South Africa (298/7) defeat England (271) to win the 1st ODI by 27 runs

[MenInG]

"It seems like there's an echo in the room; it's the same question," Shukri Conrad said as he glanced at various parts of the ceiling during a press conference in Bloemfontein on Thursday. He had been asked, for the third time in not quite 13 minutes, about the importance of South Africa's World Cup Super League (WCSL) series against England.

The truth is self-evident. If England win all three matches, South Africa will have to make an unprecedented trip to the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June and July to reach the World Cup in India in October and November. If South Africa beat England once they will need to prevail in both matches against the Netherlands on March 31 and April 2 to avoid the qualifier. Win two against England and just one victory will be required over the Dutch. A 3-0 sweep over the English would mean, from the South Africans' perspective, that the Netherlands needn't bother coming.

England are fourth in the standings, so well on course for the top-eight finish that would guarantee the holders - it's difficult to call a team who were awarded the trophy by dint of a boundary count in 2019 the champions - a place in India.

The home side's challenge won't be made easier by the confirmed return of Jofra Archer, who hasn't played for England since March 2021 because of injury. Archer, who estimated his readiness at "about 80%" on Wednesday, has been in decent nick in the SA20, where he has taken eight wickets at an economy rate of 7.57 in five games in which he has bowled 19 overs.

Archer isn't the only member of England's squad who has been able to tune up for the series by playing in the SA20. Jos Buttler is the leading run-scorer in a tournament in which Phil Salt has scored two half-centuries. Phil Salt, Jason Roy, Olly Stone, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid and Reece Topley have also been in the mix, with varying degrees of success.

Of the South Africa squad of 16, only Temba Bavuma isn't playing in the SA20 - he wasn't bought at the player auction. Heinrich Klaasen has made three 50s in the tournament, Quinton de Kock two, and Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen one each. Anrich Nortje has claimed 13 wickets at an economy rate of 6.07, with Lungi Ngidi taking nine at 6.39, Parnell nine at 8.43 and Kagiso Rabada seven at 7.40.

The series is the first South Africa will play in any format after Mark Boucher's departure in the wake of the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November. Boucher has been replaced by Shukri Conrad in a Test capacity and by Rob Walter for white-ball cricket. Conrad will be in charge for the England series while Walter, who has been coaching in New Zealand since 2016, packs up his life and moves back to South Africa.

England are the only visiting team never to have lost an ODI to South Africa in Bloemfontein. They have won three of the four they have played there with the other washed out.

When: January 27, 2023; 1pm Local Time (3pm BST, 4.30pm IST)

Where: Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein

What to expect: A flat pitch and plenty of running between the wickets on the biggest outfield in South Africa. That could be interesting considering a forecast high of 32 degrees Celsius.

Team news:

South Africa:

In their most recent ODI in Bloem, in March 2020, South Africa deployed both Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi - and dismissed Australia for 271 on their way to victory by six wickets. The spinners kept the damage to under a run a ball, but the star on the day/night was Lungi Ngidi, who took 6/58. Might we see that kind of configuration again?

Possible XI: Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (capt), Heinrich Klaasen, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi.

England:

Phil Salt's involvement is in doubt because of illness. If he doesn't make it Ben Duckett will step into the breach.

Possible XI: Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler (capt), Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley

What they said:

"We know where we stand in terms of how many games we need to win. But we'd like to shift our focus. There's an opportunity for us to clear up our identity and how we'd like to play. We'd like to use these games to do that." - Temba Bavuma seems resigned to having to go to the World Cup qualifier.

"This will be his first international game for a long time, and there's always going to be a level of expectation on Jofra because we all know what he's capable of." - Jos Buttler looks forward to unleashing Jofra Archer.

Squads:
England Squad: Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(w/c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Reece Topley, David Willey, Olly Stone, Philip Salt

South Africa Squad: Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma(c), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Heinrich klaasen, Rassie van der Dussen, Sisanda Magala, Tabraiz Shamsi

[Robert]

Vacuums wins the toss, SA to bat.

Archer is back and about to bowl!

[Robert]

Olly Stone back from injury too. It’s a new Ingerlund pace age!

[MenInG]

South Africa have won the toss and have opted to bat

Jos Buttler | England captain: We were going to bowl, it's a really good surface. Fancy a chase. We don't have very many games before the World Cup, 3 games here and 3 games in Bangladesh, so every game is vital for us. A bit of a mental shift to make, lot of the guys have been playing T20s, so refocusing and we need to make that adjustment . Really exciting to see Jofra back. Good day for Harry Brook who has been in good form in all formats, he is making his debut.

