South Africa Tour To England: The series that has no points to be added to any of the teams started on Tuesday and it was a pretty good start for the visitors. South Africa, in the first ODI, won the toss and elected to bat first, and scored a big total of 333. In return, England got all out on 271. The Proteas won the match by 62 runs and now lead the series 1-0.

South Africa accurately read the situation and, more significantly, adjusted to it. They successfully won the toss, and Maharaj elected to bat. Rassie van der Dussen scored a great century (134) and with the help of Malan and Markram (77 off 61), the team reached a substantial 333 before the bowlers carried out their strategies. 

As the game went on, the pitch slowed down, which allowed Markram and the South African spin twins to enter the fray. Joe Root was the only player who could time the ball on that sluggish surface, despite the fact that England put up a 100+ run opening stand. He persisted at one end but received no assistance from the others; ultimately, he left in the 45th over, and the innings were over shortly. England lost the match by 62 runs.

While England’s bowlers toiled in the heat, South Africa maintained their dominance throughout the match in climatic conditions that suited their style of play, building slowly and looking to knock the ball around before applying pressure with a deft combination of spin, slower balls, and searing pace.

The game also marked the last ODI to be played by the legendary England allrounder Ben Stokes. Chester-le-Street being his home ground, it must be an emotional day for him. 

In the pre-match show, Ben Stokes also talked about how the cricket chief should not treat players like ‘cars’.

This is the fourth consecutive ODI that England has been bowled out, which is a sequence that hasn’t occurred since 2014, and they have only won two of their seven matches in limited-overs cricket since Morgan’s retirement. England’s dismal start to their white-ball season continues.

Jos Buttler, the losing captain talked about the loss as he said, “Tough day. The efforts were outstanding to field first in that heat. It was a good toss to win and we couldn’t find those breakthroughs. A fantastic partnership. You need to take wickets to stem the flow in this format but they ran well and put us under pressure. We never quite managed to impose ourselves and the wicket got slower and slower, and tougher to time the ball. It wasn’t through lack of trying. [Did you go hard enough?] I don’t think it was a lack of effort. Those two at the top are explosive players but SA read the conditions well and was smart with the way they bowled. [Pressure on senior players with Morgan and Stokes gone?] We’ve been improving through the games we’ve played and we’re missing experienced guys but that creates opportunities for others. Very confident in the team. [Stokes?] From all England fans, we want to say thank you for all that he’s done for this team. He’s been a fantastic ambassador in ODI cricket and we’ll miss him.”

Keshav Maharaj, the winning South Africa captain spoke about the victory, “Rassie set the tone and the bowlers stuck to their plans. Full credit to the team. We didn’t expect the heatwave in England but it felt a bit like home. It was really hot but luckily enough there were no casualties on the field… [What about Phehlukwayo?] He underestimated my size of me! Quinny and Janneman set the platform and Rassie played a special inning. Partnerships were the key. We know Markram is a handy allrounder. His bowling is underrated. He knows his role and stuck to his disciplines.”

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Rassie van der Dussen, SA 134 (117)