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| South Africa KO'd by England |
 Graeme Smith: England vs ProteasSouth Africa got knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy by England who triumphed with a South Africa skipper Graeme Smith did his best to keep his side alive in the tournament, hitting 141 despite being hampered late on by cramp. Lone effort However, the left-hander was left to do it all by himself, as no other home batsman made more than 36, South Africa finishing up on 301-8. While Smith and his side were left to lament yet another failure in an ICC tournament, England can begin to look forward to playing in the knockout stages despite having a group game - against New Zealand - to spare. Considering they turned up on South African soil off the back of a 6-1 loss in the NatWest Series against Australia, their turnaround in fortunes has been as remarkable as it has been unexpected. Having seen off Sri Lanka with a well-measured run-chase on Friday, they opted this time to make the going themselves, choosing to bat first. From the very outset they seemed to be batting with a positive outlook, openers Strauss (25) and Joe Denly (21) hitting boundaries without many risks before both departed trying to force the issue off the back foot. Shah built on the early foundations with a superb knock, surely the best of his international career, which contained no fewer than six sixes. The Middlesex batsman combined with Paul Collingwood (82) to put on163 for the third wicket before falling short of three figures, a deflection off bat and onto pad allowing Mark Boucher to take a catch off spinner Johan Botha. Morgan - who was also performing wicketkeeping duties in the match due to Matt Prior being ruled out through illness - continued the duo's good work in a stunning late onslaught. The Irishman proved he's got more in his locker than just some quirky sweeps with five sixes and four fours, helping England hit 48 in the batting powerplay. In the end his efforts proved the difference between the two sides, though South Africa only got close thanks to the efforts of one man. Personal best Smith attempted to single-handedly keep his team from slipping through the trap door, hitting 16 fours to make his highest ever score in one-day cricket. He was fortunate to survive on two occasions, though, Morgan missing a stumping chance while Shah dropped a sitter of a catch out at long-on. There was also a close leg before shout that umpire Steve Davis turned down. AB de Villiers managed 36 but there was little else in the way of support for the home skipper, who was eventually ninth man out batting on one leg having been denied a runner by Strauss. Stuart Broad removed Smith on his way to figures of 3-67 but it was James Anderson who was the pick of the bowlers, the Lancastrian taking 3-42 in his 10 overs, including the early scalp of the fit-again Herschelle Gibbs for 22. ICC Champions Trophy - Group B Centurion England 323-8 (O A Shah 98, P D Collingwood 82, E J G Morgan 67) v South Africa 301-9 (G C Smith 141) England beat South Africa by 22 runs  Share Link:               Set as favorite Bookmark Email this Comments (0)  Write comment Newer news items:
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