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The bowlers will be limited to two overs each.<\/strong> And the powerplay will be 16 balls. The England squad are warming up in the style to which they\u2019re accustomed, by playing football. They\u2019ve found a reasonably dry patch of outfield but elsewhere a little truck trundles by, spraying rainwater in all directions.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Game on!<\/p>\n The umpires have decided that the ground will be fit for a nine-over match, starting at 8.50pm.<\/strong> That\u2019s 45 minutes from now, and the toss will be in about 15 minutes. This news bulletin comes with thanks to Andrew Miller of Cricinfo, who had the scoop.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHello!\u201d says Tom Bugs.<\/strong> \u201cNot South London, but maybe it\u2019s worth a shout for the Bristol Friendly Cricket Collective<\/a>?<\/p>\n \u201cThey say\u2026 \u2018We started out by creating the kind of sociable cricket we wanted in South Bristol but couldn\u2019t find. It began with a one-off game for parents at Victoria Park Primary School and has grown into a thriving community, a social side, regular nets sessions, meet-ups and matches.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt was suggested to me,\u201d Tom continues, \u201cby my allotment neighbour, who knew I liked listening.\u201d Love it. \u201cSo, having not played for 25 years and having never been any good, I tried a couple of nets sessions (very welcoming) and then played a real game \u2013 really fun, inclusive and easy-going. Now we\u2019re doing some indoor games & winter nets.<\/p>\n \u201cI know they\u2019re keen to spread the word. It\u2019s been really nice for me to find the group as I can dip in when time allows without any real pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.55 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably too far for Alfie,<\/strong>\u201d says Ben Mimmack,<\/strong> \u201cbut for anyone looking for a club in North London, I can wholeheartedly recommend my old club Crouch End<\/a>. They run five men\u2019s teams on Saturday (the first XI plays in the Middlesex premier division) as well as Sunday teams and women\u2019s and kids\u2019 teams, so there\u2019s a place for everyone. I was a distinctly ropey 30-year-old when I started playing there and they made me feel very welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks! You\u2019re making me wish I was a ropey 30-year-old.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSpencer CC are very close to Tooting,\u201d says Mark in Wimbledon, \u201cand have many teams. <\/strong>Gus Atkinson played for them about three weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We have some more replies to Alfie Sparrow\u2019s request about South London cricket clubs.<\/strong> \u201cHi Tim,\u201d says Sid. \u201cPlease could you tell Alfie to check out Southbank CC<\/a>. We share a ground with them, and it\u2019s what Trump would call tremendous.\u201d Is that a recommendation?<\/p>\n \u201cThe last completed game we played against them, we beat them (in spite of my return of 1\/32 in 3 overs). In my defence, I\u2019m a (pretty poor) wicketkeeper; I don\u2019t know what the skipper was thinking bowling me first change.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Next inspection at 8pm<\/p>\n Sky has been showing highlights of a famous England victory over South Africa \u2013 from last Sunday.<\/strong> Now they turn to the present and treat us to a live-action close-up of the super-sopper. The lights are on, the sky is blue, and the rain has abated. The umpires have held an inspection \u2026 and decided to have another one at 8pm.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We have a reply to the plea about cricket clubs in South London (see 19:00 below).<\/strong> \u201cCould you pass on to Alfie Sparrow the details of Ploughmans CC<\/a>, based in Dulwich,\u201d says Andrew Cosgrove. \u201cIt\u2019s an extremely friendly, welcoming and supportive club, with plenty of opportunity to play league or friendly cricket.\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks! A bit of rain in Cardiff, and the OBO reinvents itself as a matchmaking service for club cricketers. TMS, eat your heart out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I read your comment about Brook picking five bowlers, I was briefly optimistic ,\u201d says Tom van der Gucht.<\/strong> \u201cOnly to discover his selection policy had a touch of Eric Morecambe about it \u2013 all the right notes just not necessarily in the correct order …\u201d Ha.<\/p>\n \u201cArcher and Curran, makes sense \u2013 different bowling types and speeds, plus batting nous from Curran. But I\u2019m disappointed to see Dawson over Ahmed and Overton over Mahmood. We seem obsessed with a hefty batting line-up at the expense of bowling variety, in the hope there\u2019s enough six-hitting in the tank to chase down any score. I\u2019d probably have been happier to see Jacks and Dawson dropped for Ahmed (with his batting and bowling improvements) and having both Overton and another seamer.\u201d<\/p>\n Very good points. The policy with Rehan Ahmed seems to be: the better he plays, the fewer games they give him. It\u2019s puzzling about Saqib Mahmood too. In England\u2019s T20s over the past two years, <\/a>he has the best average of any bowler with ten wickets. And he\u2019s in this squad \u2013 along with Luke Wood, who has the best average full stop, albeit from only two games.