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South Africa at the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England

Boom Boom lifts Pakistan into World T20 final

Shahid Afridi shone with bat and ball at Trent Bridge as Pakistan dumped South Africa by seven runs to storm into the World Twenty20 final. Boom Boom smashed 51 from 34 balls and then grabbed 2-16 with his leg-spin as Pakistan successfully defended 149-4 to restrict the favoured Proteas to 142-5 before a sell-out crowd.
Afridi, coming on to bowl in the seventh over, struck twice in four deliveries when he bowled Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers to make South Africa 50-3 in 8.3 overs. Veteran Jacques Kallis made a brave attempt to take the South Africans home, striking seven fours and a six in 64 from 54 balls, but the other batsmen faltered against the spot-on attack.

2009 ICC World Twenty20, First Semi-final at Trent Bridge, PAK vs SAF, June 18 2009: Pakistan 149/4 (Afridi 51, Malik 34) beat South Africa 142/5 (Kallis 64, Duminy 44*, Afridi 2-16) by seven runs

ICC World Twenty20 Semi-Finals Preview

16:30 GMT | 12:30 EDT | 22:00 IST :: 1st Semi-Final - Thursday, June 18
South Africa v Pakistan at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
South Africa is one of the only two teams in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 to reach the Semis without losing a single match (Sri Lanka is the other). The perennial favorites in any form of cricket, and big time chokers at crunch time, South Africa will have to overcome their nerves to go on to the semis when they meet a resurgent Pakistan team which is looking stronger and stronger with each match. AB de Villiers is currently South Africa's top scorer with 185 runs in five matches, and teammate Jacques Kallis is not far behind with 174 from four matches.
Seamer Roelof van der Merwe is the team's best bowler with 9-106 from 17 overs, while Wayne Parnell has 8-93 from the same number of overs.
Right-arm seamer Umar Gul is the main reason the Pakistanis have progressed so far in the tournament after a stuttering start. Gul, who was the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa when Pakistan ended runners-up to India, again tops the list with 12 scalps in this tournament. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is joint second with Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga in the wicket-taker's list with 11 wickets, while leg-spinning allrounder Shahid Afridi has eight.

Pakistan were routed by South Africa in a practice match ahead of the tournament at Trent Bridge, losing by 59 runs after being bowled out for 127 in reply to South Africa's 186-7.

Tournament Results

South Africa
beat Scotland by 130 runs at The Oval
beat New Zealand by one run at Lord's
beat England by seven wickets at Trent Bridge
beat West Indies by 20 runs at The Oval
beat India by 12 runs at Trent Bridge

Pakistan
lost to England by 48 runs at The Oval
beat Holland by 82 runs at Lord's
lost to Sri Lanka by 19 runs at Lord's
beat New Zealand by six wickets at The Oval
beat Ireland by 39 runs at The Oval

16:30 GMT | 12:30 EDT | 22:00 IST :: 2nd Semi-Final - Friday, June 19
Sri Lanka v West Indies at Kennington Oval, London
Sri Lanka, the unbeaten, strongest, and best balanced team in the tournament, will face West Indies in the second semi-final at the Oval on Friday. Three of Lanka's big four batsmen have been in form, with the opening partnership of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillekeratne Dilshan performing consistently well. Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene showed in the match against New Zealand that they have the class and composure to lead their side to victory on the big stage. Dilshan is the tournament's top runscorer.
While spinner Ajantha Mendis is an absolute terror, veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has been successfully strangling sides in the middle overs. Mendis already has 10 victims in the tournament while sling-shot fast bowler Lasith Malinga lies joint second in the leading wicket-takers in the tournament with 11 and are expected to provide the main obstacle to West Indies' chances of progress.

West Indies skipper Chris Gayle, after beating England in a do-or-die match went on to remark that some teams were now scared of his team. Dwayne Bravo, with 154 runs from 4 matches and eight wickets for 123 runs from 14 overs, has been the best all-rounder in the tournament so far. Lendl Simmons with 150 runs from 4 matches is also in terrific form.

