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Cricket Dec 07, 2025

England's Harry Brook calls rain-affected first T20 vs South Africa 'a shambles' and explains why Jofra Archer was not risked

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
England's Harry Brook calls rain-affected first T20 vs South Africa 'a shambles' and explains why Jofra Archer was not risked

England captain Harry Brook called the rain-affected first T20 against South Africa in Cardiff "a shambles" after his side lost by 14 runs on DLS.

Rain in Wales had reduced the game to nine overs a side and the contest finally began at 8.50pm, well over two hours past the scheduled start time of 6.30pm.

South Africa reached 97-5 from 7.5 overs before the wet weather returned and subsequently revised England's ask to 69 from five overs.

Brook's side made 54-5 - the skipper out for a duck and Jos Buttler top-scoring with 25 from 11 balls - as the tourists took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Brook said: "It was a bit of a shambles really, wasn't it? There was so much going on. You can't take much from it and it wasn't worth it.

"It was a long, long day. I don't think we need to make any excuses up. We probably didn't execute as well as we should have done with bat and ball. It's bloody hard when you only bat for five overs."

When England came to bat, South Africa seamers Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch were allowed to bowl two overs each, rather than five bowlers delivering one over apiece.

Brook added: "I don't know all the rules to be honest, but that was a bit... I would've thought that every bowler would have had to bowl one over.

"But these are the rules that we get given, and we've just got to play our best cricket and perform to our best."

England withdrew Jofra Archer from their side once it became a reduced contest, with fellow seamer Luke Wood playing instead in a soggy Cardiff and taking two wickets and a catch.

On Archer, who is set to play a key role in The Ashes this winter, Brook added: "It would have been stupid to play him with the amount of cricket we've got coming up

"If he'd have gone out on the boundary and done what Adam Hose did in The Hundred [seriously injured his ankle] and broken his leg or whatever, that would have been a shambles."

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