CAPE TOWN – Tabraiz Shamsi showed on a glorious afternoon at Newlands that there is life after Imran Tahir.
Shamsi has been cast in the spotlight since Tahir’s ODI retirement after the World Cup last year and he would have been tentative about filling the big shoes of the veteran, particularly due to Pakistan-born leg-spinner’s impact on the Proteas ODI team over the past decade.
But the Titans left-arm wrist-spinner has certainly learnt from being Tahir’s understudy over the past few years by delivering a masterclass of 3/38 to restrict the England to just 258/8.
This young Proteas team, led superbly by new captain Quinton de Kock in his first match in charge, certainly held their own against the world champions for the majority of the innings. Even a positive start from dynamic duo Jason Roy (32) and Jonny Bairstow (19) was absorbed as the home team pegged England back to 108/5 at one stage.
🎵 Mama I made it🎶
The Sipamla clan ecstatic...
That's #ProteaFire #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/jK3Res2Xm7
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 4, 2020
England’s strength in white-ball cricket over the past few years have been their length of the batting order though, and with specialist batsman Joe Denly (87) marshalling the tail superbly, it propelled the visitors to a defendable total on a slowing surface.
Denly’s chief ally was all-rounder Chris Woakes (40) as the pair added 91 for the seventh wicket.
Earlier, the Proteas awarded two ODI debuts to Warriors duo Jon-Jon Smuts and Lutho Sipamla.
England followed suit with Tom Banton and Matt Parkinson also playing their maiden 50-overs matches.
England: 258/8 (Denly 87, Woakes 40, Shamsi 3/38, Smuts 1/43)