Temba Bavuma | South Africa captain: We will bat first, and make first use of the pitch to put the runs on the board. The preparations have been different, under the circumstances that we are in, we only got together yesterday, but are looking forward to it. I will open the batting and we have rotated our players well enough to keep everyone fresh.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(w/c), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Olly Stone

South Africa (Playing XI): Temba Bavuma(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Sisanda Magala, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

[Robert]

This is a powerful England side, especially if Bairstow, Root and Hales can’t get in.

[WengerOut]

This is a powerful England side, especially if Bairstow, Root and Hales can’t get in.

Bairstow is a regular in this team.

[Robert]

de Kock strokes Willey for four.

[sam_ahm]

I'm not exactly sure but read on Twitter that the ticket price for SA20 games is R 80 while for this ODI series it is R 250, no wonder people are skipping watching international games from the ground / stadium.

[Robert]

Willey is getting spanked by de Kock.

[Robert]

Archer is going for nearly eight an over. Change the bowling Buttler!

[MenInG]

WICKET! Bavumva c Curran bowled Moeen 36 - South Africa 61-1

First change of bowling for England as Moeen Ali comes into the attack with his off-spin and he makes an immediate impact, bringing Bavuma's innings to a close as he tries to go on the attack and is caught by a diving Sam Curran.

There's the breakthrough the tourists were looking for and Rassie van der Dussen is up next for South Africa.

[Robert]

Beard strikes at once.

[shaz619]

Great to see Archer back!

[shaz619]

Beard strikes at once.

Moeen, Moeen Moeen, Moeen Moeen Ali!

[shaz619]

Willey is getting spanked by de Kock.

Good ol fashioned Kockfight ai!

[AAli98]

Why do SA even bother if they going to **** there pants in a ICC ko game.. Netherlands!!

[Robert]

de Kock collapses to Wasam Acurran.

[Robert]

Stone gets a wicket with his first ball back from injury!

[sam_ahm]

Somehow Markram never does well at international level esp in longer formats.

[Robert]

200-4 with sixteen overs left. England are looking at 300 here.

[Robert]

Archer still being smashed. Get Stone back on!

[Robert]

Oi, Buttler! Noooooo! Don’t bowl Archer out, he is rubbish!

Acurran, Rashid and Stone can bowl the overs.

[MenInG]

[Robert]

299 to win.

[MenInG]

Slow (ish) and steady start England

[Markhor]

Looks a good batting surface. Think SA needed 320+ here.

ENG going at 7 RPO in PP which is the right approach - get AHEAD of the RRR by utilising the fielding restrictions, then you can steadily accumulate in the middle overs.

[Rana]

Looks a good batting surface. Think SA needed 320+ here.

ENG going at 7 RPO in PP which is the right approach - get AHEAD of the RRR by utilising the fielding restrictions, then you can steadily accumulate in the middle overs.

England are never two ways or confused about their approach

We play them so much yet we never learn from them

[MenInG]

Incredible catch earlier to remove Miller

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[Markhor]

Magala is carrying too much weight as a fast bowler.

SAF don't look like taking a wicket at the moment.

[Robert]

A super ton for Roy on his return!

[shaz619]

Great knock from Roy.

They need to bring back his old mate Hales and have him open, I don’t have confidence in Malan, especially in the subcontinent

[Rana]

Roy full flow is an absolute beauty to watch

[Rana]

Great knock from Roy.

They need to bring back his old mate Hales and have him open, I don’t have confidence in Malan, especially in the subcontinent

Roy
Hales
Butler
Brook
Bairstow

Bag Gawd Almighty what a top 5!

[Khurrams22]

Game over in 30 overs or 450/500 on board.

It will fun to watch Roy and Hales opening together now. Roy back in form and Hales with venom

[asadee]

England overdo the intent thing at times

[Saj]

Nortje is so good to watch isn't he.

Fantastic pace and looking for a wickeet every ball.

[Robert]

WaSam can still do this…..

[Saj]

Big wicket - Curran gone.

South Africa favourites now surely.

[jnaveen1980]

This is getting tight for SA. ENgland doesn't have to win this. Ball is in SA's court.