Tournament Results

West Indes
beat Australia by 7 wickets at The Oval
lost to Sri Lanka by 15 runs at Trent Bridge
beat India by 7 wickets at Lord's
lost to South Africa by 20 runs at The Oval
beat England by five wickets at The Oval (D/L method)

Sri Lanka
beat Australia by 6 wickets at Trent Bridge
beat West Indies by 15 runs at Trent Bridge
beat Pakistan by 19 runs at Lord's
beat Ireland by 9 runs at Lord's
beat New Zealand by 48 runs at Trent Bridge

South Africa Beat India To March Into Semi-Finals Unbeaten

AB de Villiers scored 63 in a low scoring match with seven fours in 51 balls, as South Africa made 130-5 and finished off India, which made 118-8 at Trent Bridge to complete the Super 8s unbeaten. South Africa, which had already qualified for the semifinals, returns to Trent Bridge on Thursday when it meets Pakistan in the first semifinal.
Dhoni blamed India's batting for the failure and said supporters had every right to be unhappy. India put on 48 for the first wicket, but collapsed once Gautam Gambhir fell in the seventh over for 21. Raina returned soon with three, and opener Rohit Sharma with a team-best 29 followed him. Dhoni was senselessly run out in the 13th for five, and Yusuf Pathan faced just two balls before he was caught by de Villiers off Roelof van der Merwe in the next over without scoring. Yuvraj and Harbhajan steadied India, and scored some quick runs, but Harbhajan fell in the 17th for 14 and Yuvraj was out six balls later for 25.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 24: IND vs SAF, Group E, June 16: South Africa 130/5 (AB de Villiers 63) beat India 118/8 by 12 runs

South Africa maintains unbeaten record as Windies go down

South Africa, batting first, were on course for a huge total as all-rounder Jacques Kallis (45) put on an opening 54-run partnership with Smith (31) and a second wicket 51-run partnership with Herschelle Gibbs (55). But they lost 5 quick wickets for just 34 runs in 25 balls on a typically good batting pitch, accompanied by a fast outfield, to finish 183/7.
West Indies, looking for the second consecutive win in consecutive matches, were given hope as Lendl Simmons hit 77 off just 50 balls with a six and 12 fours. But the South African teenager and left-arm fast bowler, Wayne Parnell, took 4-13, including the wickets of openers Andre Fletcher and Chris Gayle in four balls, to put his side firmly on the front foot. In the end, West Indies could manage only 163, falling short by 20 runs.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 17: SAF vs WIN, Group E, June 13: South Africa 183/7 (Gibbs 55, Kallis 45) beat West Indies 163/9 (Simmons 77, Parnell 4-13) by 20 runs

All-round effort by Kallis in South African win

Man of the Match Jacques Kallis took 2 wickets in 3 overs, and followed it up with an unbeaten (49-ball) 57 which included 5 fours and a six.
Owais Shah was the lone Englishman to withstand the Proteas' onslaught with 38 off 33 balls in a game where four of the top seven batsmen managed only four runs between them.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 14: SAF vs ENG, Group E, June 11: South Africa 114/3 (Kallis 57*, Gibbs 30) beat England 111 (Shah 38, Parnell 3-14) by 7 wickets

