Vaibhav Tripathi
South Africa registered a thumping 229-run victory against defending champions England in the 20th match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. The Proteas set a record total of 399/7, led by Heinrich Klaasen’s brilliant century. England’s run-chase faltered as they lost early wickets and were bowled out for 170.
Reflecting on his team’s disastrous performance, England skipper Jos Buttler said in the presentation ceremony: “Incredibly disappointing. We were well beaten. We have come here to play our best cricket. Lots of things didn’t go to plan in the first innings. Reece picked up the injury. The boys fought hard. We could have restricted to 340-350, could have been a good chase. Incredibly tough under the heat. Could have been a good chase had we gotten off to a good start.”
To make matters worse for England, Topley now looks set to be ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a broken finger. The Surrey seamer has suffered numerous injuries in his career. “I thought Reece Topley going back out to bowl with a broken finger showed great spirit,” Matthew Mott, England’s coach, told Sky Sports at the end of the contest. “We’re still waiting on that, but it’s very much looking like it’s a crack. Certainly that’s the early diagnosis, but we’ll find out properly with X-rays.”
If Topley gets ruled out, Brydon Carse could get a call-up. Although Jofra Archer has joined the squad as a travelling reserve, Mott noted that he isn’t yet available to play for England. Jofra has been laid low by a persistent elbow injury. “Jofra is actually not going to be considered for selection. He’s come out and he’s reported to the medical staff, but he’s not going to be able to play a part in the end of this campaign.”
Meanwhile, in the absence of captain Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram stepped up and led the team effectively. “Fantastic all-round performance. Was a great effort. We know England like chasing. We were comfortable batting first. Thankfully, our pacers were not roasted bowling first under the sun. Really great knock from Reeza. He has been around for a long time. That helped. He has been practicing every day. Got rewarded today. We have Miller at 6 and Klaasen at 5. That’s a destructible pair.
“[on Jansen] Fantastic to see that he showcased his ability on a global stage like this. Jansen is having a great time. He takes a lot of pride in his batting. He has been practising a lot. Had a great partnership with Klaasen. That loss hurt us. Great way to bounce back.”
At 243/5 in 36.3 overs, it didn’t seem like South Africa would post a massive total. However, an incredible 151-run partnership between Klaasen (109) and Jansen (75*) took the game away from England’s grasp. “One of my best (knocks) ever, I was hitting the ball nicely, this knock will go down as one of my better ones. It was proper heat, saps all the energy out of you. The heat out there was extreme,” said Klaasen.