5 talking points as England fall to South Africa defeat despite Jason Roy ton

27 January 2023 , 19:35

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South Africa celebrate beating England (Image: MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)

South Africa took an important first step towards qualification for the 50-over World Cup, with a hundred from Rassie Van der Dussen and crucial wickets from Sisanda Magala and Anrich Nortje earning them a remarkable fightback win over England.

The Proteas need to secure a 3-0 whitewash over England and then win their last two ODIs against the Netherlands to ensure they qualify for this year's tournament, otherwise they face featuring in a pre-qualifying tournament later this year.

And Temba Bavuma's side fought hard to secure a 27-run win over England, who welcomed back Jofra Archer after a 22-month absence and saw Jason Roy rediscover his best form with an outstanding century.

Having won the toss and opted to bat first, Rassie van der Dussen was the star of the show for South Africa as he struck an excellent 111 off 117 balls to help the hosts post 298-7. He shared a brilliant partnership worth 110 with David Miller to drag South Africa towards the 300 mark, having seen Bavuma, Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen all failing to capitalise on promising starts.

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In response, England got off to a perfect start as Roy and Dawid Malan shared an outstanding 146-run opening partnership. They both quickly brought up their half-centuries, before Malan top edged Magala to mid-off for 59 to spark a mini collapse that saw England lost three wickets for just six runs.

And Magala, Nortje and Kagiso Rabada proceeded to pick up regular wickets as England fell from 146-0 to 271 all out, with Tabraiz Shamsi taking a simple return catch to dismiss Olly Stone and seal a remarkable win for South Africa.

Jofra Archer made his first England appearance in almost two years (MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)

Archer's return

After 678 days, Archer made his long-awaited England return as he played his first match since March 2021. The 27-year-old is one of the best bowlers in the world when he is on song and it was great to see him bowl his full quota of ten overs, having ramped up his workload from the four over spells he was delivering in the SA20.

Speaking before the game Archer admitted he was only "about 80%" fit and, despite impressing in the SA20, he was England's most expensive bowler as he ended with figures of 1-81.

However, performances really matter little at this point for Archer after such a long spell on the sidelines and it is simply a case of easing him back ahead of the Ashes and the 50-over World Cup.

Rassie van der Dussen scored an excellent century for South Africa (Lee Warren/Gallo Images)

Van der Dussen's hundred

In what proved to be a match winning knock, Van der Dussen held South Africa's innings together as he struck 111 off 117 balls and shared an important partnership worth 110 with Miller.

Van der Dussen has been immense in ODI cricket since making his debut in 2019, with his fourth century in the format meaning he now has the second best batting average of any player to have scored at least 1,000 ODI runs.

Across 39 games, Van der Dussen has scored 1,636 runs at 71.13, with only India opener Shubman Gill boasting a superior average of 73.76.

Sam Curran was excellent with the ball for England, picking up 3-35 (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Curran impresses

After a stunning T20 World Cup campaign where he was named both player of the tournament and player of the match in the final, Curran now has his sights set on a starring role at this year's 50-over World Cup.

Following a disappointing SA20 stint where he picked up just three wickets at an average of 55, Curran was back to his best as soon as he pulled on an England shirt. In a nine-over spell, he picked up 3-35 and was comfortably the best bowler on show as he conceded just two boundaries while taking the big wickets of De Kock, Van der Dussen and Miller.

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It was an impressive display from the 24-year-old and he looks set to play a key role for England in their World Cup defence later this year.

(MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)

Roy finds much-needed form

Roy was back to his best in emphatic fashion as he struck a brilliant 113 off 91 balls in Bloemfontein. He entered this series with his place in the side under threat after an extended run of poor form saw him axed ahead of England's T20 World Cup winning campaign last year.

He had been unable to rediscover his form in the SA20 ahead of this series, where he scored 100 runs in eight innings while striking at just 91.74. However, Roy was able to put those struggles behind him and looked every inch the player who has been so crucial to England's white-ball revolution and 2019 50-over World Cup win as he smashed an 11th ODI ton.

Although he was unable to get England over the line, Roy's innings is a major positive and he will be hoping it will spark a more prolific run of form heading into the World Cup after recent struggles

Harry Brook was out for a duck on his ODI debut (MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)

Brook's duck on debut

Having ended 2022 with a T20 World Cup winner's medal and three Test centuries, it feels surprising that Brook is only just making his ODI debut. The 23-year-old has not played a List A game since 2019 as a result of the Covid pandemic and The Hundred, but England view him as a potential superstar in all three formats and will give him chances to force his way into their World Cup side.

With Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes now retired, although head coach Matthew Mott is hopeful Stokes will return for the World Cup, there are spots up for grabs in the middle order and Brook is very much in contention for one of them.

However, he was unable to make an impact on debut as he fell lbw for a three-ball duck to Magala, who was outstanding for the Proteas with 3-46 from his nine overs.

Matthew Cooper