Dawid Malan posts stunning knock of 99 to smash England to T20 series win over South Africa
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No chase seems beyond this extraordinary England white-ball team. No target challenging enough to stop what must surely be the most dynamic top six in their limited-overs history.
It seemed South Africa had finally posted a match-winning score in this Twenty20 series when they reached 191 for three on a used and tired Newlands pitch. Not least because England’s attack had been unusually sloppy and indisciplined.
And the curious sight of England analyst Nathan Leamon posting numbers and letters on the dressing room balcony in what was described as the trialling of a ‘live informational guide’ for the captain did not appear to help a below par display in the field.
Dawid Malan turned the game on its head with relentless hitting taking him one off a century
The runs also flowed for Jos Buttler as he and Malan dragged England to an improbable win
Yet South Africa were made to look totally inadequate as Dawid Malan, as dynamic as the best of them, and Jos Buttler powered England to a 3-0 series thrashing of a home side badly missing their injured spearhead Kagiso Rabada.
If Malan came into this series still fearing for his place despite rising to become the top ranked T20 batsman in the world then he can now surely look forward to next year’s World Cup as he has gone from strength to strength here.
First Malan led England to victory on his old home ground in Paarl in the second match with a measured half century but here he was unusually quick out of the blocks, reaching 50 off 26 balls, and powered his way to an unbeaten 99 off 47 balls.
Nothing emphasised Malan’s dominance more than an incredible six, one of his five maximums, off Lungi Ngidi that was measured at 94 metres as it flew into the empty Newlands stands. And his only relative disappointment was falling one short of a second T20 hundred when he hit the winning single without realising only one was needed.
No matter. So spectacular was Malan that he even managed to overshadow Buttler until the man now establishing himself at the top of the England order got into his stride and finished unbeaten on 67 himself as the pair combined in a world record second wicket stand of 167 off 90 balls.
That completed what has been a highly satisfying series for England who were unchanged for the third match running, captain Eoin Morgan reckoning he should make the most of having a full-strength side while he can before a hectic 2021.
Jason Roy’s poor international form continued after he was trapped lbw by Anrich Nortje for 16
It had initially gone well for England with the ball, too, when Chris Jordan claimed the key wicket of Quinton de Kock for the third time in three matches to overtake Stuart Broad and become England’s leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 internationals.
That is a good effort from a bowler who has become a short-form specialist, Jordan taking his 66 wickets in 55 matches, one fewer than Broad, and at a better strike-rate than all but five bowlers in Twenty20 history.
And when Adil Rashid provided another white-ball leg-spinning masterclass and Ben Stokes took two wickets, South Africa were struggling at 64 for three from almost half their innings and England were cruising towards a clean-sweep.
Rassie van der Dussen took no prisoners as he bludgeoned his way to a unbeaten knock of 74
But it started to go wrong for England when Stokes cut his hand on an advertising board at the start of a terrific onslaught from Rassie van der Dussen and Faf Du Plessis.
Stokes had been trying to cut off a boundary during what became the most expensive over Jofra Archer has ever bowled in a Twenty20 innings, 22 coming off it as Van der Dussen bludgeoned his way to his half century off 23 balls.
Faf du Plessis (52) also batted ruthlessly as South Africa salvaged some pride in the series
Archer was not the only bowler to suffer. Tom Curran went for 24 in the only two overs he was given by Morgan and has now had three poor performances on the sort of slow pitches England will expect in India in that Twenty20 World Cup.
His brother Sam fared little better and even Jordan’s tried and tested death bowling was punished as the South African pair smashed 127 off 63 balls, 88 of them coming off the last 31 balls with seven fours and seven sixes.
And by the time they finished Van der Dussen and Du Plessis had recorded the fourth highest stand for any wicket in a T20 against England and South Africa had posted what looked like a highly competitive score.
Ben Stokes was the pick of the visiting bowlers as he finished the innings with figures of 2-26
Not a bit of it. Jason Roy fell cheaply again – this time to the pace of Anrich Nortje – and will need a score in the one-day international series that begins here on Friday. But Malan, Jordan, Archer, Stokes and Sam Curran will head for home today knowing they have played their part in a Twenty20 job well done.
An astonishing 99 from Dawid Malan saw England complete a T20 whitewash against South Africa to set the team up nicely for the upcoming one-day international series.
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