Legends Championship: England Triumphs Over South Africa with Nine-Wicket Victory
England outclassed South Africa by nine wickets in the third match of the World Championship of Legends 2024 in Birmingham.
The home side chased down the target in the 11th over with Phil Mustard dominating the run chase.
Skipper Kevin Pietersen brought the flair to the chase, smashing 11-ball 28. Mustard remained unbeaten on 35-ball 84 which included six fours and nine sixes.
Ian Bell contributed 18 on 20 balls.
Earlier, South Africa only managed 137 after being asked to bat first.
The start was not great with captain Jacques Kallis getting dismissed by RJ Sidebottom after scoring 13 runs off 30 balls.
His partner, Herschelle Gibbs put up a quick 26 runs off 19 balls, maintaining an impressive strike rate of 136.84 before being bowled out by Owais Shah.
Ajmal Shahzad and Owais Shah kept the pressure in the middle overs by taking wickets at regular intervals.
At the backend, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas provided some stability with 16 runs off 17 balls. Ryan McLaren contributed a valuable 22 runs off 24 balls. Vernon Philander remained not out, scoring 14 runs off 12 balls. The innings concluded with Rory Kleinveldt scoring a quick 21 runs off 15 balls.
Bopara was the pick of the bowler, picking three wickets in eight balls while Owais Shah took 3/23.
