England captain Harry Brook described the rain-affected T20 defeat to South Africa as 'a bit of a shambles' after the match was reduced to just five overs per side at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The Proteas won by 14 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Rain delayed the start by two hours and 20 minutes, cutting the match to nine overs per side. South Africa reached 97 for five from 7.5 overs before another shower ended their innings, leaving England a revised target of 69 from 30 balls under DLS calculations.
Brook criticised the rules that allowed South Africa seamers Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch to bowl two overs each rather than five bowlers having one each. He 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.'
England made a late change due to the wet conditions, omitting Jofra Archer after his four-wicket burst in the record ODI victory against South Africa on Sunday. Luke Wood came in and took two wickets. Brook defended the decision, saying: 'It would have been stupid to play him with the amount of cricket we’ve got coming up.'
The second match of the three-game series takes place at Old Trafford on Friday, with the finale at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
