Olympics
The United States fell to defeat by South Africa in the opening game of the Super Eight phase of the T20 World Cup.
Set 195 to win, the U.S. — who have lit up the tournament, their first on the global stage — fell just short of another shock result, eventually losing by 18 runs at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
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The U.S are not out of the competition despite defeat. It will now play West Indies (on June 22) and England (on June 23) to try and reach the semifinals.
It qualified for this second phase of the T20 World Cup after victories over Canada and Pakistan in the group stage.
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Quinton De Kock top scored for South Africa with 74 off just 40 balls as they reached 194 for the loss of four wickets from their 20 overs. Captain Aiden Markram ably supported him with 46 from 32.
The U.S. fell to 76-5 in their chase but a 91-run partnership between Andries Gous (80 unbeaten) and Harmeet Singh (38) had them threaten another upset of an established cricketing nation in the matter of weeks.
But Kagiso Rabada — one of the world’s best bowlers — conceded just two runs and took the wicket of Harmeet in the 19th over to effectively end the co-hosts’ chances.
U.S. captain Aaron Jones, standing in for injured regular skipper Monank Patel, was left to rue giving away too many runs after winning the toss and opting to field first.
“I don’t want to say disappointed, but yeah it’s hard to take the defeat after getting so close,” he said. “I thought we could have been more disciplined bowling-wise.
“I think we have a really good unit, a lot of talent in the USA. When we play good cricket we can beat any team in the world.”
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The U.S. next faces West Indies in Bridgetown, which will be something of a homecoming for Jones. He was born in the U.S to Barbadian parents and has represented Barbados.
“Happy to going home for me personally, I know the conditions there,” he said. “The majority of the guys enjoy playing in the Caribbean and hopefully we can play hard cricket.”
The Super Eight phase (the second round-robin stage before the semifinals) sees eight teams compete for places in the last four.
The top two in each group will progress to the semifinals before the tournament’s final, in Bridgetown on June 29.
T20 or Twenty20 cricket is the game’s shortest format and sees each side have one innings of up to 20 overs (six balls).
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(Photo: Jan Kruger-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
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Ben Burrows is News Editor for The Athletic based in London. Prior to joining in 2023 he was Sports Editor at The Independent. Follow Ben on Twitter @benburrows_
