Up North and Hot as England's Challengers Get a Big Defeat and a Nervy Win

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Friday 28 June 2019 at Riverside Stadium, Chester-le-Street
Result	South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets
Competition	Cricket World Cup 2019 Group Stage
Hopstats	Ground #14 on my cricket list.
Context
Sri Lanka gave themselves a chance of semi-final qualification with their victory over England. Their opponents are an underperforming South Africa.
In one sentence
Winning the toss and bowling first no doubt helped, but this was a determined performance from South Africa who blunted the Sri Lanka bowlers and secured a straightforward victory.
So what?
It’s a good result for England more than anyone, and also for Pakistan who can now go above England with a victory tomorrow at Leeds.
Match Report
Sri Lanka’s Karunatne spooned Rabada’s first ball of the innings to slip. Perera (K) and Fernando put on 67 in 58 balls but thereafter wickets fell steadily to the South African seamers, helped also by spinner Duminy taking the wicket of De Silva first ball. Eight batsmen reached double figures but no-one scored above thirty which both Perera (K) and Fernando reached. Pretorius finished with 3-25 from ten overs in two spells in the middle of the innings as the batsmen struggled to get the ball off the square. Morris was slightly more expensive but also took three wickets, and Rabada added another. Phehlukwayo took one too as Sri Lanka made it to the last over before being all out for 203 with three balls left.  It had been a slow strangulation in the second half of the innings with two five-over slots (21-25 & 31-35) in which only nine runs were added.  The score went from 91-3 after 20 overs to 203 all out. The most noteworthy event was “Bees Stopped Play” after 48.5 overs.  The players and umpires all lay prone as a swarm of bees passed across the field, through the crowd, and off into the distance. South Africa showed due respect to the new ball and in particular to the “wily veteran” Malinga, who bowled de Kock for 15 in the 5th over.  Amla and du Plessis accumulated steadily, and soon comfortably above the required rate. By half-way they had added 99 and taken the score to 130-1, and it became clear that the only route for a Sri Lankan victory would be to bowl South Africa out.  Malinga and de Silva (who had also opened the bowling with spin) were brought back on early but by now the two batsmen were well set.  The Sri Lankan total was too low to give du Plessis the chance of a ton – he finished on 96 not out, and Amla had 80 not out, in an unbroken partnership of 175.  It wasn’t brutal so much as brutally efficient, and the win was achieved with 76 balls to spare. It was a hot day and fortunately I took plenty of precautions against the sun, which also rendered the main scoreboard unreadable from my position. That was disappointing for a test venue, as was the fact that the portable toilets ran out of water for hand-washing by the change of innings. On the plus side the directions, signage and stewarding were superb. England play New Zealand here next week, and winning the toss might well be a very important feature of the day.
Pix
Riverside is a relatively new venue for international cricket. I cannot explain this. Add caption Triple-jump legend Jonathan Edwards is a cricket fan Angelo Mathews takes guard inefficiently ... Angelo Mathews' stumps two frames later (b Morris) The unusual bowling action of Malinga the Slinga
What Next?
I’m headed for Leeds and the game between Pakistan and Afghanistan. See below!

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 29 June 2019 at Headingley, Leeds.
Result	Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 3 wickets.
Competition	Cricket World Cup 2019 Group Stage
Hopstats	Ground #15 on my cricket list.
Context
As mentioned above, Pakistan can jump into a qualification position with a win. Afghanistan gave India a real scare last week, but are still looking for their first win.
In one sentence
A last-over thriller as Pakistan just about got over the victory line after a gallant bowling performance by the Afghanistan spinners.
So what?
England drop to fifth place ahead of their Sunday confrontation with India. Bangladesh will need to win their next game to stay level with Pakistan. Their next game … is on Friday at Lord’s v Pakistan!
Match Report
I’m just so glad I was here to see this, and even more grateful that my seat was close to the scoreboard so that I had some afternoon shade on the most punishing of days. Afghanistan won the toss and batted. Pakistan’s miserly bowling restricted Afghanistan in the middle of the innings as the batters recovered from 77-3 after 15 to 120-3 at the midpoint. Rahmat and Ikram added 30, including a successful review of an lbw decision, and then Ikram and Asghar put on 64 in 13 overs before the latter was clean bowled for a joint-high 42. Najibullah Zadran also contributed 42 before becoming Shaheen Afridi’s third of four victims as the pick of the bowlers. The overall impression was that Afghanistan had done well to last their full 50 overs, but that their score of 227-9 would not be enough. Most of us of paler skintone would be hopeful of a quickfire win so that we could get out of the sun. Certainly there were many empty seats in the uncovered parts of the ground as Pakistan set about their batting task. It quickly became more interesting. They wasted their review trying to prevent Fakhar from being lbw to spinner Mujeeb second ball.  Imam and Babar then built a painstaking partnership of 72, lasting till the 16th over until Imam was stumped by Ikram off the spin bowling of Nabi. Nabi, Mujeeb and Rashid, all spin bowlers, dismissed Babar, Hafeez and Harris and suddenly, with 15 overs to go, Pakistan were behind the required trajectory and their supporters were noticeably quietened.  At least half-a-dozen of the runs on the board were due to misfielding. Also, If Shinwari had been able to hold on to a very sharp c&b in the 31st over, and/or if Asghar had taken a routine catch to dismiss Imad in the 46th (he seemed to lose the ball as it went high into the sunny sky) … these were the features of the fine margin. In the end that 46th over proved pivotal – despite Sarfaraz and Shadab getting themselves run out earlier – as Imad found the boundary three times, maybe finding Gulbadin’s seam bowling easier to read than the spinners. The required rate was back to a manageable 18 from the final three overs and the pendulum swung decisively back to Pakistan for a nervy three-wicket win. This was my first visit to Headingley. It’s an impressive venue and I was towards one edge of the Western Terrace aka the Popular Enclosure. Both teams were well supported, colourfully and loudly, and it was a real privilege to be there, even though it turned out to be a bad day for England and another if-only occasion for Afghanistan.
Pix
Rugby League right next door
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! That’s the end of my World Cup ticket allocation but I have thoroughly enjoyed re-engaging with the game. There may well be other sporting interludes before the new football season starts. Football priorities will be to get into Tottenham Hotspur somehow (but not for a friendly) and then to complete Step 4, but nothing is set in stone. I’m also motivated to pick off the main grounds of six other first-class counties when a suitable opportunity arises: Derbyshire, Essex, Kent, Leicestershire, Sussex, Worcestershire.