KARACHI: There is nothing really to choose when it comes to England playing South Africa in the ICC World Cup. Since 1992 — just after South Africa’s readmission after a 21-year hiatus from the international arena — these teams have clashed in six matches with the honours equally shared, each country winning three times.

Perhaps, the most bizarre fixture in the World Cup remains the 1992 semi-final when byzantine rain rules denied Kepler Wessels-led South Africans a date with Pakistan in the final. In one instance, they had a fair chance of scoring 22 from seven deliveries but in the very next moment the famous scoreboard at the Sydney Cricket Ground flashed: ‘South Africa need 21 off one ball’. A disillusioned Brian McMillan gently pushed Chris Lewis for a single. The utter look of frustration on McMillan’s face depicted the scenes in the South Africa dressing-room as the bemused England side sneaked through to their third — and last to-date — final.

Overall, England have slight advantage with 29 victories in 59 One-day Internationals against South Africa who have won 26 with one tied and three being no-result fixtures.

Head-to-head summary

March 12, 1992 — Melbourne, England won by three wickets

March 22, 1992 — Sydney, England won by 19 runs

Feb 25, 1996 — Rawalpindi, South Africa won by 78 runs

May 22, 1999 — The Oval, South Africa won by 122 runs

April 17, 2007 — Bridgetown, South Africa won by nine wickets

March 6, 2011 — Chennai, England won by six runs.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2019