Anderson the wrecker as England beat SA
James Anderson wrecked South Africa's batting order with a
career-best performance as England won the fourth one-day international
by seven wickets at St George's Park on Sunday.
The fast bowler took five wickets for 23 as South Africa were bowled
out for 119, their lowest total in a one-day international in their own
country.
"Jimmy Anderson was outstanding in the way he created pressure but
then bowled wicket-taking deliveries as well," said England captain
Andrew Strauss.
Jonathan Trott and Strauss put on 74 for England's first wicket. The
tourists suffered a wobble when three wickets fell for nine runs but
cruised to victory with 18.4 overs to spare. Trott finished with 52 not
out.
It was a remarkable turnaround for England, who conceded 354 runs
when they lost the third international by 112 runs in Cape Town two days
earlier.
The win gave England an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the series. The final
match will be played in Durban on Friday.
South African captain Graeme Smith was dismissed by Stuart Broad off
the eighth ball of the match and his side were unable to recover. Smith
gambled by batting first in overcast conditions on a pitch with slightly
more grass than usual and the early loss of their leading batsman
exposed a lengthy tail.
England's bowling was accurate and the South Africans failed to adapt
to a slower pitch than that on which they prospered in Cape Town.
"It was probably a good toss to lose," admitted Strauss. "But I was
very pleased with the way the bowlers adapted to those conditions. We
were very accurate today.".Strauss said that after Friday's heavy defeat
the team had "a good chat".
He said: "We wanted to clarify our plans against their batsmen, which
we got pretty much spot on."
Anderson bowled superbly in two spells and benefited from bold
captaincy by Strauss.
After a first spell of two for 17 in six overs, Strauss brought back
his strike bowler in the 21st over to press home his side's advantage.
Anderson responded by taking three more wickets and completed his
stint by the end of the 27th over. By then, South Africa had lost seven
wickets for 85 runs.
PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Monday (AFP)
|