South Africa have completed a series victory over World Champions England with a game to spare after captain Temba Bavuma struck an excellent century to help his side secure a crucial five-wicket win in their bid to secure qualification for this year's 50-over World Cup.
The Proteas are at risk of having to qualify for the World Cup via a pre-qualifying tournament later this year after they forfeited three ODIs against Australia. They began this series needing to win every game, along with their final two ODIs against the Netherlands, to secure a World Cup spot and they have taken two crucial steps towards that goal by beating England in back-to-back games in Bloemfontein.
Bavuma was outstanding as he struck his third ODI hundred, an innings which will certainly help to quell discussion over his future as captain. Speaking before the series, Bavuma vowed his side would "be a lot more brave and always look to take the option that puts either the batter or the bowler under pressure".
And the 32-year-old embodied that new approach as he got his side off to a flier in their pursuit of England's 342-7, before David Miller saw them over the line with a brilliant unbeaten 58. Having been put into bat first, England lost their top three cheaply as South Africa's quicks impressed with the new ball.
However, Harry Brook and Jos Buttler showed their class to guide England to what looked an impressive total, with important lower-order contributions from Moeen Ali and Sam Curran. Brook initially led the way with an impressive 75-ball 80, while Buttler fell just six runs short of an 11th ODI hundred as he smashed an excellent unbeaten 94 off 82 balls.
The pair shared a crucial 73-run partnership after coming together in the 17th over and, once Brook holed out off Aiden Markram, Buttler and Moeen added a further 106 for the fifth wicket. Moeen's half-century was his first in ODIs in more than five years, while Curran smashed a quick-fire 28 off 17 at the death.
However, South Africa almost always looked in control of their chase, with Bavuma leading the way. The skipper struck an excellent 109, sharing a 77-run partnership with Quinton De Kock and adding 97 runs with Rassie Van der Dussen, leaving his side in a strong position when he departed in the 28th over after scooping a delivery from Curran onto his own stumps.
After Van der Dussen fell to Adil Rashid for 38 and Olly Stone removed Heinrich Klaasen for 27, Markram and Miller took South Africa within touching distance of victory with a 49-run partnership. Rashid did offer England some faint hope when he bowled Markram for 49 with a googly, but it was too little too late for the visitors as Miller and Marco Jansen guided South Africa home with five balls to spare.
Duckett's "reckless" dismissal
With two spots up for grabs in the middle order ahead of the World Cup following the retirements of Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes, although Stokes may yet reverse his decision, Duckett has been given an opportunity to impress ahead of the tournament.
And after only managing three runs in the first ODI, Duckett had the chance to go big after he came out to bat during the sixth over and looked to steady the ship alongside Brook after both openers fell cheaply.
After batting sensibly following some excellent new ball bowling from South Africa's seamers and sharing a 49-run partnership with Brook, Duckett attempted to take the attack to spinner Maharaj and promptly holed out to the second ball he faced with England legend Kevin Pietersen branding his dismissal "reckless" on commentary.
"I've got to agree with you," added South Africa legend Shaun Pollock. "I do not see the point in what has just unfolded here. He's taken his time, he's faced 32 deliveries and got himself to 20 and he hasn't even had a look. That is the first delivery he's faced from Keshav Maharaj and he's just trying to take him on but he's nowhere near the length."
Brook lays down World Cup marker
In direct contrast to Duckett, Brook scored an impressive 80 in just his second ODI having been out for a duck on his debut on Friday. Brook enjoyed a brilliant 2022, starting his Test career with three consecutive hundreds against Pakistan and helping England win the T20 World Cup.
And the 23-year-old has yet more silverware in his sights this year, with this knock laying down a real marker ahead of the 50-over World Cup. Although he fell short of reaching three figures, Brook impressed as he first steadied the ship alongside Duckett, before accelerating alongside Buttler.
"I think the measure of Brook's talent in the short amount of time that we've seen him in international cricket is that this is his second ODI only, and he feels like a certainty for that World Cup squad to me already," was the verdict of former England captain Michael Atherton.
Moeen's timely reminder
The all-rounder has played a crucial part in England's white-ball revolution in recent years and remains a trusted lieutenant of Buttler as his vice-captain. However, Moeen's impact with both bat and ball in ODI cricket has waned in recent years and he faces more competition from the likes of Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks, who are also destructive batters capable of bowling spin.
Moeen, though, provided a timely reminder of his quality with the bat as he struck 51 off 45 balls in this ODI. Remarkably, it is Moeen's first score of 50+ since September 2017 when he scored a sparkling century against West Indies the same day Ben Stokes was infamously arrested in Bristol.
Before this innings, Moeen averaged just 21.14 with the bat while striking at a lacklustre 76.48 since England's 2019 World Cup win. However, this was an important knock and he will undoubtedly have a key role to play in their World Cup defence.
Bavuma leads from the front
Having endured a disappointing T20 World Cup, been snubbed by all six teams in the new SA20 league and not passed 40 in over a year in ODI cricket, Bavuma entered this series under pressure as South Africa's white-ball captain.
"If the team wants to go in a different direction with a different leader, I am happy to step away," Bavuma said before the series began. "Ultimately it's up to the coach."
And with new white-ball coach Rob Walter not due to take charge until next month, Bavuma made an emphatic statement by following up a promising 36 in the first ODI with an excellent 109 to set up his side's victory.
England's disappointing ODI form
Having now lost this series with a game to spare, England have failed to win any of their last five ODIs which is their worst run since before the 2015 World Cup horror show that sparked their white-ball revolution.
While England have certainly not sunk anywhere near the depths of that campaign, it is a worrying trend given they have only won two of their last ten ODIs since Buttler replaced Morgan as full-time captain.
"It is a concern, but they have gone on to win a T20 World Cup so the talent is there and the schedule has worked against them, with three ODIs against Australia straight after the T20 World Cup," former England captain Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports.
"There are a lot of good players to come in - Bairstow, Root, maybe Hales - and Archer and Topley are feeling their way back in. They want to be right in time for the World Cup, like golfers do in majors, but these have been two drubbings against South Africa."
