England and South Africa had not met in a major ICC semi-final since the World Cup in Sydney in 1992, a match which AB de Villiers admitted before the start of play ended with him "crying myself to sleep." Grown man now or not, after the mess South Africa made of this tie, he could be forgiven for repeating the experience.
De Villiers is no longer an innocent child, he is captain of a South Africa one-day side which throughout his lifetime has repeatedly flattered to deceive in ICC tournaments. So it proved once more. England rampaged through the top order as eight wickets fell for 80. It was a muggy morning at Kennington Oval, England won a favourable toss, and for once the white Kookaburra swung, but South Africa contributed immensely to their downfall.
David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt did at least regain a measure of respectability. A record ninth-wicket partnership for South Africa of 95 in 16 overs took them to 175. But all that did was provide Jonathan Trott with a prolonged opportunity to bat much as he wished, seemingly oblivious to the pressure of a Champions Trophy semi-final. He finished with a spritely 82 not out from 84 balls, a seven-wicket win done and dusted with more than 12 overs to spare.
Trott's rate of progress is constantly pored over, his displays routinely regaled by some, condemned by others. As England lost their openers, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, with 41 on the board, and de Villiers shuffled his bowlers impatiently, looking for a magic trick, no England supporter was carping. They yearned for his stability.
Let me watch in peace, they urged him, build your bubble, do it your way. South Africa wanted his wicket more than any other, but Trott and Root, one imperturbable, the other full of vim, confirmed England's place in the final with a stand of 105 in 20 overs. Root left cursing himself, bowled behind his legs by JP Duminy for 48, but Trott remained productive to the end, completing his ritual post-match scratching of his guard even as Eoin Morgan tried to offer his congratulations.
The match was essentially settled by the 23rd over. South Africa batted skittishly, as if 300-plus and the sooner the better, was essential. Critically, they lost their most influential batsman, Hashim Amla for a single and the reverberations of that were felt deep into the order. The coach, Gary Kirsten, voiced what many were thinking. "We choked," he said.
England's mood was set by the connoisseur of swing bowling, James Anderson, whose opening spell of 2 for 11 was extended to seven overs as his captain, Cook, sought to break South Africa early while the conventional swing persisted.
Wickets in the first two overs of South Africa's innings got England moving. Anderson can cut a serious, brooding figure, but the closeness of the morning left him full of smiles before the start. He removed Colin Ingram for nought with his fifth ball, outswinger followed by inswinger and an lbw verdict
Steven Finn has been stalking around the Champions Trophy, none too happy about his omission from the side, but Tim Bresnan's absence, to be with his wife Hannah with their baby imminent, gave him his first appearance of the tournament. Cook gave him the new ball and challenged him to channel that anger and his fourth delivery brought England the prize wicket of Amla as he failed to withdraw from an outswinger, the first of six catches behind the stumps for Jos Buttler.
Even in the early overs, England were planning for the possibility of reverse swing on a dry square later in the day. Stuart Broad began to bowl cross seam, to encourage wear on the ball, as early as the 10th over - and it brought him a wicket, too, as de Villiers was out without scoring, lashing at a wide one and caught at the wicket off an under-edge.
Peterson's appearance at No. 3 encapsulated South Africa's confusion. He was a pinch hitter in inappropriate conditions. If his left-handedness was perceived as an advantage, Anderson revels against left-handers when the ball is swinging. It was an unconvincing ploy. He acquitted himself better than most, taking three boundaries off a wayward over from Finn before Anderson had him lbw.
But this was not just a story about quick bowling. South Africa were so destabilised that a few overs of routine, if intelligently-delivered, offspin by James Tredwell caused further havoc. Tredwell, who was substituting for Graeme Swann, had 3 for 19 in his seven overs as well as causing the downfall, run out, of Ryan McLaren. The bounty that fell upon him was recognised with the man-of-the-match award.
No batsman summed up South Africa's failures more than Duminy.
He was all at sea during his 11-ball stay. He survived a first-ball nought when he reviewed an lbw decision for Broad and was reprieved as replays showed the ball had pitched outside leg stump. He then should have fallen lbw third ball but Tredwell, with everything in his favour as Duminy was beaten on the back foot, politely refused a review as if offered a second piece of lemon drizzle cake. Duminy soon chopped on against Tredwell in any case.
Tredwell's success did not end there. Faf du Plessis, who had been as secure as anyone, fell for 26 when he flashed at a quicker, flatter ball and was caught at the wicket.
The wicket, though, that brought hearty applause from Swann in the England dressing room will not appear against his name. It was the run out of McLaren who was so unhinged by flight and turn that he ran several paces down the pitch. Trott, who caught the ball at first slip, had the presence of mind to throw down the stumps to effect the run out.
At 80 for 8, South Africa's one consolation was that they batted deep. They at least avoided the lowest one-day score ever made at The Oval batting first, New Zealand's 158 against West Indies in 1975.
They immediately took the batting Powerplay, which Miller greeted by smashing Finn over long-on for six. Miller unveiled his T20 one-legged slash over point, Broad disappearing for six more, and Kleinveldt slugged away when Cook finally felt obliged in the 30th over to introduce his weaker bowlers in tandem.
