Markram leads South Africa to a 1-0 lead as Maharaj and Mulder stop England

Markram leads South Africa to a 1-0 lead as Maharaj and Mulder stop England

England vs South Africa: Wiaan Mulder and Keshav Maharaj's outstanding bowling, South Africa beat England by 7 wickets in the first ODI in Leeds.

England’s batting lasted just 147 balls before they were bowled out for 131 runs one of their lowest scores ever against South Africa. The team looked tired, possibly from playing in The Hundred tournament, and couldn’t handle South Africa’s sharp bowling and fielding.

South Africa chased down the target in just 125 balls. Aiden Markram smashed a record-breaking fifty off just 23 balls the fastest by a South African opener and shared a 121-run opening stand with Ryan Rickelton. The match lasted only 272 balls in total, showing the gap in preparation between the two sides. South Africa had just finished a tough series against Australia, while England had only one optional training session before this game.

Keshav Maharaj, now ranked No. 1 in ODI bowling, led the attack with 4 wickets. Wiaan Mulder chipped in with 3 for 33 his second time taking three wickets in an ODI. South Africa’s fielding was flawless, taking all seven catching chances and backing up captain Temba Bavuma’s decision to bowl first.

England started brightly with Jamie Smith hitting back-to-back boundaries and Ben Duckett finding the fence early. But Duckett fell to a swinging delivery from Nandre Burger, continuing his poor run from The Hundred. Joe Root looked solid with a stylish boundary but was caught behind after a sharp diving effort from Rickelton.

Harry Brook and Smith built a promising partnership, adding 38 runs. Smith reached his second ODI fifty, but Brook was run out after a risky second run. Jos Buttler hit a boundary but the momentum shifted when Smith was caught brilliantly by Bosch. That triggered a collapse England lost 7 wickets for just 29 runs in 43 balls.

Jacob Bethell edged Maharaj to slip, Will Jacks gave a simple return catch, Buttler was out trying to drive, and Jofra Archer nicked off to slip. Mulder nearly got a hat-trick, but Maharaj finished the job by trapping Adil Rashid LBW and bowling debutant Sonny Baker.

Baker opened the bowling for England but had a rough start. His first over went for 14 runs, with Markram punishing anything loose. South Africa cruised to victory, winning by 7 wickets and taking a 1–0 lead in the series.

Rickelton, who has struggled for rhythm from the Australia tour, could not find any early on in England either. He could not get Archer's first four balls away and then edged the fifth one in the direction of first slip. Root claimed the catch as he seemed to think he got his fingers under the ball and while some replays agreed, others seemed to show the ball bouncing just in front. Rickelton was given not out. Archer finished the over by hitting him on the pads but England didn't review. If they had, Hawk-Eye showed the ball would have been hitting leg stump and Rickelton would have been out for a duck.

Instead, he watched as Markram continued to show Baker no mercy and took 20 off his second over, including two sixes. Rickelton's opportunity finally came against Baker in his third over and he just about found his touch. He drove Baker for four, edged him short of slip and then flicked off the pads. Despite his first three overs costing 44 runs, Baker got a fourth over and still could not get it right. He overpitched, Markram drove for four, then down the ground and then over the covers to bring up his half-century off 23 balls, with 44 runs scored in boundaries.

Baker's four overs cost 56 runs and he was taken out of the attack before bring brought back in the 12th over and delivering a boundary-free six balls. His relief was short-lived. Baker's next two overs cost 18 runs and his final analysis of 7-0-76-0 was the most expensive by an England player on debut.

Markram had three figures in his sights but with 11 runs left to win was strongly caught by Smith at cover, who intercepted a ball that was destined for the boundary. Bavuma tried to finish it quickly but was caught at mid-off and Tristan Stubbs' nightmare run continued as he was bowled for a duck to leave Rashid on a hat-trick. Across all formats, Stubbs has only scored one half-century in 35 innings this year. Dewald Brevis finished it off with a six as England lost for the third successive time to South Africa.