 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Two big T20 World Cup warm-up matches were played on Monday, both producing interesting results.
Last year's finalists New Zealand were given a harsh wake-up call as they were comprehensively beaten by 9 wickets by South Africa.
Put in to bat, the Kiwis were bundled out for 98 runs in 17.1 overs by the Proteas, who chased down the meagre target with 8.4 overs to spare.
Wayne Parnell struck twice in the powerplay before the South African spin duo of Keshav Maharaj (3-17) and Tabrazi Shamsi (2-6) ran through New Zealand's batting line up.
In the other practice match of the day, England beat Pakistan by six wickets in another practice match with Ben Stokes smashing 36 before Harry Brook (45) and Sam Curran (33) chipping in with unbeaten cameos to complete the chase.
Skipper Jos Buttler was particularly happy with the return of Liam Livingstone (ankle) and Chris Jordan (finger) from injuries.
"It's great to see Liam Livingstone back on the field after a significant injury, and get four overs from Chris Jordan as well," Buttler said.
"We tried a few different things that guys were wanting to experiment with and this is the perfect time to try and do that."