Along with England, either New Zealand or Sri Lanka will qualify. England with 2 wins out of 2 matches, has 4 points. New Zealand has to play England in the last match. If Kiwis win that, they enter semi final. If Kiwis lose, depending on the net run rate, either Kiwis or the Lankans will play the semi-finals.
Smith played wonderfully even after being denied for a runner by England skipper Strauss. The English captain had all the rights to reject the request as it was not based on the injury.
A captain must take courageous decision in crucial situation and also ensure that the decision is not only right and does not spoil the reputation or question the chracter.
Chasing 324, SA had to reach at least 317 to stay ahead of SL in the net run rate. This would have at least given them an outside chance. I am not sure whether Smith was focusing on that. May be he was going behind 324 instead of 317 and lost focus in the semi-final birth.
He scored 141 in 134 balls which had 16 fours. Till the time he was batting, SA had all the hopes that they can reach the target. A poor decision to run for a bye when the keeper fumbled the ball, sent Morkel back to pavilion. He was hitting hard and clearing boundaries easily. Smith and Morkel utilized the batting powerplay but not in full as Morkel was short of his crease.
Earlier, OA Shah missed his century by 2 runs when a bat and pad catch was easily taken by Boucher. Collingwood made 82 and Morgan contributed 67.
Anderson really bowled well mixing slower deliveries. He picked 3 wickets for 42 in his 10 overs. Though Broad also picked 3, he was costly and went for 67 runs in his 10 overs.
Despite Smith's heroic effort, it was England who had the last laugh and booked their birth for the semi-final. OA Shah was given man of the match for his 98, which set the stage for an exciting do-or-die match. His innings had 6 huge sixes and 5 fours. Collingwood also hit 5 sixes for his part. This is the match which had highest sixes in this editin of CT. OA Shah also become the batsman with highest sixes in an innings in CT 2009.
Scoreboard:
Match # 8, Group B
Date: Sunday Sep 27, 2009
Teams: England v. South Africa
Captains: Strauss and Smith
Toss: England, decided to bat
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
Result: England won by 22 runs
Points: England 2; South Africa 0
Man of the Match: OA Shah off England
England Innings:
| Batsman | How Out | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s |
| Strauss | c Boucher b Parnell | 25 | 37 | 5 | 0 |
| Denly | c Duminy b Kallis | 21 | 25 | 3 | 0 |
| OA Shah | c Boucher b Botha | 98 | 89 | 5 | 6 |
| Collingwood | b Parnell | 82 | 94 | 6 | 1 |
| Morgan | c Smith b Steyn | 67 | 34 | 4 | 5 |
| L Wright | run out (Parnell) | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Bopara | c Morkel b Botha | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| S Broad | b Parnell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Swann | not out | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Anderson | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | (b 1, lb 4, w 5, nb 1) | 11 | - | - | - |
| Total | for 8 wkts in 50 overs | 323 | - | - | - |
Fall of Wickets: 1-48 (Denly, 9.6 ov), 2-59 (Strauss, 12.1 ov), 3-222 (Shah, 38.2 ov), 4-262 (Collingwood, 43.1 ov), 5-291 (Wright, 45.6 ov), 6-295 (Bopara, 46.4 ov), 7-297 (Broad, 47.2 ov), 8-320 (Morgan, 49.2 ov)
| Bowler | O | M | R | W |
| Steyn | 10 | 0 | 59 | 1 |
| Parnell | 10 | 2 | 60 | 3 |
| Kallis | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| A Morkel | 6 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| Merwe | 9 | 0 | 67 | 0 |
| Botha | 9 | 0 | 56 | 2 |
| Duminy | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
South Africa Innings: (324 to win in 50 overs)
| Batsman | How Out | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s |
| G Smith | c Shah b Broad | 141 | 134 | 16 | 0 |
| Gibbs | c Wright b Anderson | 22 | 26 | 3 | 1 |
| J Kallis | c Denly b Broad | 12 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| AB de Villiers | c Denly b Collingwood | 36 | 41 | 4 | 0 |
| Duminy | b Swann | 24 | 33 | 1 | 0 |
| Boucher | b Anderson | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| A Morkel | run out (Morgan) | 17 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| J Botha | c Onions b Broad | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Merwe | b Anderson | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Parnell | not out | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Steyn | not out | 17 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| Extras | (lb 8, w 5, nb 1) | 14 | - | - | - |
| Total | for 9 wkts in 50 overs | 301 | - | - | - |
Fall of Wickets: 1-42 (Gibbs, 6.6 ov), 2-64 (Kallis, 11.5 ov), 3-142 (de Villiers, 25.5 ov), 4-206 (Duminy, 36.6 ov), 5-230 (Boucher, 40.1 ov), 6-255 (Morkel, 44.1 ov), 7-255 (Botha, 44.3 ov), 8-263 (van der Merwe, 45.2 ov), 9-274 (Smith, 46.5 ov)
| Bowler | O | M | R | W |
| Anderson | 10 | 0 | 42 | 3 |
| Onions | 7 | 0 | 52 | 0 |
| S Broad | 10 | 0 | 67 | 3 |
| Wright | 5 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| Collingwood | 10 | 0 | 58 | 1 |
| Swann | 8 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
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