Jos Buttler’s tenure as England’s white-ball captain came to an end during the game as well.
England was bowled out for 179 runs in 38.2 overs after choosing to bat first. It was chased down by the Proteas in 29.1 overs.
Kevin Pietersen, a former cricket player, attacked England’s batting strategy on social media.
Pietersen criticizes England’s aggressive batting
Pietersen, in his post on X, took a dig at England’s aggressive batting approach, especially their attempt to play ‘Bazball’ style cricket.
“More care must be taken in ODI cricket for a batter’s wicket,” he wrote. To say it’s an extension of a T20 and you can swing like a rusty gate is utter BS!”
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South Africa’s dominant bowling performance
South African bowlers Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder made the most of England’s aggressive approach with impeccable line and length.
Prominent English batsmen such as Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, and Harry Brook fell to rash shots.
Before being sent back by Mulder, Joe Root led England in runs scored with 37. Buttler managed a 43-ball 21 without a boundary.
Development of the game South Africa secure semi-final spot
South Africa chased down the target with ease, reaching 180/3 with 125 balls remaining.
Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen shared a crucial 127-run partnership for the third wicket. Van der Dussen remained unbeaten on 72 runs off 87 balls.
This victory secured South Africa’s place in the semi-finals. Australia, India, and New Zealand are the other semi-finalists.
Analyzing strategies England’s batting strategy under scrutiny
Given England’s aggressive approach in One-Day Internationals, the Bazball strategy has been questioned since 2024. In more than half of their innings, they have gone this route, but they haven’t been consistent. However, when they rotated the strike early in their innings, they have performed well. This defeat ends a tough tournament for England, who lost all three of their pool matches.
Dimsal run in white-ball cricket
Cricbuzz reports that England has lost ten of their last eleven limited-overs matches. Their dismal run includes four T20I defeats (to India) and six losses in ODIs (three to India and one each to Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa). India routed England 3-0 in ODIs at home this year.
Moreover, England have now suffered seven successive ODI defeats, dating back to November 2024.