Broad finally ended the recovery with successive short balls to dismiss Kleinveldt and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, first ball. All that remained for England was a regulation dose of Trott, the finest suppressor of panic disorder on the market.
South Africa 175 (Miller 56*, Kleinveldt 43, Tredwell 3-19, Broad 3-50) v England
An enterprising ninth-wicket stand of 95 between David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt at least gave South Africa an illusion of hope, but the odds remained heavily stacked in England's favour midway through the Champions Trophy semi-final as they contemplated a target of 176 under clearing skies.
England rampaged through South Africa's top order on a muggy bowling morning at The Oval. Eight wickets tumbled for 80 as they threatened to claim a place in the final with indecent haste. South Africa's one consolation was that they batted deep. They at least avoided the lowest one-day score ever made at The Oval batting first, New Zealand's 158 against West Indies in 1975.
In distress, they immediately took the batting Powerplay, which Miller greeted by smashing Steven Finn over long-on for six. Miller unveiled his T20 one-legged slash over point, Stuart Broad disappearing for six more, and Kleinveldt slugged away when Alastair Cook finally felt obliged in the 30th over to introduce his weaker bowlers in tandem.
Broad finally ended the recovery with successive short balls to dismiss Kleinvedlt and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, first ball, with Jos Buttler finishing with six catches. The ninth-wicket stand was a South Africa record in ODIs, but without Dale Steyn and with the pitch favouring batsmen more by the minute, South Africa still faced a monumental task.
South Africa sought to respond aggressively to England's swing-bowling threat from the outset, as if 300-plus and the sooner the better, was essential, but it was a skittish approach as England's bowlers held sway. Critically, they lost their most influential batsman, Hashim Amla for a single and the reverberations of that were felt deep into the order.
But this was not just a story about quick bowling. South Africa were so destabilised that a few overs of intelligent but far from unplayable offspin by James Tredwell caused further havoc. Tredwell, who was substituting for Graeme Swann, had 3 for 19 in his seven overs as well as causing the downfall, run out, of Ryan McLaren.
England were led by the connoisseur of swing bowling, James Anderson, whose opening spell of 2 for 11 was extended to seven overs as his captain, Cook, sought to break South Africa early while the conventional swing persisted. The unusual sight of a white Kookaburra ball swinging was not one to waste.
But, even in the early overs, England were planning ahead for the possibility of reverse swing on a dry square later in the day. Broad began to bowl cross seam, to encourage wear on the ball, as early as the 10th over - and it brought him a wicket, too, as the South African captain, AB de Villiers was out without scoring, lashing at a wide one which did not bounce as much as he anticipated and caught at the wicket off an under-edge.
Wickets in the first two overs of South Africa's innings got England moving. Anderson can cut a serious, brooding figure at times, but the closeness of the morning had left him full of smiles before the start. He removed Colin Ingram for nought with his fifth ball, first setting him up with an outswinger and then producing the inswinger to trap him in front.
Finn has been stalking around the Champions Trophy, none too happy about his omission from the side, but Tim Bresnan's absence, to be with his wife Hannah with their baby imminent, gave Finn his first appearance of the tournament. Cook gave him the new ball and challenged him to channel that anger and his fourth delivery brought England the prize wicket of Amla.
Amla's twirly backlift was followed by a twirly thought process as Finn left him in two minds about whether to withdraw from an outswinger and the result was a good catch off the toe of the bat to Buttler.
Peterson's appearance at No. 3 encapsulated South Africa's confusion. Was he a pinch hitter in inappropriate conditions, or an attempted protector of the middle order? If his left-handedness was perceived as an advantage, Anderson revels against left-handers when the ball is swinging. It was an unconvincing ploy.
Peterson acquitted himself better than most, taking three boundaries off a wayward over from Finn - pulling a short ball, flicking wide legside one, driving an overpitched one - before Anderson had him lbw.
But if Peterson's presence so high in the order was dubious, JP Duminy was all at sea during his 11-ball stay. He survived a first-ball nought when he reviewed an lbw decision for Broad and was reprieved as replays showed the ball had pitched outside leg stump.
He then should have fallen lbw third ball but Tredwell, with everything in his favour as Duminy was beaten on the back foot, suffered for excessive politeness and did not encourage a review. Duminy soon chopped on against Tredwell in any case.
Tredwell's success did not end there. Faf du Plessis, who had been as secure as anyone, fell for 26 when he flashed at a quicker, flatter ball from Tredwell and was caught at the wicket.
The wicket, though, that brought hearty applause from Swann in the England dressing room will not appear against his name. It was the run out of McLaren who was so unhinged by flight and turn that he ran several paces down the pitch. Jonathan Trott, who caught the ball at first slip with Buttler already appealing alongside him, had the presence of mind to throw down the stumps to effect the run out.
England and South Africa had not met in a major ICC semi-final since the World Cup semifinal 1992, a match in which de Villiers said ended with him "crying myself to sleep." Grown man now or not, midway through their innings, there was a chance he would be repeating the experience.
England won toss & bowl
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 James Tredwell, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn
South Africa 1 Colin Ingram, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 AB de Villiers (capt, wk), 4 JP Duminy, 5 Faf du Plessis, 6 David Miller, 7 Ryan McLaren 8 Robin Peterson 9 Chris Morris, 10 Rory Kleinveldt, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe
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