Ngidi, Breetzke lead SA to 84-run win and series v Australia

Lungi Ngidi claimed 5-42 after half centuries from Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs guided South Africa to a competitive total of 277 and an emphatic victory by 84 runs against Australia in the second one-day international at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay on Friday.

Ngidi’s slower ball worked to perfection as he ripped through the lower order to dismiss the hosts for just 193 after excellent work from left-arm fast bowler Nandre Burger (6-0-23-2) and left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy (8-0-30-2).

Josh Inglis top-scored for Australia with a hard-hitting 87 from just 74 balls, but he had no answer to Ngidi’s slower ball. Burger earlier had dangerous opener Travis Head (6) caught at mid-on while Ngidi persuaded Marnus Labuschagne to drive – and edge – his fifth ball to ‘keeper Ryan Rickelton.

Wiaan Mulder had Mitch Marsh (18) caught at mid-on by substitute Corbin Bosch – the first of his three catches fielding in place of Breetzke, who was resting a tight hamstring – as the Australian top three were dismissed with just 38 runs on the scoreboard.

Earlier, Breetzke (88) and Tony de Zorzi (38) had steadied the South African innings after the early loss of openers Aiden Markram (0) and Ryan Rickelton (8) during a third-wicket stand of 67, which was dominated by left-hander De Zorzi whose run-a-ball innings contained five boundaries before chipping a leading edge back to legspinner Adam Zampa.

Breetzke flicked and pulled seamer Aaran Hardie for a brace of sixes and added eight fours, half of which were flat-batted over mid-on and mid-off with Australia’s seam attack bowling an array of slower ball bouncers. An attempted pull shot against Nathan Ellis (2-46) was top-edged into the hands of Alex Carey at deep square leg.

It was Breetzke’s fourth consecutive score of 50+ since his debut 150 against New Zealand in Pakistan in March, which was followed by 83 against Pakistan and then 57 against Australia in the current series in the first match in Cairns on Tuesday.

Stubbs (74 from 87 balls) added 89 with Breetzke but was inhibited in the final overs by the loss of wickets at the other end with the last of the recognised batsmen, Wiaan Mulder, driving the first ball of the 41st over from part-time legspinner Marnus Labuschagne to long on for 26 (4x4) from 21 balls.

Labuschagne (5-0-19-2) ‘struck’ again with a knee-high full toss, which Senuran Muthusamy (4) pulled straight to midwicket and, with South Africa desperately needing Stubbs to bat through the final overs, he miscued a drive against Zampa to Cameron Green on the long off boundary.

Dewald Brevis (1) failed to settle before hooking yet another short ball from Ellis to Cameron Green at deep square leg, and the innings fizzled out, despite some lusty blows from Keshav Maharaj, with just 44 runs scored in the final 10 overs for the loss of the final five wickets. Maharaj blasted two fours and a six in his 22* from 24 balls.

South Africa won the first match by 98 runs with Markram top-scoring with 82 and Maharaj claiming a career-best 5-33 to bowl the hosts out for 198 in reply to the Proteas’ 296 for eight. The result in Mackay has secured their fifth consecutive bilateral series win against Australia, with the third and final match to be played at the same venue on Sunday.

AUSTRALIA: Mitch Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (wkt), Aaran Hardie, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

SOUTH AFRICA: Aiden Markram (captain), Ryan Rickelton (wkt), Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.