England were in control in the first ODI against South Africa, with Jason Roy and Dawid Malan sharing a 146-run first-wicket stand in pursuit of 299. However, the home side fought back to complete a 27-run win
England lacked commitment to their usual “positive brand of cricket” during their ODI defeat against South Africa, believes captain Jos Buttler.
After the Proteas had made a promising start through Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock, Sam Curran (3 for 35) wrestled back control in Bloemfontein as England turned the tables to restrict South Africa to 298 for 7.
A 146-run first-wicket stand between Dawid Malan and Jason Roy, who went on to score a century, then had England cruising to victory before South Africa fought back through Sisanda Magala (3 for 46) and Anrich Nortje (4 for 62) to secure a 27-run win.
“Disappointed,” Buttler said, when asked to sum up his emotions after the defeat. “We played some excellent cricket for the majority of that game. To be in a position after an opening stand you feel like you should go on and win the game, so we’re disappointed not to finish it off.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma praised his side’s bowling performance [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]
“To have that conviction and commitment to our game and to keep taking it on is something that has served us well for a very long time. That doesn’t always mean trying to hit fours and sixes, but it means imposing ourselves on the game and playing a very positive brand of cricket.
“I didn’t think we quite committed enough to that. Credit to South Africa, they came back pretty well and took wickets, but I thought we could have kept trying to take it on and put pressure back on them.”
Identifying where the game was won, South Africa captain Bavuma singled out Magala, whose dismissal of Malan in the 20th over flipped the game on its head.
“He came in in the middle and got a couple of wickets and made things really difficult for them,” he said. “He got us some momentum and the guys after him rode [that].
“The way their partnership started was similar to ours, the ball was coming on and they played well and did it for a longer period than Quinny [Quinton de Kock] and myself.
“At that point, you’ve got to still have confidence in your bowlers. A guy like Magala, they haven’t seen much of him so he’s always going to be a threat. I wasn’t expecting him to do that [but] I was expecting one of the bowlers at least to do something special.
“Everyone played their part. KG [Kagiso Rabada] didn’t start well but he made it up for us, the same with Anrich – he showed his quality, showed his raw pace. [Wayne Parnell] played his role, Shamsi not having a good day but coming in and cleaning it up for us.”
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