South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke, front, leaves the field after England’s Jofra Archer, rear left, took his wicketg during the third ODI series cricket match between England and South Africa, at Utilita Bowl, Southampton, England, Sunday Sept. 7, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

England’s Gus Atkinson bowled during ICC Cricket World Cup Match 20 between South Africa and England at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

It was a hot and humid Saturday afternoon. A near-capacity turnout at the Wankhede Stadium made it even more piping. While South Africa turned up in red-hot form, England wilted under the sun in the much-anticipated high-voltage clash which turned into a lopsided affair.

Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen’s blitzkrieg in the last 10 overs meant South Africa put on 399 for seven, the highest-ever ODI total against England and the second-highest at the venue.

Had it not been for Mark Wood wielding the long handle after the Proteas’ pace attack had taken the fizz out of the chase, England would have folded up for a total less than the 143 runs South Africa hammered in the last 10 overs.

Cricket World Cup | SAF vs ENG — As it happened

It was a hot and humid Saturday afternoon. A near-capacity turnout at the Wankhede Stadium made it even more piping. While South Africa turned up in red-hot form, England wilted under the sun in the much-anticipated high-voltage clash which turned into a lopsided affair.

Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen’s blitzkrieg in the last 10 overs meant South Africa put on 399 for seven, the highest-ever ODI total against England and the second-highest at the venue.

Had it not been for Mark Wood wielding the long handle after the Proteas’ pace attack had taken the fizz out of the chase, England would have folded up for a total less than the 143 runs South Africa hammered in the last 10 overs.

Even before Jansen starred with the new ball to run through England’s top-order and virtually seal the result, it was his batting exploits in a murderous partnership with Klaasen that did the trick for his team.

Captain Temba Bavuma was ruled out due a stomach bug minutes before the toss. Reeza Hendricks converted the loss into a blessing, adding 120 with Rassie van Dussen after Quinton de Kock perished to Topley in the opening over of the game.

The stand-in captain Aiden Markram continued to build on the good work, first with Hendricks before he missed out on a deserving hundred and later with Klaasen.

But when Topley returned from an injury break to dismiss Markram and David Miller in successive overs, England would have hoped to restrict South Africa to a total well below the eventual one.

While Jansen took time to get his eye in, Klaasen started opening his shoulders up.

He drove, cut and pulled with aplomb. And once Jansen started wielded his long handle, an already rattled England bowling unit — beset with injuries, ailments and the heat — was found clueless.

Scoreboard

South Africa innings: Quinton de Kock (wk) c Jos Buttler b R Topley 4 Reeza Hendricks b Adil Rashid 85 Rassie van der Dussen c Bairstow b Adil Rashid 60 Aiden Markram (c) c Bairstow b R Topley 42 Heinrich Klaasen b Gus Atkinson 109 David Miller c Stokes b R Topley 5 Marco Jansen not out 75 Gerald Coetzee c (sub) Livingstone b Gus Atkinson 3 Keshav Maharaj not out 1 Extras: (b 2, lb 3, w 9, nb 1) 15 Total: (For 7 wickets in 50 Ov) 399

Fall of Wickets: 4-1, 125-2, 164-3, 233-4, 243-5, 394-6, 398-7

Bowlers: Reece Topley 8.5-0-88-3, David Willey 9-1-61-0, Joe Root 6.1-0-48-0, Gus Atkinson 9-0-60-2, Mark Wood 7-0-76-0, Adil Rashid 10-0-61-2.

England innings: Jonny Bairstow c van der Dussen b Lungi Ngidi 10 Dawid Malan c de Kock b Marco Jansen 6 Joe Root c Miller b Marco Jansen 2 Ben Stokes c and b Rabada 5 Harry Brook lbw b Gerald Coetzee 17 Jos Buttler (c & wk) c de Kock b Gerald Coetzee 15 David Willey c Rabada b Lungi Ngidi 12 Adil Rashid c Reeza Hendricks b Gerald Coetzee 10 Gus Atkinson b Maharaj 35 Mark Wood not out 43 Reece Topley abs hurt 0 Extras: (b 0, lb 9, w 5, nb 1) 15 Total: (All out in 22 overs) 170

Fall of Wickets: 18-1, 23-2, 24-3, 38-4, 67-5, 68-6, 84-7, 100-8, 170-9

Bowlers: Lungi Ngidi 5-1-26-2, Marco Jansen 5-0-35-2, Kagiso Rabada 6-1-38-1, Gerald Coetzee 4-0-35-3, Keshav Maharaj 2-0-27-1.