England lost to South Africa by seven runs, ending their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Jos Buttler’s side had begun their Super 8 campaign with a heavy win over West Indies at the same ground but could only manage 156-6 despite chasing 164 for victory on a slow surface in St Lucia.
Harry Brook (53 off 37 balls) and Liam Livingstone (33 off 17 balls) put together an audacious 78-run stand off 42 balls in the 11th over to revive England from a slump of 61-4 and reduce the required runs to 25 off 18 balls.
However, both players were run out subsequently, with Brook being run out with a superb running catch by Aiden Markram off the first ball of the final over, while trio Kagiso Rabada, Marco Janssen and Anrich Nortje sealed victory for South Africa, putting the Proteas on the brink of a place in the last four and Markram’s team at 2-2 in the Super 8s.
A win over the United States in Barbados on Sunday could see England reach the semi-finals, but their progress may depend on net run rate, the measure that secured England’s place in the Super Eights with their win over Scotland in the first place.
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Jos Buttler was in action for England with some fantastic one-handed catches and run-outs.
Earlier, Buttler had leapt to his left to take a brilliant one-handed catch to get out Quinton de Kock (65 off 38) and then got out Heinrich Klaassen (8) with a precise hit to the non-striker’s side.
De Kock produced a spectacular innings in the powerplay, taking the Proteas to 63 for 0 and hitting three successive boundaries off Jofra Archer, but England then piled on the pressure and defended impeccably to restrict South Africa to 163 for 6.
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Quinton de Kock hit two sixes and one four to help Jofra Archer get 16 off three balls.
Buttler (17 off 20) was one of several England batsmen to be in and out, along with Phil Salt (11 off 8), who made 87 off 47 balls against the West Indies but was unable to extend his tally when he was taken by a superb sprawling catch by Reeza Hendricks at cover.
A dashing De Kock plays the match innings
De Kock and David Miller were the only South African batsmen who managed to regain their form, with Miller smashing 43 off 28 balls before falling on Archer’s 20th innings for eight.
De Kock’s opening partner Hendricks (25 off 19) endured a tough innings before being the first to be out in the 10th over, smashing England off-spinner Moeen Ali (1-25) over mid-on with the team score at 86.
England thought they had dismissed de Kock for 58 an over when the left-hander swept the impressive Adil Rashid (1-20) deep backwards square to Mark Wood, but the third umpire adjudged the ball had hit the turf.
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De Kock was bailed out on 58 after a catch by Mark Wood at deep backwards square was adjudged not to have been clean.
De Kock added seven more runs before trying to cut off a short, slow ball from Archer, the bowler who had two sixes and a four in the fourth over, but was caught by Buttler.
Two overs later, errors from Klaassen and Miller allowed Buttler to fall at stump at the bowler’s end, while in the 15th over Rashid forced Markram (1) to chop on to put South Africa at 113-4.
Miller gave the Proteas some late momentum but, like de Kock and Klaassen, he fell victim to some excellent fielding from England, with Brook taking a running catch at long-off in the 20th over and Sam Curran taking a superb over-the-shoulder catch at covers a ball later to get Jansen (0) out.
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Harry Brook and Sam Curran took diving catches in the final over as England restricted South Africa to 163-6.
Brook, Livingston stand not good enough for England
The catching virtuosity continued when England were up to bat, with Hendricks catching Salt off a Rabada delivery in the second over.
Klaassen failed to produce a highlight reel after beating Bairstow (20) for nine at deep third base, but the same batsman then clipped Keshav Maharaj (2-25) to backward point.
Buttler bowled Maharaj to deep Klaassen on the midwicket fence and England were stumbling, trailing 3-18, when Morne (9 off 10) holed out off an Ottonile Baartman delivery.
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Reeza Hendricks took a brilliant diving catch from cover to beat Phil Salt early in the run chase.
But Baartman was completely out of form after that, bowling four full tosses in the 17th over, with Brook and Livingstone both scoring 21. Earlier, Rabada and Nortje had scored 18, conceding 13 as England were whisked away to 52 for the third innings.
But Rabada, Jansen and Nortje made it count: Livingstone pulled Rabada to deep backwards square for four on 18, Jansen could only manage seven from 19 and Brook was brilliantly caught by Markram at the start of the 20th for a six.
Sky Sports will show live coverage of every T20 World Cup match, including the final in Barbados on Saturday 29 June.
Butler: De Kock makes the difference
England captain Jos Buttler:
“I think we lost the game on the power play. De Kock came out with a lot of determination and gave his all on the power play and we just couldn’t counter it.”
“I thought South Africa pitched well in the powerplay but de Kock’s innings made the difference.
“It was still a good wicket but slower than we expected. I thought we came back well with the ball and it was a great partnership between Brook and Livingstone that kept it close.”
Markram: The win reflects the skill and mentality of our bowlers
South African captain Aiden Markram:
“In the last three overs it looked like we might be in a bad situation but our bowlers persevered, executed their plan and got through which shows their skill and mentality.
“Quinton [De Kock] Lisa [Hendricks] They held up really well but then the wicket slowed down and we probably could have wished for another 10-20 runs, especially after we got off to a good start.
“To do that we knew we had to bowl well and avoid conceding runs in the field, but overall we’re approaching a full game of cricket.”
What’s next?
England They head to Barbados to take on the USA on Sunday (3:30 p.m., UK vs. Ireland). South Africa They will travel to Antigua on Monday (1.30am) to take on co-hosts West Indies.