South Africa destroy England, Sri Lanka walk past Dutch

And Shadab Khan.

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Even while Temba had diarrhoea, South Africa's top six did their business solid. But England actually got the magic five wickets inside 37 overs. Marco Jansen carried his teammate Heinrich Klaasen - physically, not in terms of batting _ as England’s new bowler-only lineup got destroyed like they were all part-timers. When England went out to bat, well, not really. Technically Reece Topley was the only England player not to bat, but in truth, a lot didn’t. 

Sri Lanka finally found some bowling as the Dutch top order had the game off again, but they were saved by their lower order. Also again. Sri Lanka still restricted them to under 270 using a bunch of adult bowlers, not the kids they had been throwing out there. Sri Lanka then took a gentle stroll to the target, just losing enough wickets to keep their fans in some mild pain, eventually winning with ten balls to spare

Klaasen’s 12 months (JK)

Just crazy how quickly Heinrich Klaasen has turned himself from another cog in the superhero top six and become Dr Manhattan. This tweet is right, while Buttler and Miller still exist, it would be hard to argue that the most destructive batter right now is Klaasen. 

In the last 12 months, he has supersized his hitting ability to something you just don’t see. Averaging over 50 and striking at nearly 150. That’s ABDV in T20 numbers. He smashes pace and spin, and he’s managed to do it without being dismissed much at all. The power they have from Markram, him and Miller is obscene on its own. But the consistency of Miller and Klaasen is something else. 

One reason I think he is so tough to stop is he hits his main shots so hard, but can also improvise and then has a proper power game. Oh, and he can attack pace and spin. But there is something else I noticed, the man hits boundaries everywhere. He doesn’t have a hole in his boundary-hitting spots. In this innings, he hit fours and sixes from third all the way around to fine. He’s a carousel scorer. 

Jansen’s long step-up (CS)

South Africa has been looking for someone who can do what Marco Jansen did today for years. You could argue since Kallis stopped being an ODI force. Up until the start of 2013, South Africa had given up all hope on a number 7 with batting ability. But, the emergence of Jansen has changed those dynamics. I was told by South African coaches early on that they wanted to pump the breaks in his batting hype. Just because they thought he would take a while to develop. And he can still look like a praying mantis with a bat at times. 

Jansen has been incredibly consistent with his runs in ODIs so far. This was obviously a step up, for a couple of reasons. One is South Africa have got used to having no batting at number seven and their top order just deals with it. But also today England actually got to the number seven position early. And instead of opening up an end, they actually got smashed more. 

It’s still early on, and teams don’t quite game plan for him well yet, but he’s averaging 35, even if he can keep it at 25, with his bowling talent they are well ahead. 

Today he not only made runs, but also carried Klaasen emotionally, and almost physically. Watching this giant down on his knees talking his partner through the exhaustion and cramps was huge. 

Reeza was not even supposed to be here today (CS)

Reeza Hendricks was not supposed to play against England. He only got to know about his participation in the match minutes before the start of the game. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He laid the foundation for the SA middle order to play with freedom and launch at the death.

The weird thing about Reeza is he looks like he is made for ODI cricket, but early on when he was tried he made a hundred and then bombed after that. He’s had chances seen but has never grabbed it. While Klaasen will get the credit today, that score doesn’t happen without the last-minute replacement. A bit like New Zealand, it’s incredible that South Africa have so many players to fill in as role players who mimic the style of other players.