South Africa clinch victory over New Zealand in a nail-biting finish

Electing to field first, the New Zealand bowlers were successful in limiting South Africa to a low score of only 128/7. Ian Butler (4-0-13-2) and Nathan McCullum (4-0-18-1) deserve notable mention in this performance by New Zealand. Graeme Smith(33) and Jean-Paul Duminy(29) were the high-scorers for South Africa. However, the New Zealand batsmen were unable to convert the good performance by their bowlers into a victory. Brendan McCullum gave his team a solid start by scoring 57 runs off 53 balls. But the New Zealand innings lacked momentum and from 2-26in 3 overs, they reached only 3-82 in 14 overs. They needed 2 runs from the last ball to win, but instead lost the wicket of Oram in a run out. New Zealnd were able to take only 127/5 in 20 overs. Van der Merwe was the most successsful bowler for South Africa, taking 2 wickets , giving away only 14 runs and earned the title of Player of the match.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 10: NZ vs SA, Group D, June 9: South Africa 128/7 in 20 overs (Graeme Smith 33, JP Duminy 29, Butler 4-0-13-2) beat New Zealand 127/5 (McCullum 59, van der Merwe 4-0-14-2) by 1 run

South Africa crush Scotland at Oval

South Africa asserted their superiority in every area of the game and gave the inexperienced Scottish side a massive thrashing when they defeated them by 130 runs . Batting first, South Africa were off to a good start with Graeme Smith (38) and Jacque Kallis (48) laying the ground work for their innings. AB de Villiers remained not out after scoring a dynamic 79 off only 35 balls . South Africa amassed 211/5, the highest total by any team in this tournament so far. The Scotland innings crumbled from the very beginning and they were 13/4 after 3 overs. Coetzer (42) and Haq(15) were the only two players whose scores were in double-digits. Scotland were bowled out for 81, in 15.4 overs. For South Africa, Botha and van der Merwe both took 2 wickets each giving away 17 runs in 4 overs.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 5: SAF vs SCO, Group D, June 7: South Africa 211-5 (de Villiers 79*, Kallis 48) beat Scotland 85 (Coetzer 42) by 130 runs about 4 hours ago

South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 6 wkts in T20 World Cup warm-up match

Sri Lanka batted as if they were in a drunken stupor and were 44 for 7 at the halfway mark of their innings, after being sent in to bat first. They managed to reach a disappointing total of 109 for 9, which the South Africans could overtake only in the last over. A third-wicket stand of 70 between Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers was the highlight of the game.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Match: SAF vs SRI, June 3: South Africa 113 for 4 (Gibbs 48) beat Sri Lanka 109 for 9 (Botha 2-9, Kallis 2-12) by 6 wickets

Pakistan brushed aside by South Africa in T20 World Cup warm-up match

South Africa played better in every department of the game to beat last year's runner-up Pakistan comprehensively at Trent Bridge.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Match: SAF vs PAK, June 1: South Africa 186 for 7 (Smith 70, Gibbs 42, Ajmal 2-20) beat Pakistan 127 (Botha 2-20, Steyn 2-19) by 59 runs

South Africa vs Australia Cricket Series 2009

Australia in South Africa Cricket Series 2009

AUS v SA, 5th ODI, Johannesburg: Victorious Australia regain number two ranking (AUS 2:3)

Australia regained their world number two ranking with a comfortable 47-run win over South Africa in the fifth and final one-day international at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday.
Australia took advantage of being given first use of an excellent batting pitch by South African captain Graeme Smith, making 303 for seven despite a mid-innings stumble. Despite a second wicket stand of 104 between Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis, South Africa fell steadily behind the asking rate and wickets fell at regular intervals after Gibbs was out for 82.
The series win meant that South Africa retained their world number one ranking. Australia briefly slipped to third behind India after losing the fourth match in Port Elizabeth on Monday but returned to the number two spot with their consolation win. South Africa won the series 3-2 following a 4-1 series win in Australia earlier in the series.