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cShame (but very predictable) about the current weather,\u201d says Alfie Sparrow,<\/strong> although his email is actually about something else.<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019ve just moved into London, living in Tooting with some old uni mates. I was wondering if any readers have local cricket club recommendations? Played alongside Bas de Leede growing up in the Netherlands, winning 3 national titles in our age group. Wish I could say I was still near his quality but that\u2019s far from the case \u2013 just after a friendly club for next summer.\u201d Hope you find one.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMy girlfriend has very tentatively started to get into cricket,\u201d reports Charles Aspden<\/strong>. \u201cAnd we discussed potential telly programmes which would further entice her in. In true Alan Partridge fashion, she wants to see \u2018Tea with Amol Rajan,\u2019 a show somewhere between Bake Off and Grandstand. Amol travels the country to try the best and worst teas around the village, county and international grounds, interviewing the local eccentrics and giving tea ladies up and down the country some of the plaudits they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n This is an inspired idea, but are you sure about Amol Rajan? He\u2019s on everything already! Whereas the great David (Bumble) Lloyd is a bit under-used these days.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.58 EDT<\/p>\n It turns out there\u2019s a silver lining in those dark Welsh clouds.<\/strong> The mailbag is bulging!<\/p>\n The first email is talking about \u2026 the weather. \u201cNearly 25 days of unaffected Test cricket for the India series,\u201d says Andy in Moray, \u201cand now comes the rain for T20I – safe to say which format Mother Nature is backing for the future of the sport?\u201d Ha.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The latest the game can start is 9.16pm,<\/strong> which would leave just enough time for a five-over thrash. The word from the officials is that there\u2019s unlikely to be any action for an hour and a half. That would take us to about 8pm and might allow a ten-over game. Good old cricket.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.48 EDT<\/p>\n If you\u2019re one of those people who read the OBO and never send in an email,<\/strong> now might be a good time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still raining,\u201d says Ian Ward,<\/strong> \u201cbut it\u2019s a lot less intense than it was.\u201d The super-sopper has been in action. It could be a long night and a short game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n My optimism about the Cardiff weather may have been misplaced.<\/strong> The cameras are showing the outfield, which is doing an impersonation of Grimsby Town\u2019s home turf when they beat Man United. \u201cLooks like a paddy field,\u201d says Ian Ward. The umpires venture out for a look in their pink cagoules, and soon put their umbrellas up.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.25 EDT<\/p>\n Some team news: Lungi Ngidi is out of the series.<\/strong> He has a hamstring strain, according to our friends at Cricinfo. His place in South Africa\u2019s battery of seamers will go to Nandre Burger, but not until the second game at Old Trafford on Friday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Sure enough, the toss has been delayed.<\/strong> But on the telly, over Nasser Hussain\u2019s shoulder, it looks reasonably bright.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Evening everyone and welcome to yet another international cricket series. Yes, just three days after England\u2019s biggest win ever in one format, they\u2019re switching to a different one \u2013 20 overs a side rather than 50. The ball will still be white, but we can say with some certainty that England will not beat South Africa by 342 runs again. In fact, they\u2019d probably settle for a win by the barest of margins.<\/p>\n Are England favourites? The ICC\u2019s T20 team rankings<\/a> would say so: they have England third in the world (behind only India and Australia), with South Africa fifth (behind New Zealand). But South Africa are on the up and have just seen off England in an ODI series. That 342-run thrashing wasn\u2019t just the biggest victory ever, it was a Pyrrhic one too. And South Africa\u2019s firepower, already formidable on a good day, may well be boosted tonight by Donovan Ferreira, who was last seen running hot in his role as The Heater for the Oval Invincibles.<\/p>\n England are resting their ODI openers, Jamie Smith and the patently exhausted Ben Duckett, so it\u2019s back to the future with Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. They could do with some runs and some street wisdom from their young captain, Harry Brook, who seems to have been persuaded that he needs five proper bowlers. He can get there painlessly now that the selectors have finally recalled Sam Curran, who, if he brings his form from The Hundred and the Blast, should strengthen both England\u2019s batting and their bowling, not to mention their ability to make you laugh with a slower ball.<\/p>\n Play starts at 6.30 BST, as long as the showers<\/a> hold off. All being well I\u2019ll be back soon with news of the toss and the teams.<\/p>\n