England fell to a 14-run defeat to South Africa in a farcically quick first T20I towards South Africa ravaged by rain in Cardiff.
Persistent downpours delayed the beginning of the sport by two hours and 20 minutes, leaving solely a nine-overs-a-side contest potential.
Aiden Markram (28 off 14 balls) and Donovan Ferreira (25 not out off 11) powered South Africa to 97-5 in 7.5 overs earlier than one other deluge introduced their innings to a untimely halt.
England have been set a revised goal of 69 from 5 overs, however their chase by no means ignited after Phil Salt fell to the primary ball.
Jacob Bethell managed seven, whereas captain Harry Brook departed for a duck as England slumped to 28-3 inside three overs.
The quickfire dismissals of Jos Buttler and Tom Banton from successive deliveries sealed England’s destiny as they completed 14 runs wanting victory on 54-5 after 5 overs.
Brook: Cannot learn an excessive amount of into defeat
England captain Harry Brook: “We will not actually learn into that an excessive amount of, to be trustworthy. There was loads occurring all through the sport.
“It was very wet in patches. That’s for the big dogs above me to make those decisions… we’ve just got to go out there and try to perform as best we can, and we didn’t execute as well as we could have done.”
Markram: It felt like insanity
South Africa captain Aiden Markram: “It was tough with the way things unfolded. It felt like madness, to be honest.
“Ready for a lot of the day, the following factor you understand you are out on the park and doing battle.
“I’m happy with the guys for getting a pretty good score on the board, and then the bowlers had good plans and executed them more often that not, which was pleasing.”
England vs South Africa – outcomes and fixtures
All video games reside on Sky Sports activities, all instances UK and Eire 🕰️
- First T20: South Africa received by 14 runs 🟢
- Second T20: Friday September 12 (6.30pm) – Emirates Previous Trafford
- Third T20: Sunday September 14 (2.30pm) – Trent Bridge