Centuries between Jos Buttler (131 of 127) and Dawid Malan (118 of 118) saw England recover from 14/3 and 346 in the third and final ODI against South Africa at Kimberley. was recorded. This is her ODI total, the highest at the venue, and will challenge the hosts looking for a clean win to strengthen their direct qualification to the World Cup in India later this year.
England were used to batting and met a wild Lungi Ngidi with a new ball. A big pacesetter, he picked three wickets in his first three overs. Jason Roy left the match first, scoring an easy catch midway through the match’s two overs. Ben Duckett was undone by an extra jump and nodded to the keeper. In the case of Ngidi’s third scalp Harry Brook, the inside edge led to his downfall.
But by the time Butler and Malan teamed up to build his 232-seat giant stand, it was all one way. The duo started slowly, choosing 1 and 2 on offer before opening on the other side of the drink his break after spins were introduced from both sides. Marang was dropped for 46 by Shamsi, who failed to hold a hard return catch, but other than that, the duo had little to offer.
Things turned around for him, especially after his 30th over, when his next five runs yielded up to 61 runs. Marco Janssen was put under pressure by Maran, who posted a streak of 6, 4, 6. Spinner only scored 12 overs in total, in which he lost 96 runs.
Malan fell to a late delivery from Magala in 41 overs, but Moen Ali came out with a swing, hitting two 4s and four 6s during a 23-ball 41. Ngidi was an off cutter. It fell for him, finishing 4-62. However, Butler extended his stay and cleared the ropes a total of seven times before digging deep against Jansen. But a 67-run stand between him and Moen brought the score closer to 350.
Brief Scores: England347/7 in 50 overs (Buttler 131, Malan 118; Ngidi 4-62) vs South Africa