SAM MORSHEAD picks out the key performances and notable topics for discussion from the third one-day international between South Africa and England in Johannesburg...
Here’s a riddle: When is a lost review not a lost review?
The answer was to be found during the 21st over of South Africa’s innings at the Bullring when UltraEdge briefly malfunctioned and brought the entire match to a standstill.
Rassie van der Dussen had just been judged lbw to Adil Rashid and, given Temba Bavuma had spurned the Proteas’ one and only challenge trying to reverse his dismissal the previous delivery, Van der Dussen was slowly moping off the field.
Then the fourth umpire appeared on the boundary’s edge, preventing the South African from crossing the rope.
Up in his TV tower, third umpire Aleem Dar (surely Aleem VAR?! - ed) sent down instructions to return the hosts their review because Bavuma’s referral for a lock-stock lbw had not been entirely complete. UltraEdge had been having a coffee.
Van der Dussen was offered the opportunity for a review, which he took, and Rashid’s googly was shown to be turning sharply down legside. Cue much bewilderment among the England players. And no wonder.
The ICC’s regulations cater for incidents such as these.
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“A Player Review categorised as ‘Unsuccessful’ may be reinstated by the match referee at his/her sole discretion if the review could not properly be concluded due to a failure of the technology,” it reads.
Like any good terms and conditions leaflet, there’s more jargon.
“Any such decision shall be final and shall be taken as soon as possible, being communicated to both teams once all the relevant facts have been ascertained by the match referee.”
“A review categorised as ‘Unsuccessful’ shall not be reinstated if, despite any technical failures, the correct decision could still have been made using the other available technology.”
And therein lies the rub.
The replays shown to Dar during Bavuma’s review clearly highlighted a gap between bat and ball - not just visible to the naked eye but bulgingly so, and made all the more obvious by the pink stump behind.
The incident did not have a huge bearing on the game - Van der Dussen was dismissed for five - and it is fair to say the right decision was reached, given Rashid’s delivery was missing leg.
But UltraEdge - in this particular instance - was completely redundant. The replays plus ball-tracking provided a definitive analysis. Using the ICC’s playing conditions as a guide, the officials appeared to be in a mighty generous mood in returning South Africa a review.
Adil Rashid was in excellent form for England
Adil Rashid battled against a nagging shoulder injury for much of 2019.
He played through the pain to help England to a World Cup, but his impact in ODIs over the calendar year was significantly reduced compared to his overall career - an average of 38.62 versus an equivalent of 31.49, and an economy rate of 6.10 against 5.61 over his career as a whole.
Six months away from the international arena, however, seems to have given Rashid the best possible chance to rest and reset.
In Joburg, his action and run-up was quicker - a deliberate approach which added three or four miles per hour to his bowling - and he routinely troubled the South African batsmen.
With less time to pick Rashid’s variations, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Andile Phelukwayo and Jon Jon Smuts all looked uncomfortable against the legspinner, and he returned deserved match figures of 3-51.
After his teammate Matt Parkinson was criticised for giving too much flight to the ball in the first ODI at Newlands - somewhat harshly given it was that loopy style which proved so effective in county cricket, paving the way for Parkinson’s national call-up - Rashid’s skiddier approach paid dividends.
He set up Bavuma with a traditional leggie, which almost trapped the batsman lbw, before sliding in a quicker googly that rapped the pad in front of middle and leg.
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Van der Dussen was bamboozled by a googly first up but survived thanks to a bizarre series of events related to DRS, while Phehlukwayo’s naive reverse sweep brought another lbw.
Rashid’s performance drew hums of praise from pundits at the ground, with one - David Lloyd - calling for his inclusion in the Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka next month.
“He’s a must for the Test team,” Lloyd said.
That squad is likely to be named on Monday and, with Jack Leach’s fitness uncertain as he recovers from a winter battling sepsis, and Moeen Ali expected to still be unavailable, it might be tempting to throw Rashid a red-ball bone on turning decks.
