Cricket

Buttler: De Kock innings ‘the difference’ in narrow South Africa win

De Kock struck four sixes on the way to a 22-ball half-century, helping South Africa finish the powerplay on 63 without loss. With the surface notably slower than during the four preceding evening games at the Daren Sammy Stadium, South Africa could only post 163 for 6 at the end of 20 overs but they had enough in the bank to hold England at arm’s length.

Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks added 86 in 9.5 overs for the opening wicket•Associated Press

Defeat means England will have to beat USA in their final Group 2 game to retain hopes of reaching the semi-finals and defending their trophy, with the potential for net run rate to again be the decider.

The equation for South Africa is more straightforward, with victory over West Indies on Sunday guaranteeing them a semi-final spot. Aiden Markram’s side have now won six games in a row, a run which has seen them prevail in several close finishes, and the captain praised their “fighting spirit” after holding off England’s charge at the end.

“Yeah, we’ve had a few of those so far this comp,” Markram said. “But specifically today’s, probably getting to those last three overs and it looks like the odds will be heavily against you, and for the bowlers to hang in there, have really good plans and ultimately get the execution right, shows a lot of skill. But I think it comes from deeper and that fighting spirit, like you mentioned, helped us a lot.”

On his bowlers’ approach between overs 15 and 17, during which Brook and Livingstone defied the conditions to add 52, Markram was philosophical.

“It’s always a tricky one, you want to see the bowlers’ best skills. You want to give him the freedom to bowl his best ball first before changing to conditions. It was a bit nerve-wracking there in those overs. The plans were okay but the execution let us down, but that’s okay, that’s part of the game. You do have to give credit to Liam and to Brooky, they put us under the pump, and ultimately in the last few overs it was good to see the bowlers respond.”

Markram also pinpointed the start de Kock gave his side, given the way conditions changed, adding that he felt South Africa were “getting closer to the really complete game” with their latest performance.

“I thought Quinny and Reeza [Hendricks] took on the powerplay beautifully for us but then it definitely got slower,” he said. “I probably wanted another 10-20 runs, being greedy, especially on the back of that really good start. We needed to try and squeeze in the middle, try and save as many runs as we could in the field and build pressure that way. As a whole, we are probably getting closer to the really complete game of cricket. Not quite there just yet, but we are definitely on the right track.”