AUS v SA, 5th ODI, Johannesburg: Australia 303-7 (50.0 overs) beat South africa 256 (45.5 overs) by 47 runs

AUS v SA, 4th ODI, Port Elizabeth: Gibbs, Steyn lead S. Africa to series win (SA 3:1)

Herschelle Gibbs hit a sparkling century and Dale Steyn took four wickets to lift South Africa to a series-clinching 61-run win over Australia in the fourth one-dayer on Monday.
The hosts clinched the series 3-1, Gibbs smashing 110 and AB de Villiers 84 in a commanding total of 317 for six.
Australia started well with an opening stand of 129 in 127 balls between Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke but they lost their way against the spinners and were bowled out for 256 in the 46th over. The final match of the series is in Johannesburg on Friday

AUS v SA, 4th ODI, Port Elizabeth: South africa 317-6 (50.0 overs) beat Australia 256 (45.5 overs) by 61 runs

AUS v SA, 3rd ODI, Cape Town: South Africa beat Australia by 25 runs (SA 2:1)

Half-centuries from Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers proved decisive as South Africa eased to a 25-run victory over Australia in the third one-day international in Cape Town.
Kallis and De Villiers shared a 114-run partnership for the third wicket to rescue the home side from early trouble to post 289 for six. The tourists struggled in their chase, with Callum Ferguson (63) and James Hopes (63 not out) only briefly threatening as outstanding fielding and Roelof van der Merwe's three for 37 restricted the visitors to 264 for seven.

AUS v SA, 3rd ODI, Cape Town: South africa 289-6 (50.0 overs) beat Australia 264-7 (50.0 overs) by 25 runs

AUS v SA, 2nd ODI, Centurion: South africa beat Australia to level series (SA 1:1)

South Africa beat Australia by seven wickets Sunday to square the five-match series at 1-1 after opening bowlers Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn took four wickets each to help bowl out Australia for 131.
Parnell, a 19-year-old left-arm seamer, finished with 4-25 in just his second ODI after having figures of 3-3 in his first four overs, while Steyn claimed 4-27 as Australia was dismissed in less than 41 overs for its 16th lowest total. The Proteas reached 132 for three wickets in the 27th over at SuperSport Park after captain Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis had added 69 in 11.1 overs for the second wicket.

AUS v SA, 2nd ODI, Centurion: South africa 132-3 (26.2 overs) beat Australia 131 (40.2 overs) by 7 wickets

AUS v SA, 1st ODI, Durban: Australia beat South Africa by 141 runs (AUS 1:0)

Mike Hussey ended a run of poor form with a match-winning innings for Australia in the first one-day international against South Africa at Kingsmead Friday.
Hussey hit 83 not out as Australia piled up 286 for seven. South Africa were then bowled out for 145 as Australia completed a crushing 141-run win in the opening encounter of a five-match series.

AUS v SA, 1st ODI, Durban: Australia 286-7 (50.0 overs) beat South Africa 145 (33.1 overs) by 141 runs

AUS v SA, 2nd T20, Centurion: South Africa beat Australia to clinch series (SA 2:0)

Johan Botha led his team from the front to guide South Africa to a 17-run victory over Australia in the second Twenty20 international in Pretoria on Sunday.
The Proteas captain took two wickets for 16 runs and was given good support from debutants Yusuf Abdullah (one for 16) and Roelof van der Merwe (one for 30), while Johann Louw (two for 36) also chipped in as the visitors were limited to 139 for eight. Van der Merwe also made a useful contribution with the bat, slamming 48 from only 30 deliveries as the hosts posted 156 for five.

AUS v SA, 2nd T20, Centurion: South Africa 156-5 (20.0 overs) beat Australia 139-8 (20.0 overs) by 17 runs

AUS v SA, 1st T20, Johannesburg: South Africa beat Australia by four wickets (SA 1:0)

Powerful boundary-hitting from Albie Morkel and Mark Boucher in the last five overs of the innings Friday took South Africa to a four-wicket victory with four balls to spare over Australia in a Twenty20 cricket match.
South Africa finished on 168-6 in reply to Australia's 166-7 to go 1-0 up in the two-match series. The second game will be played at Centurion on Sunday.
Earlier, David Hussey smashed 88 not out off 44 balls to guide Australia to a defendable total. He smacked five fours and six sixes after coming to the wicket with the score on 16-2. The only other Australian batsman to make a meaningful contribution was opener David Warner, who hit four fours and a six to score 38.

