ANDREW Flintoff's resurgence on the international stage hurtled England to NatWest Series glory over South Africa yesterday.
All-rounder Flintoff struck his second half-century in as many visits to the crease as South Africa were crushed by 126 ru
ns at The Brit Oval to open up an unassailable lead.
Although England might have cursed the fact they had not made more of a blistering start, their score of 296 for seven maintained their momentum in the series.
The 30-year-old also struck 78 in the campaign-opening win at Headingley to signal his return to form at the top level, following up with two wickets as England continued their dominance over the Proteas which began on the same ground earlier this month when they triumphed in the final Test. Three one-day internationals under Kevin Pietersen since and three comprehensive wins.
Now a 5-0 whitewash, unthinkable a fortnight ago, would catapult England above the South Africans into second place in the one-day standings. In five years of official rankings, England have never occupied such a lofty position.
The latest success included a first one-day 50 for Ian Bell this summer and a fine display from Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel, who followed up a mature 31 with a maiden five-wicket international haul.
Bell was in supreme form putting on 101 for the first wicket with Matt Prior, making the most of the powerplay periods and South Africa's lost confidence.
Bell's innings lost some of its impetus after Prior miscued a pull,
finally falling for 73 when he was pinned by a quicker ball from spinner Johan Botha. When Owais Shah inside-edged stand-in captain Jacques Kallis' first delivery into his stumps, and Pietersen perished cheaply for a change, walking across the crease to the same bowler, England had lost three wickets for 11 runs and were forced into consolidation mode.
Although Paul Collingwood was undone by a Botha delivery of extra bounce which resulted in a bat-pad dismissal, Flintoff forged a crucial partnership with the gutsy Patel, marshalling things superbly during a stand of 74. He even took a blow for his trouble when, on 39, Morne Morkel clattered his helmet with a short ball which left him dazed.
After five minutes of treatment, however, he cruised to his half-century and launched a six off the deflated Dale Steyn during the final assault.
South Africa required a decent start to their reply but Herschelle Gibbs was snared at short cover off James Anderson in the seventh over and they soon fell way behind the required rate.
Top scorer Hashim Amla and Kallis were sent back within the space of three overs and when Steve Harmison ran out AB de Villiers in the 21st, the rate was already well in excess of seven.
When Patel wrapped things up with two wickets in an over, South Africa had been dismissed with 42 potential deliveries unused and looked a shadow of the side which triumphed in the Tests.
Afterwards, Pietersen said: "We've come in (to the series] as underdogs for sure, but we've hit our straps in every department.
"The boys have been magnificent, it's an exciting place to be, the England dressing room. I'm a very privileged person. The blokes in the dressing room have done an amazing job. But we want to improve and we want to try to win it 5-0 if we can."
The full article contains 590 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
