South Africa will now aim to regain some pride when they take on England in the third ODI at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday.
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South Africa were bowled out for 196 as Anya Shrubsole took four for 29.
Faf du Plessis admits England’s strength in depth is disconcerting, but believes South Africa too can do some damage. When one fires – as De Kock did in the first ODI – there is little support around him.
Keeping aside his disappointment at being dropped from the English Test side in favour of Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler has been in scintillating form in ODIs with scores of 116*, 105 and 48* in his past three innings.
England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan / Stuart Broad, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley. And it is exactly with the bowling where one of the Proteas’ most glaring weaknesses was exposed. However, South Africa didn’t have a review to use.
Duminy went next over, lbw to Topley when TV replays showed the ball would have missed leg stump. In the first ODI, that number was 93 in ten overs.
“The game was in the balance until that over”, Morgan said.
They have been the dominant team in the ongoing series and by some distance. This innings in itself would have been exciting enough to declare Stokes’ tour a revelation but he also impressed with his bowling, displaying a new level of control, consistency and menace, and fielding where he was as consistently brilliant as ever. He told the BBC’s Test Match Special: “Guys like Duminy and Behardien won’t even give me a good net”.
‘I’ve still got a lot to learn… but it was something I really enjoyed, and I was really proud to be part of a winning series.
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first.
But since their World Cup embarrassment last winter, England have caught on brilliantly to the modern tempo. The emphasis could be more on the respective seam attacks and neither particularly impressed in on the flat deck at the Mangaung Oval with Marchant de Lange and Chris Jordan having particularly troubled nights. The teenager was one of four wickets for Player of the Match Anya Shrubsole, who claimed 4/29.
Hales’s Test experiences so far have been chastening, perhaps, but he prefers to see them as lessons learned in hard climes.
On that basis, Du Plessis is hoping the business favours South Africa.
But before his unbeaten 48, in company with Moeen Ali, it was man-of-the-match Alex Hales who kept England on track only to fall a single short of what would have been his second ODI century. The England skipper could not stay in the middle for long and departed in the 35th over.
Trisha Chetty notched up a career best 90 off 122 as the women stuttered to 196 all out in 49.2 overs.
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He is now targeting a strong run of form in limited-overs cricket, which will include playing a key role in England’s World T20 side, to help restate his credentials as an attacking Test opener.
