Champions Trophy, Feb 19 - March 9

[andy]

Williamson drops bavuma! Would have been spectacular but big chance missed

[sussexpob]

Williamson drops bavuma! Would have been spectacular but big chance missed

Probably did it on purpose, seeing as though Bavuma was batting like NZ scored 200 runs less than they actually did.

South Africa need a miracle

[andy]

Losing Klaasen is a huge blow for SA...NZ have couple of injury concerns though...Phillips seems to be struggling with a back problem and Henry is off the field with a shoulder issue

[Durhamfootman]

SA busy doing the 'Durham slide', that depressingly slow descent to abject defeat that serves only to emphasise their opponent's white ball superiority in every dept

behind the rate from the get go, followed by the regular loss of wickets to repeatedly undermine any attempt at the chase

[andy]

Matt Henry is definitely struggling with that shoulder... running around using his feet rather than diving for the ball...Glenn Phillips on to bowl wonder if that's so he gets through the 5 overs Henry would have had to bowl? As it's highly unlikely he will need to risk Henry now with the score 202-6

[Durhamfootman]

then again, England would already have been bowled out for under 200, 'expressing themselves', so could be worse

[sussexpob]

SA busy doing the 'Durham slide'

I thought they are doing a brilliant impression of being South Africa through the ages.

Get to the business end of a tournament, turn to jelly.

[andy]

SA busy doing the 'Durham slide'

I thought they are doing a brilliant impression of being South Africa through the ages.

Get to the business end of a tournament, turn to jelly.

You have to think it's never going to happen for them don't you?! They've got to so many semi finals and finals recently and they just can't do it...shame because they have done so well just can't do it....although I do think man for man this NZ side is better than SA right now

[Durhamfootman]

a big final 3 overs from David Miller on a personal level. Faced every single ball and moved from 52 to 100 not out

[alfie]

So we get the final that frankly seemed likely from the start of the competition : the India/NZ group looked way stronger than the other so no surprise they both ended up meeting again.

Good job to blow SA away : though I didn't stay up to watch the SA innings as I was pretty sure they weren't going to chase that down against a nicely varied NZ attack. Miller seems to have had a real go but too late to help. Ravindra and Williamson set the pattern and NZ never relinquished their grip...excellent example of how to play an ODI innings on a flat track

Advantage India with no travel and plenty of experience of the conditions ; but I think NZ may be better prepared than they were for the group game (plus this one will be more meaningful than what was essentially a dead rubber). Problem for them might be injuries , I guess ? Hopefully no issues for Phillips or Henry as I see Andy has flagged some concerns.

Reckon I know who all the neutrals will be cheering for...

[Durhamfootman]

Hopefully no issues for Phillips or Henry as I see Andy has flagged some concerns.

well, they both came back and took wickets, so presumably they'll be okay

[mikesiva]

South Africa 312-9

Miller 100*
Rassie 69
Bavuma 56

Santner 3-43
Phillips 2-27
Henry 2-43

[Red Devil]

South Africa 312-9

Miller 100*
Rassie 69
Bavuma 56

Santner 3-43
Phillips 2-27
Henry 2-43

Decent score but they really needed something from Klaasen to chase that down.

Final should be interesting - NZ doing brilliantly again and India have looked very strong to date

[sussexpob]

Final should be interesting - NZ doing brilliantly again and India have looked very strong to date

After South Africa "choking" in the latter stages of tournaments, the next banker you can bet your money on is a good kiwi side finding a way to lose a final ....

[sussexpob]

If anything, I think this tournament in many ways has re-enforced the importance of having a quality player in the middle overs who can tie up an end, and if you have 2 (or even three in India's case) then its incredibly difficult to beat teams. England had a coming together of hellish firepower quality in the 2010s that somewhat subverted that, but it was a freak occurrence.

Players like Jadeja, Kuldeep, Axar, Santner, Bracewell..... these are the players who win you tournaments now by sucking the life out of the innings. Pace off the ball, tight lines, tight lengths....All the unsexy stuff. Someone like Bracewell also brings hitting power to the table - having a bowler who can go under 5 an over with the ball and over 115 with the bat at a mid 30s average is like playing with 12 men.

You look at England's bowlers, and even someone like Rashid who has been a standout player is econ over 5.5... I guess we were mad thinking England could compete here, because their bowlers simply make the batting required to be a level that is unrealistically unsustainable.