[Markhor]

SAF clawed their way back. ENG have botched an excellent start from the openers.

[jnaveen1980]

Because of what is at stake this match has turned into a nerve wracker for SA fans

[jnaveen1980]

You cannot possibly lose a match with 120 odd to get in 30 overs and 10 wickets in hand

[Saj]

Great captaincy from Bavuma.

Got Rabada and Nortje on and said get wickets and blast out the opposition - exactly what they did.

[topspin]

Archer's bowling I reckon has lost England the game today.

[Robert]

Must be SA’s game now. England snatch defeat from jaws of victory.

[jnaveen1980]

Stunning win by SA. what a come back. They could have won with singles. Seems like England was bounced out.

[Saj]

England 146/0 from 19.2 overs
England 271 all out from 44.2 overs

Nortje and Rabada were superb in that spell when England lost a few wickets.

Shows that attacking cricket and bowlers who are wicket-takers can turn a match.

[MenInG]

[Rana]

England were cruising, how did they bottle this?

[sam_ahm]

Huge huge win for South Africa in the context of direct World Cup Qualification! This is not so good news for Sri Lanka and West Indies.

[GLORY OF '92]

Without Stokes the English are mentally fragile. Why I back India to win the WC.

[Markhor]

What a collapse from ENG.

[Saj]

Arrogance from England.

They tried to take on Nortje and Rabada instead of seeing them off.

[MenInG]

Buttler: We should have been more positive

England captain Jos Buttler on Sky Sports:

"I think we played some excellent cricket for the majority of that game. To be in a position after that opening stand, you feel like you should go on and win the game, so we’re obviously disappointed not to finish it off.

"We were pretty happy (after South Africa’s innings). The wicket didn’t play as well as we thought it would, but it was still very good for batting.

"I think we should keep going. To have that conviction and commitment to our game and keep taking it on. I think that’s something that’s served us well for a very long time.

"That doesn’t always mean trying to hit fours and sixes, but imposing ourselves on the game, playing a very positive brand of cricket, and I think we didn’t quite commit enough to that.

"Credit to South Africa, they came back really well and took wickets, but I thought we could have kept trying to take it on a bit and put pressure on them."

[MenInG]

Jason Roy's 113 from 91 balls was in vain as England slipped from a commanding position to suffer a 27-run defeat in the opening match of their ODI series against South Africa.

Rassie van der Dussen's fourth ODI century and a fifth-wicket stand of 110 with David Miller (53) saw South Africa recover from 116-3 to reach 298-7 from their 50 overs at Manguan Oval after they had won the toss and chosen to bat first.

Then it was the turn of Roy to steal the limelight and rediscover his form with the bat as he shared an opening stand of 146 with Dawid Malan, but England were unable to kick on as the Proteas' seam attack, led by Anrich Nortje with 4-62, got stuck into the middle and lower order to dismiss them for 271.

It was a difficult return to international cricket for England bowler Jofra Archer too after being out of action for the team since March 2021. He went for 81 runs from his 10 overs but did at least finish with a wicket after snaring Wayne Parnell late on.

Much of the focus in the build-up had been on Archer making his long-awaited return for England after 678 days since his last international appearance, having battled through elbow and back injuries, and warmed up for this series by playing in the SA20.

Yet the 27-year-old, who had taken 30 wickets at a miserly average of just 24 apiece in his 17 ODIs prior to this, was made to toil during a fruitless five-over opening spell as South Africa batters Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock took on both he and David Willey from the off.

The duo raced to a half-century partnership from just 42 balls - South Africa's first 50 opening stand in their past eight ODIs - but a change of bowling had the desired effect for the tourists as Proteas skipper Bavuma was caught by a superb diving catch from Sam Curran off Moeen Ali for 36 in the ninth over.

Seamer Curran (3-35) then removed de Kock for 37 five overs later, sending down a short-pitched delivery which reared up at the left-hander, who went for the pull but ended up getting an outside edge that carried through to wicketkeeper Buttler.

The hosts had been briskly ticking along at nearly seven an over to that point, and they were reduced to 116-3 in the 22nd over when Olly Stone struck with his first ball to remove Aidan Markram after he was caught by Dawid Malan for 13.

Van der Dussen led the recovery though, first as he and Heinrich Klaasen put on 55 for the fourth wicket before the latter departed for 30 after being trapped lbw by Adil Rashid, and then an impressive fifth-wicket stand with David Miller.