Surely the selectors will take into account - even with a slightly different action and added pace - Rashid’s relative ineffectiveness in the longest format to date (an average of 39.83 and, perhaps more importantly, an economy of 3.75 from 19 matches).
And not everyone is convinced.
“In one-day cricket they have to attack him. When you don’t have to score against him, you can sit on him,” Sir Alastair Cook said on Sky Sports.
“We have been down this route before. He’s a far better one-day bowler. Would I take him to Sri Lanka? I don’t think I would.
“Hopefully Jack Leach is fit. Dom Bess has to go. If (Moeen) is not available, do you take (Matt) Parkinson? Do you taken four spinners? I just don’t know what they’re going to do.”
UPDATE: To save everyone unnecessary headline-writing, Rashid ruled himself out of the Sri Lanka trip immediately after the game.
David Miller made 69 not out for South Africa
Saqib Mahmood’s first ODI wicket was a thing of beauty.
The Lancashire seamer, brought in for his 50-over debut after three T20Is in New Zealand, got rid of Reeza Hendricks with a gem of a delivery that nipped back off the seam and kissed the top of the off bail, encouraging it just enough to fall from its grooves.
Mahmood, along with Tom Curran, kept South Africa pinned down during the first powerplay - during which the hosts only managed 36 - and his five overs cost just 17.
It is in the 50-over format that the youngster has most excelled domestically. And this performance was a clear illustration of what Mahmood can add to the ODI side.
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— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 9, 2020
Saqib Mahmood with a beauty for his first ODI wicket, clipping Reeza Hendrick's off bail! SA 23-1. ๐๐ฟ๐ฆ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ
๐บ Watch #SAvENG live: https://t.co/m4dwVDJdMo
๐ฐ Live blog: https://t.co/RPv5D1HmbW pic.twitter.com/Y4j0xASkPf
In one-day international cricket, David Miller has been in something of a rut for quite a while.
The South African middle-order batsman went into the third ODI against England having failed to score more than 41 in 10 innings, stretching back more than 15 months.
Making the most of the altitude and relatively short boundaries in Johannesburg on Sunday, however, Miller reminded everyone just how important he can be to a Proteas side in transition.
Shaking off a farcical mix-up which led to the run out of Jon Jon Smuts, Miller tucked into England’s death bowling to make 69 not out - twice sending the ball flying out of the stadium.
CricViz’s impact ratings for batsman, which assess the relative influence each player has on a team’s innings, gave the 30-year-old a +28 score for his efforts - his 13th best return from 111 one-day international knocks.
Cast your mind back a fortnight and to the team selections for the fourth Test between South Africa and England in Johannesburg.
Both sides decided pace was the only way forward at the Bullring so no frontline spinner was picked and all bar 10 overs (from Joe Root and Joe Denly) were delivered by seam-up bowlers.
How quickly things changed.
England’s ODI setup saw spin as crucial, not only giving Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali their full allocation but also handing the ball to Root for seven overs.
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Prior to the start of this series, Joe Denly might have appeared the odd one out in the England line-up. But he has been integral in everything the side has done with the bat.
After his career-best 87 in the first match, Denly's well-paced half-century here was the backbone to the successful chase.
Aided by the platform given to him by Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy - who between them took three overs to surpass the 36 runs South Africa managed in the whole of the first powerplay - the Kent man steadied himself before letting loose with the target coming into sight.
Denly's ODI stats are modest - an average in the low 30s and a strike rate nudging 70 - but his career has been split over two eras.
England showed in the World Cup that the old-fashioned anchor innings remains important - Ben Stokes nearly took his team to victory twice with similar displays against Australia and Sri Lanka, before that Lord's epic in the final - and the No.5 slot in this batting order does not need to be filled by an explosive batsman.
Currently, Denly is auditioning well for the role. The only problem? During the next 50-over World Cup comes around, in 2023, he will celebrate his 37th birthday.
With Rashid and Moeen in the side, England do better.
Since the start of 2015, with the two close friends playing together, England’s win rate touches 66 per cent. Without them, it’s hovering just above 61 per cent.
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