AUS v SA, 1st T20, Johannesburg: South Africa 168-6 (19.2 overs) beat Australia 166-7 (20.0 overs) by 4 wickets

AUS v SA, 3rd Test, Cape Town: South Africa wins third Test but loses series (AUS 2:1)

South Africa left-arm spinner Paul Harris took six wickets as the Proteas beat Australia by an innings and 20 runs to win the third Test but lose the series 2-1.
Harris claimed 6-127 off 42.5 overs as Australia was dismissed for 422 after tea on the fourth day at Newlands despite Mitchell Johnson hitting 11 fours and five sixes to score 123 not out off 103 balls and add 163 with Andrew McDonald (68). Harris won the man-of-the-match award after becoming the first South African spinner in 44 years to claim five or more wickets in an innings in a home Test.
Johnson, who was selected as the player of the series after taking 16 wickets and scoring 255 runs, scored his maiden Test ton with a six off Dale Steyn. He had missed out on a century in the first Test when Australia's first innings ended with him on 96 not out.

AUS v SA, 3rd Test, Cape Town: South Africa 651 beat Australia 209 & 422 by an innings and 20 runs

AUS v SA, 2nd Test, Durban: Australia claim series win (AUS 2:0)

Australia have completed a series win against South Africa after winning the second Test in Durban by 175 runs.
The hosts, needing an improbable 546 to win and level the best-of-three contest, finished on 370 for nine, with captain Graeme Smith unable to bat after fracturing his little finger.
South Africa started the final day on 244 for two but the early loss of Jacques Kallis for 93 effectively ended their hopes. Peter Siddle and Simon Katich took three wickets each for the tourists, who have avenged their loss to the Proteas on home soil earlier this year.

AUS v SA, 2nd Test, Durban: Australia 352 & 331-5 beat South Africa 138-9 & 370-9 by 175 runs

AUS v SA, 1st Test, Johannesburg: Australia beat South Africa by 162 runs (AUS 1:0)

Australia took two wickets in eight balls after tea Monday to beat South Africa by 162 runs in the first cricket Test and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
South Africa was bowled out for 291, well short of their victory target of 454. Man-of-the-match Mitchell Johnson, who took eight wickets in the match and hit 96 not out in Australia's first innings, finished off the Proteas by bowling Dale Steyn. Earlier, Peter Siddle took his third wicket with the dismissal of Paul Harris. Johnson finished with figures of 4-112, while Siddle took 3-46.
Australia had claimed three wickets in the middle session for the addition of only 42 runs when the South Africa batsmen could not keep out the opposition's fired-up bowlers. The Aussie seamers relied on short-pitched bowling to put the batsmen under pressure. The ploy accounted for the prize wicket of JP Duminy, caught in the slips off Siddle for 29, and when Mark Boucher was bowled by a beauty from Hilfenhaus for 24 five overs later, the last of the recognized batsmen was out.

AUS v SA, 1st Test, Johannesburg: Australia 466 & 207 beat South Africa 220 & 291 by 162 runs

South Africa Past Cricket Series

South Africa in Australia Cricket Series 2008-09

AUS v SA, 5th ODI, Perth: South Africa beat Australia by 39 runs (SA 4:1)

South Africa's near-perfect tour began with a Test win in Perth and fittingly it finished with a 4-1 one-day triumph at the same venue as Australia conceded the No 1 ranking to Johan Botha's men.
JP Duminy, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, all of whom contributed to the Test successes, finished the trip strongly and the debutant Lonwabo Tsotsobe picked up four wickets to give the tourists one more happy story to recount on the flight home. South Africa had waited all series for the chance to bat first and when they did, they set the largest target of the five games thanks to Amla, De Villiers and Duminy.

AUS v SA, 5th ODI, Perth: South Africa 288-6 (50.0 overs) beat Australia 249 (49.0 overs) by 39 runs