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Final ODI at Cardiff washed out

Related Links : 5th ODI Scorecard | South Africa in England 2008

England’s dreams of making a 5-0 clean sweep in the NatWest Series was spoilt by some really bad weather at Cardiff in Wales. The match was abandoned and England had to settle with 4-0. Andrew Flintoff was awarded as the Player of the Series.

The final match at the Sophia Gardens which was a day-night affair saw a delayed start which reduced the match to a a 43-over-side one. England asked SA to bat first after winning the toss and all that was possible in the match was 13 minutes of play. Those few minutes saw three overs of play and Herschelle Gibbs becoming a causality as he got caught behind off Stuart Broad. It was a personal loss for Gibbs as this cheap score dents his batting average. SA were 6 for 1 in those 3 overs with Hashim Amla on 3 and acting skipper Jacques Kallis yet to open his account.

It was a good comeback for England under their new skipper Kevin Pietersen. First they minimized their Test Series loss to 1-2 with a victory in the final test. The One Day Series saw South Africa completely lose their focus and the players all of a sudden underperformed much below their potential. It didn’t help South Africa when they lost their Skipper Graeme Smith midway through the One Day Series. It looked as if England was the only side that was showing any bit of intensity on the field. The Proteas on the other hand just looked to end the tour and get back home.