The right-hander, who averages nearly 74 in ODIs, brought up his century with five overs remaining with a single and then slashed one away to the boundary the following delivery to take the Proteas past the 250 mark as well.

Watch the best moments from Jason Roy's brilliant century in the first ODI between England and South Africa
Van der Dussen started to cut loose after reaching his ton but eventually departed for 111 when he got the toe-end of his bat a wider delivery from left-armer Curran which he skied to Ben Duckett in the covers in the 48th over.

Archer eventually claimed a wicket in the final over of his second spell too as Wayne Parnell carved him to Malan at backwards point. Miller then became Curran's third victim after a spectacular catch on the boundary from Willey, with the hosts setting England 299 to win.

England could hardly have asked for a better start to their reply though and Roy set the tone from the off, racing to his 22nd ODI half-century and his first since the series against the Netherlands last June from just 45 balls, having struggled for runs in the following series against India, the Proteas and Australia.

He then brought up the century for the opening partnership with Malan in the 16th over in style by whipping a six over square leg off Proteas paceman Anrich Nortje, followed by his opening partner reaching his 50 with back-to-back fours off Tabraiz Shamsi three overs later.

Malan eventually departed for 56 when he holed out to Bavuma off seamer Magala in the 19th over and that precipitated a wobble for England as Ben Duckett (3) and debutant Harry Brook (0) both departed in quick succession to Nortje and Magala respectively.

Roy eventually fell thanks to Parnell racing around to take a catch on the square-leg boundary off the bowling of Rabada, and then Ali became Magala's third wicket when he fell for 17, caught in the deep by van der Dussen, with England still needing 77 for victory.

Buttler (36) edging Nortje to de Kock in the 37th over had a few more nerves jangling for England and then alarm bells started ringing when Willey holed out to Miller off the right-arm paceman for just eight two overs later.

Rashid then had a let-off on five when he was caught off Nortje from what transpired to be a no ball, but the key wicket of Curran (17) was claimed by Rabada (2-46) off the final ball of his permitted 10 overs as the left-hander edged to de Kock.

Nortje then had Archer caught for a duck to claim his fourth wicket and leave England nine down, with victory being secured when Shamsi, who had endured an otherwise miserable evening with the ball, had last man in Stone caught and bowled.

What they said

England captain Jos Buttler

Following his side's defeat to South Africa in the opening ODI, England's Jos Buttler felt the team didn't commit enough in their run chase.
"I think we played some excellent cricket for the majority of the game. To be in a position after that opening stand, you feel like you could go on to win the game, so we're obviously disappointed not to go and finish it off.

"Credit to South Africa, they came back really well and took wickets, but I thought we could have kept trying to take it on a bit and put pressure back on them."

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma

Following his side's victory over England, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma believed player of the match Sisanda Magala 'changed the match' in their favour.
"In the end, we got nearly 300. I felt like we were a little bit below par, but I guess at the end it was enough.

"You've got to keep staying in the game. The way their [opening] partnership started was similar to ours...and did it for a longer period than Quinny and myself. At that stage, you've got to have confidence in your bowlers."

SKY

[Front Foot Pull]

great game, enjoyed it.
for the amount of talent he has, markram has underperformed severely in ODIs. don't know when he will play to his potential.

[sweep_shot]

They went from something like 140/0 to 271-all out.

Well done, South Africa.

[Nikhil_cric]

England were arguably missing Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Wood. But to be honest,like I mentioned elsewhere they are not as strong in this format as people think

[sam_ahm]

England were arguably missing Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Wood. But to be honest,like I mentioned elsewhere they are not as strong in this format as people think

I don't understand why are they not selecting Root in ODIs? It is not just this series even before this one in Australia he was missing from the ODI squad.

[Ab Fan]

England were arguably missing Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Wood. But to be honest,like I mentioned elsewhere they are not as strong in this format as people think

They are missing a clutch middle order batsman. England would need someone who plays spin well in middle overs and that's Root.

[Robert]

Archer's bowling I reckon has lost England the game today.

I don’t know why Buttler kept bowling him, instead of bowling out the more effective Stone.

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;I&#39;d try and get Woakes into the side somehow!&quot;<br><br>Nasser and Athers discuss the changes England should make for the 2nd ODI on Sunday ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/yNuLgtNp85">pic.twitter.com/yNuLgtNp85</a></p>&mdash; Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/status/1619052755120754701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>