that was set up by a brilliant century from their captain, Temba Bavuma. He was hampered by cramp at the end of his knock, but David Miller didn't blink in marshalling the back-end of a hefty hunt. A fifth consecutive loss in ODIs for England, their worst run since the 2015 World Cup, and while there's no suggestion they've sunk that low, there's certainly food for thought in their own run-in to the 2023 tournament.
Affan: "Miller is the best finisher in the world at the moment. Timed his innings and shots to perfection "
Right, two to win. Miller on strike. This is set up for scenes in Bloemfontein...
Virendra: "I knew that would get published :-D Second comment in 15 years on Cricinfo." I love a bit of 90s catnip
END OF OVER:49 | 10 Runs | SA: 341/5 (2 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.95, RRR: 2.00)
- Marco Jansen32 (29b)
- David Miller52 (36b)
- Sam Curran10-1-60-1
- Olly Stone10-1-48-2
Big final ball. Maybe even a free swing for Jansen, like Archer in the World Cup final (and that went well...)
Afeef: "IF a tie occurs, will there be a super over?" Apparently there will... gulp!
Virendra: "Well 31 years ago SA would have required 18 runs a ball against England. If you know what I mean :-P" Hmmm...
Mufaddal K: "Jansen will give it go next over with Miller anchoring the other end" There is some logic to this... levers ho!
END OF OVER:48 | 6 Runs | SA: 331/5 (12 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 6.89, RRR: 6.00)
- David Miller51 (35b)
- Marco Jansen23 (24b)
- Olly Stone10-1-48-2
- Sam Curran9-1-50-1
Sankar: "Still it's nervy for SA" Certainly is. Remember, there's World Cup qualification on the line too. This is a very important win up for grabs
Kannadachi : "If someone can pull the rabbit out of the hat for England, it is Sam Curran. Wonderful variations, bowls to the field that has been set!" He'll certainly get a death over... but how much will he have to defend?
So, a run a ball 18. It might have been nervy in 1993... but this is 30 years on now!
END OF OVER:47 | 5 Runs | SA: 325/5 (18 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.91, RRR: 6.00)
- David Miller50 (33b)
- Marco Jansen19 (20b)
- Sam Curran9-1-50-1
- Olly Stone9-1-42-2
Not exactly panic stations for South Africa, but they've been made to work for the last few balls
England scored 60 from this point in their innings... South Africa, however, only need 23
END OF OVER:46 | 1 Run | SA: 320/5 (23 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 6.95, RRR: 5.75)
- Marco Jansen17 (17b)
- David Miller47 (30b)
- Olly Stone9-1-42-2
- Reece Topley9-0-74-0
David : "When Warwickshire chased 322 in 1993 did anyone really believe chases of that scale would be common place 30 years later?I can remember when scores of over 220 were considered tough to chase." I remember that match. Martin Speight slog-sweeping seamers! Never seen anything like it!
