South Africa v England ODI: What we learned as Proteas bounce back with win

Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell ripped England apart as South Africa won the final game of the three-match ODI series.

Both Proteas pacemen reduced the hosts to 20-6 at Lord’s inside five overs, before Jonny Bairstow’s half-century helped England reach triple figures.

READ MORE: South Africa steamroller England at Lord’s

READ MORE: How England v South Africa at Lord’s unfolded

A sturdy opening partnership from Quinton de Kock 34 (39) and Hashim Amla 55 (54) helped South Africa to 95 without loss, before both departed in quick succession.

And although England added the scalp of Faf du Plessis, the total set in all likelihood was never going to be enough at the Home of Cricket, and AB de Villiers’ men won by 7 wickets.

Here’s what we learned from the final ODI before the Champions Trophy.

Bairstow stakes claim for inclusion

Brought into the England squad for the third ODI as part of a raft of changes, Bairstow’s day was made infinitely more difficult than it should have been.

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Already hoping to make a case for inclusion ahead of the Champions Trophy campaign which starts on Thursday, Bairstow found himself in within 40 minutes, as England slumped to 20-6.

It made his gritty 51 (67) even more assured in the circumstances, as he was one of the four changes made from the Ageas Bowl clash – and three of them combined for most of England’s tally.

England middle order loses discipline

Rabada wrecked havoc in the opening hour of the ODI at Lord’s, taking 4-39 in total and claiming the vital wickets of openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales, before seeing the end of Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid.

The paceman was back to his swashbuckling best in testing, overcast conditions, which is something we haven’t seen much of in the series.

But the wickets of Rashid and Buttler were perhaps avoidable – both were thick edges with the duo playing hard at deliveries they didn’t have to play at.

More importantly, it came at a time when the hosts were already four wickets down, by which point you’d expect middle order batsmen to play with some element of control.

These are the sorts of lessons England must learn quickly, though maybe – just maybe – having the monumental collapse happen before the Champions Trophy could benefit Trevor Bayliss’s men in the long run.

South Africa show why they’re number one

The visitors entered the series as the world’s best ODI team, which made it somewhat more difficult to swallow when they fell to a heavy defeat at Headingley and followed up with a two-run defeat at the Ageas Bowl.

It meant they entered the third ODI at Lord’s already having lost the series, but ahead of the Champions Trophy they really proved why they are top, and what they can do in June.

Rabada (4-39), Parnell (3-43) and Keshav Maharaj (3-25) all showed what they could do as the pacers dismantled England within six overs before all three helped finish the job to get England out on 153.

Somewhat predictably, de Kock and Amla put on a steady partnership as the Proteas calmly bounced back at Lord’s to avoid a series whitewash.

Rotation works wonders

England made four changes from the previous ODI outing with key men Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali – both who starred this series – being rested as well as Mark Wood and Chris Woakes.

Middlesex pair Steven Finn and Roland-Jones came in, as well as Bairstow and Willey as England sought to assess all their options ahead of Thursday’s opener against Bangladesh at the Oval.

In a catastrophic batting innings, as alluded to earlier, it will somehow provide England with a selection headache that the three batsman to record double-figure scores were all rotation options.

Bairstow’s half-century was supported by Willey’s 26 (39) and Toby Roland-Jones’ 37* (37) – and he managed to put on partnerships of 62 and 52 respectively with his team-mates as all three made a late push for inclusion on Thursday.

Roland-Jones makes his mark

The Middlesex bowler basically endured a baptism of fire, with England’s top and middle order knocked over relatively quickly.

He came in, built a solid innings alongside Bairstow, and remained not out on 37 come the (very premature) end of England’s innings.

To top it off, he managed to take the debut wicket of Hashim Amla on his home ground, with an assured economy rate of 4.85 – going for just 34 off seven overs.