South Africa registered an early lead in the away series by winning the first T20I by 14 runs (DLS).
After a 1-2 defeat in the ODI matches against South Africa, England have endured a losing start in the 20-over series. Despite coming on the back of a massive 342-run win in the last ODI, the hosts could not replicate a similar performance in a rain-interrupted T20I series-opener at Cardiff. After the loss, captain Harry Brook opened up about the absence of star pacer Jofra Archer in the lineup.
The seamer’s last T20I appearance was in February 2025, against India. Making a comeback from his persistent injury woes, Archer featured in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, The Hundred 2025, and in the recently concluded 50-over games against South Africa. He was set to take the field in the first T20I, but England skipper Brook decided not to play him.
The game was reduced due to a severe downpour. The captain did not want to risk their premier pacer, considering some of the crucial upcoming fixtures. This also includes the most-anticipated Ashes 2025, which will commence on November 21 in Australia.
“It would have been stupid to play him with the amount of cricket we’ve got coming up. If he’d have gone out on the boundary and done what Adam Hose did in The Hundred [seriously injured his ankle] and broken his leg or whatever, that would have been a shambles,” said Brook to Sky Sports.
Instead of the 30-year-old, the English squad went with seamer Luke Wood. The bowler dismissed Proteas, Ryan Rickelton and Lhuan-dre Pretorius for a golden duck and two runs, respectively. He also caught the opponent captain, Aiden Markram on his 14-ball 28, at short midwicket off Adil Rashid.
ALSO READ:
The white-ball captain of England also expressed his displeasure over the Proteas players, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch, getting to bowl two overs each. Notably, South Africa had scored 97/5 in 7.5 overs. But as the game was reduced to five overs in the second innings, England needed 69 runs according to the DLS method. The English skipper expected five bowlers to bowl one each.
“I don’t know all the rules to be honest, but that was a bit. I would’ve thought that every bowler would have had to bowl one over. But these are the rules that we get given, and we’ve just got to play our best cricket and perform to our best,” he added.
The remaining two T20I fixtures are on September 12 and September 14. England would look to bounce back to keep the series alive. On the other hand, the visitors would want to seal another overseas series with a victory in the upcoming clash in Manchester.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
