Shamsi spins South Africa to T20I opener win over Ireland

By Sports Desk July 19, 2021

Tabraiz Shamsi's 4-27 ensured a routine 33-run win for South Africa over Ireland to secure a 1-0 series lead in the first bilateral men's T20I between the two sides in Malahide on Monday.

Quinton de Kock's 20 off nine balls threatened a promising start but came to an end as he found Paul Stirling's hands off the bowling of Mark Adair and that laid the foundations for a stuttering first-innings performance from the Proteas.

The visitors lost wickets at regular intervals, with Rassie van der Dussen (25 off 18), Aiden Markram (39 off 30) and David Miller (28 off 21) all showing incentive before failing to capitalise as South Africa reached 165-7, a touch above the average first-innings score of 152 in Malahide.

Simi Singh (2-19), Josh Little (2-27) and Adair (3-39) were the pick of the Ireland bowlers despite the latter being bludgeoned for four consecutive fours by Kagiso Rabada in the 20th over, which leaked 17 runs.

Stirling hoisted George Linde's first ball of Ireland's reply for six but that did not prove a sign of things to come given he was immediately bowled around his legs by the following delivery.

Captain Andy Balbirnie's 22 off 16 balls offered minor resistance as he watched his side struggle to 38-4 at the end of the six-over powerplay, courtesy of two wickets for Lungi Ngidi's wickets and one a piece for Linde and Rabada.

Linde and the world's number-one ranked T20I bowler Shamsi then rolled through the hosts' batting line-up to take 2-26 and 4-27 from their respective allocations and restrict Ireland to 132-9, with Harry Tector's 36 off 34 balls and Barry McCarthy's lower-order cameo of 30 off 25 balls offering the smallest of boosts for Ireland's poor batting showing.

Spin it to win it

Singh's maiden ODI hundred proved in vain in the third ODI defeat for Ireland but he proved his worth with the ball in Malahide, producing an economical four-over spell that saw him go for just one boundary.

Linde enjoyed similar spinning success, though, it was Shamsi who stole the show once again for the Proteas.

The left-arm leg-spinner is the most economical bowler in T20I cricket since the start of 2020 and, barring a trio of wides and two avoidable boundaries, Shamsi displayed his quality as he frequently spun the Ireland batsmen into a tangle.

 

O'Brien's ominous struggles

After playing five internationals and scoring just 27 runs, including a duck and three single-score returns, in 2021 heading into this match, Kevin O'Brien fell for another first-ball dismissal as he was caught and bowled by Rabada.

Turning out for Leinster Lightning in Ireland's inter-provincial T20 tournament, O'Brien has endured a lean domestic spell, too, managing a meagre 47 runs in six matches with a top score of 16.

O'Brien, scorer of Ireland's only hundred in the shortest limited-overs format, will be desperate to find form before the T20 World Cup gets underway in October.

Related items

  • Williams hits 52 as Jamaica open CWI T20 Blaze campaign with seven-wicket win over Windward Islands Williams hits 52 as Jamaica open CWI T20 Blaze campaign with seven-wicket win over Windward Islands

    Newly crowned CG United Women’s Super50 Cup champions Jamaica opened their account in the CWI T20 Blaze with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Windward Islands Women at Warner Park on Sunday.

    The Windwards, after winning the toss and batting first, posted 117-5 from their 20 overs.

    Openers Qiana Joseph and Jannilea Glasgow were the chief scorers with 56 and 37, respectively, while Chedean Nation led the Jamaica bowling with 3-19 from her three overs.

    Jamaica then needed only 16 overs to reach 118-3 thanks to a 35-ball 52 from Rashada Williams. Her opening partner Natasha McLean contributed 19 while Captain Stafanie Taylor and Chinelle Henry were the not out batters with 16 and 13, respectively.

    Zaida James took 2-16 from her four overs for the Windwards.

  • It’s a lot of fun – Heather Knight still enjoying captaining England It’s a lot of fun – Heather Knight still enjoying captaining England

    Heather Knight believes she still has a “lot to offer” as England captain after nearly eight years in the post.

    Knight succeeded Charlotte Edwards, who had a decade-long stint in the position, in June 2016 and her tenure has coincided with some ground-breaking moments for women’s cricket, both domestically and worldwide.

    England head coach Jon Lewis recently praised Knight’s longevity and commitment as “second to none” after she withdrew from the Women’s Premier League to play a full part in the tour of New Zealand.

    While great rival Meg Lanning stepped down as Australia captain and retired from international cricket late last year, Knight insisted she still gets a kick out of leading England and has much more to give.

    “It’s a lot of fun and I’m still enjoying doing it,” the 33-year-old told the PA news agency.

    “As long as I’m moving things and myself forward and still enjoying it, it’s something I want to continue to do.

