Preview, SA vs ENG | Leeds mauling puts England in fraught territory for must-win Lord's encounter
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After crashing to 130 all-out in the series opener at Leeds, making it a third consecutive ODI loss to South Africa, England will hope to show what they're capable in the second ODI at the Home of Cricket. Heavy on workload, a fresh looking line-up might be in store for the hosts come Thursday.
From being the first tie to hold both white-ball World Cups just three years, England's fall from grace in recent times is worthy studying. Across the last two major ICC ODI events, the side has won just three of their 12 games, finishing seventh in the 2023 World Cup before being unceremoniously knocked out of the Champions Trophy groups tages earlier this year. Harry Brook is still finding his brand of leadership since succeeding Jos Buttler, but his batting remains immaculate as others. His peers around, however, have failed to replicate the same success, despite trying to imitate the same brand of unshackled aggressive cricket inspired by their captain. Collapses have become all too common for a nation that just five years ago was regarded as the best ever in ODI history -- a template that has since been skewed and its essence lost as the team still tries to cope with moving on from a golden generation of limited-overs cricketers. All that has seen the side slide to eighth in the ODI rankings, and should they fail to find their bearings quick enough a direct qualification spot for the next World Cup might come under threat given they stand at the absolute brink.
A World Cup that, incidentally, is being hosted by South Africa themselves (along with Zimbabwe) in 2027. In 2025, they have already broken their two-and-a-half decade trophy drought by lifting the World Test Championship brace and having reached the T20 World Cup final last year, a narrative of becoming ODI World Champions for the first time on home soil almost feels like inevitable poetic justice. But in sports, fairytales don't get no sympathy from rivals, and destiny remains a figment of imagination. The good thing is, there is enough quality in the Proteas set-up to will their way to their chosen fate without any scripting -- a journey that has already begun and might enjoy a seminal moment on Thursday given a win would give them their first series win in England in 27 years.
Despite completing a 3-0 whitewash in the Caribbean in June, England's overall ODI form has been pretty disastrous. They lost all three games in the Champions Trophy earlier this year, soon after being the victims of a 3-0 clean sweep in India, and have lost 20 of their 30 ODIs since the 2023 World Cup.
South Africa, on the other hand, made it to the semi-final in the Champions Trophy where they lost to New Zealand, following which they defeated Australia 2-1 Down Under. Yet, they remain ranked sixth in the ICC rankings, having also been whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan and lost an ODI series 2-1 to Afghanistan in the last 12 months.
England: L W W W L
South Africa: W L W W L
England last defeated South Africa in an ODI bilateral series in 2017, having drawn two since before losing a tour affair in 2023 that secured the Proteas qualification to the World Cup. However, the Proteas have also not won an ODI series in England since 1998, which remains their only bilateral success in the format on British soil. It must be noted though that South Africa have won four of their last five ODIs against England, including dominant victories in the latest World Cup and Champions Trophy campaigns, and a slice of history awaits if they manage to extend that record at Lord's.
Englnad 30 - 36 South Africa
Despite the spicy red ball wickets on exhibit in recent times, the limited-over strips at Lord's are usually batting friendly with enough help for both the pacers and spinners to wreck damage when on top of their games. The Hundred's final recently saw the Oval Invincibles post an imposing 168 enroute to victory, with the average first innings score across five games a relatively par 146.
Barring some showers around the start of the game, the weather in London is expectedto remain clear on Thursday. There'll be substantial cloud cover at most times though with the temperature hovering in the late teens and gradually decreasing as the sun sets.
Both teams boast a settled batting line-up so expect the same top-five combinations at Lords. Tony de Zorzi is perhaps the only batter with his spot under threat but with Matthew Breetzke still recovering from injury, he can be assured of getting another go after not having to bat in the opening encounter. Similarly, the Proteas pacers proved their worth in Leeds and with Kagiso Rabada out injured for now, any swaps are unlikely unless Shukri Conrad decides to give Codi Yusuf a go instead of Corbin Bosch despite the latter being a regular in recent times. For England, debutant Sonny Baker had a disastrous day out at Leed's and may give way to reserve pacer Saqib Mahmood, while Rehan Ahmed would be hoping to slot in at seven for Will Jacks after an exceptional start to the domestic season.
England Probable XI: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks/ Rehan Ahmed, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer/ Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Sonny Baker/ Saqib Mahmood
South Africa Probable XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickleton (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Corbin Bosch/ Codi Yusuf, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
The three-match ODI series between England and South Africa is available for digital streaming on Fancode and Sony LIV, while the telecast rights are held by Sony Sports Network.
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