Smith, Bosman took the game away from us, says skipper Cook

Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman went on a six-hitting spree as South Africa gained a crushing 84-run win over England in the second and final Twenty20 international at SuperSport Park yesterday.

Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman went on a six-hitting spree as South Africa gained a crushing 84-run win over England in the second and final Twenty20 international at SuperSport Park yesterday.

Smith and Bosman shared a world record opening partnership of 170 off 81 balls in a South African total of 241 for six, the second-highest in Twenty20 internationals.

England struggled to 157 for eight in reply.

Smith said he was pleased with the clinical performance. "I was disappointed on Friday night when the rain came down because I thought we could have got home there too. We started well with the bat and I was most impressed with the bowlers," he said.

Cook was leading England because Paul Collingwood was ruled out with a back injury. "Smith and Bosman took the game away from us," said Cook. "The margins for error were very slim, especially the way they played."

But Cook said England would take heart from having shared the series 1-1, after winning by one run on the D/L method last Friday. "We'll take that into another form of the game," he said of a five-match one-day series which starts on Friday.

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