England fall to heavy defeat as South Africa keep one-day series alive

Amla of South Africa celebrates reaching his century
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
9 February 2016

England's winning streak came to an abrupt halt with a seven-wicket defeat as Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla's centuries cancelled out Joe Root's, and reduced South Africa's series deficit to 2-1.

Root's 125 helped England post 318 for eight at Centurion, but openers De Kock (135) and Amla (127) put on 239 as South Africa won with almost four overs to spare.

Root's one-day international career-best spanned partnerships of 125 with Alex Hales (65) and 82 with Ben Stokes (53).

Yet England's hopes of clinching an unassailable 3-0 lead, and taking their winning run in this format to six successive matches, were blown away as De Kock blazed his way to a fourth hundred in his last six ODI innings alongside back-to-form Amla.

England have been earning rave reviews, with an evident revolution in their thinking and capabilities since last winter's World Cup embarrassment.

But after three successive ODI victories to complete series success against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, and then two impressive wins at the start of this campaign, they were trounced here.

After Eoin Morgan chose to bat first, Root and Hales had occasional fortune on their side following the early loss of Jason Roy.

The opener was beginning to find his range, but was wrong when he thought he could take two to Morne Morkel at third-man - and a perfect throw over the top of the stumps just beat his scamper back.

The second-wicket pair could not dominate initially and a clutch of mistimed shots and assorted edges all fell safe.

Root survived a half-chance on 44, De Kock just unable to collect a diving caught-behind away to his right as the ball died from an edge at David Wiese.

All was nonetheless going swimmingly, until Kagiso Rabada's rude interruption.

First, Hales mis-hooked to Morkel at long-leg; then in the same over, England's big hope Jos Buttler went first ball.

Buttler had made a century both times he was previously promoted to number four.

AB de Villiers had suggested he might attack him with a couple of slips on the Highveld, after Buttler finished Saturday's match at Port Elizabeth in the blink of an eye.

Double-bluff or not, there was no slip but a leg-gully lurking, and the wicketkeeper-batsman obligingly whipped a sharp catch straight to JP Duminy.

Morgan then struggled for eight runs from 24 balls, before chipping to midwicket.

But Root reached his hundred from 95 balls, punishing the often errant Imran Tahir in particular to finish with 10 fours and five sixes.

His luck ended with a collector's item run-out, Root's straight-drive ricocheting off the non-striker's stumps into the leg-side field and a mix-up with Stokes leaving him stranded.

But Stokes raced to his 50 in 33 balls - and despite a rush of late wickets as Kyle Abbott took two in two, there was still a big finish from England's tailenders.

South Africa needed to pull off a ground-record chase - and at no point did they seem likely to fall short.

De Kock had an escape on just nine, when Adil Rashid's throw from short fine-leg would have run him out with a direct hit after Amla sent him back.

Thereafter, with forecast storm clouds and lightning around, the openers' task was to get ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis rate and stay there.

They did both seamlessly, timing the ball better than England had and finding the boundary apparently at will - while Morgan's options came to nought, in search of a bowler to make a breakthrough.

De Kock's lion's share in his 96-ball hundred was 11 fours and three sixes.

He eventually poked Rashid to mid-off, as the opening partnership fell eight short of South Africa's all-time record.

The slightly more sedate Amla figured in that stand too - last year in the famous Wanderers run-fest against West Indies.

This time, he stayed put for his 22nd ODI hundred only to edge an attempted cut behind shortly before South Africa nonetheless eased home.

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