Under-fire Jason Roy hits century but England collapse to defeat in first ODI against South Africa

Jason Roy preserved his international future on Friday night with an 11th day penalty, but England somehow warded off his dramatic return to form with a horrifying collapse to lose to South Africa by 27 runs.

All the talk this week was whether Roy, the man whose exhaustion sacking sealed World Cup victory four years ago, retained the power and skill to help England defend their title in India this October.

England captain Jos Buttler insisted he did, throwing his weight behind Roy’s continued presence at the top of the order and vindicated himself when a player who had played 14 caps to 50 turned things around in spectacular style. to hit 113 in 91 deliveries.

England poorly collapsed from 146-0 to 271 as South Africa won the first ODI by 27 runs

As a result, England should have been in cruise control, but the lack of accountability that swept through the middle order once Dawid Malan started for 59 drastically altered the look of the game.

The body language of both teams as England moved to 146 without losing in the 20 over suggested the result was inevitable.

But the tourists were fooled by the short ball tactics of fast bowlers Anrich Nortje, Sisanda Magala and Kagiso Rabada on a surface that offered pronounced rebounding and England’s sorry fate was sealed with 34 unused deliveries as last man Olly Stone he pushed a catch back to left. arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

Jos Buttler’s side had lost all 10 wickets for 125, gifting a South African side languishing in 11th place in one-day cricket Super League a crucial 10 points in their World Cup qualification bid.

Signs of Roy’s return to fluency had been evident in the six-hit practice alongside ODI debutant Harry Brook 24 hours earlier and he transferred him to the middle, clearing the ropes four times at Mangaung Oval to divert attention, at least temporarily. , from a punishing return from a two-year injury absence for Jofra Archer, who leaked 81 runs from his 10 overs, the worst figures of his England career.

Under fire England opener Jason Roy hit an impressive 113 off 91 balls, hitting 11 fours and 4 sixes.

‘Those were phenomenal tackles full of personality and grit, some fantastic shots. So I’m delighted to see him back in his prime, he’s worked so hard to get there and he’s been through a tough time,” Buttler said, of a player whose poor form saw him lose his Twenty20 spot six months ago.

“Having the strength of character to go out there and play the way he did and really assert himself was fantastic to see.”

The emotional response to reaching a hundred with a fiercely drawn four from Nortje was a whirlwind of top cuts with his bat. There was also a hug from Buttler.

Roy (L) shared an opening partnership of 146 with Dawid Malan (R) in Bloemfontein on Friday

Unfortunately, a short arm jab did it shortly after when he carried in a Kagiso Rabada delivery to the deep square leg. At the time, England were down four: Brook scoring the first ODI appearance for him with a duck and Ben Duckett making singles figures in his first outing for six years.

By the time Moeen Ali gave away a catch to face long-range man of the match Magala, England had lost half their team and were still 77 runs from their target.

Panic set in, Buttler flirted off the stump a dozen runs later and with his departure gone England’s hopes.

Sam Curran, whose exceptional display of three wickets with the ball kept South Africa under 300, and fellow left-hander David Willey combined to take Magala for 15 in one over, but both departed during a succession of thrashing and fluttering in front of to sustained hostility from home. Buttler later claimed that his side had been a “bit tentative”.

Sam Curran (above) was the England bowlers’ choice with figures of 3-35 in his nine overs.

Earlier, the entry of Archer, England’s own 90mph player, into the attack for the second over was met with loud cheers from the traveling support.

However, the fast bowler from Sussex found things difficult in his first international appearance since tour of India in March 2021, having prepared for it with just five SA20 caps.

Having filtered out 41 runs in his opening spell of five more with the new ball, he went to less than a run a ball in his second, but his rust was exposed in a nightmare in the 47th of the inning that cost 20, including a free hit of six. by centurion Rassie van der Dussen and another no-ball: a full waist-high toss, carved on the string by David Miller.

South Africa made it 298-7 in 50 overs with Rassie van der Dussen leading scorer with 111

Buttler asked for perspective, however, when he said: ‘From my point of view, it’s buying him a little bit of time. It’s a big, big step forward to come and bowl 10 overs in international cricket, which adds a higher level of intensity again. It’s going to get better and better the more games I play.’

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma admitted his team had been studying England’s pioneering methods of scoring points, but that it was something of the old-school Van der Dussen, weaving the ball into the gaps to register a quarter hundred and lead its international one-day average to the highest level. 70, that got them to what frustratingly turned out to be a defensible total.

Jofra Archer returned to action for England during the first ODI against South Africa on Friday