    “When I think it’s eight years, it seems like a hell of a long time but it’s gone very fast, that’s for sure, and I still feel like I’ve got a lot to offer the team to keep moving things forward.

    “I enjoy that responsibility of trying to change. I’ve had to adapt my leadership as the years have gone and I quite enjoy doing that.

    “There’s always a big tournament around the corner these days, there’s one every year so there’s always something to work towards and try and have a chance of being successful in.”

    Knight oversaw England’s seminal World Cup triumph in 2017, when they beat India in the Lord’s final, but global trophies have since been out of their reach, hoovered up by the better-resourced Australia juggernaut.

    England won both white-ball series against their fierce rivals in the multi-format Ashes last year but Knight reckons Australia are still the side to beat ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

    “Teams are starting to challenge them which is a really healthy place to be,” Knight said.

    “But Australia are still a very good team and ultimately they’re still the target everyone is looking to knock down.”

    England take on New Zealand in Dunedin in the first of five T20s in the early hours of Tuesday morning as they begin building towards the next global event, scheduled to be held in September and October.

    They will be without Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Alice Capsey and Danni Wyatt for the first three T20s – a prearranged agreement which allowed the quartet to focus on their WPL commitments.

    But that allows those on the fringes a chance to make their mark, with Tammy Beaumont set for her 100th T20 appearance, more than two years after her 99th cap. The 33-year-old was jettisoned ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games but she has elbowed her way back in following some sparkling knocks in 2023.

    “The door’s not shut to anyone,” Knight added. “There is that opportunity for players coming in and it will be really interesting to see how they do.

    “Tammy’s not been around the T20 stuff for a long time, she’s gone away and worked on her game a lot and done things a little bit differently. She massively deserves that opportunity to come back in and open the batting in T20 cricket.

    “Everyone knows Tammy is a gritty cricketer, a bit of a fighter and loves a challenge so I’m super excited how she does with this opportunity she’s got.”

  • Ryan Baird savours Ireland Six Nations win after motivational words from mother Ryan Baird savours Ireland Six Nations win after motivational words from mother

    Ryan Baird was determined to savour Ireland’s latest Guinness Six Nations title success following inspiration from a framed Maro Itoje jersey and the motivational words of his mother.

    The Leinster forward struggled to fully embrace last year’s triumph due to preoccupation with analysing his own performance in the immediate aftermath of the Grand Slam clincher against England.

    Baird took home the match shirt of rival star Itoje following that memorable 29-16 St Patrick’s weekend win in Dublin.

    In the wake of last weekend’s last-gasp loss at Twickenham, the souvenir provided a timely reminder of the magnitude of championship glory ahead of Saturday’s decisive 17-13 victory over Scotland.

    “I struggled to enjoy it last year because I was so frustrated about some of the mistakes I made and it kind of ruined it for me,” said Baird.

    “Only when we lost last week and I was back home, my mum for Christmas had framed my jersey with the Maro Itoje jersey for me and she was like, ‘just remember how special that was and how hard they are to win’.

    “So when the final whistle went, I’d made a few mistakes in the game but I put that aside.

    “I remember being on the ground as the ball was being kicked out and I thought ‘you know what, appreciate the last eight weeks of hard work you have put in, appreciate the time you spent with your team-mates’.

    “It didn’t give me a crazy high, it just gave me a satisfaction. I worked hard, we all worked hard.”

    Baird, who can operate at lock or flanker, made his Test debut during the 2021 Six Nations.

    The 24-year-old has patiently awaited opportunities but could benefit from the potential retirement of captain Peter O’Mahony.

    Baird idolises O’Mahony and feels “privileged to be led” by the veteran Munster flanker, who is contemplating his international future after leading his country to silverware.

    “He epitomises what it is to be an Irish rugby player,” said Baird, who featured in each of Ireland’s tournament fixtures but only started the round-two win over Italy.

    “I said to him before the game how much I look up to him and I said it to him after. Yeah, I idolise him.

    “I’m so fortunate to play with him as well, the way he carries himself. He’s such good fun off the pitch and such a hard worker on the pitch.

    “You can see it is everything to him and I’m privileged to be led by him.”

    Ireland face a two-match summer tour of South Africa before autumn clashes with New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia.

    Baird hopes to add to his 20 caps – 14 of which have come as a replacement – against the top southern hemisphere sides.

    “I just want to fulfil my potential and I feel very fortunate to be in this group,” he said.

    “I’m not representing me, I’m representing family and friends and the big thing we always say is we want to inspire the nation.

    “As I get older I’m realising more that I am less selfish in my views as to why I am doing this.

    “I do it first because I love playing rugby and I love representing this country and what this gives others when we do this and when we win.

    “I’m starting to appreciate that more and I guess it’s why I’m more fond of this one (Six Nations title).”

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.