Top 3 talking points from England vs South Africa match in the 2023 ODI World Cup

The caravan of the ODI World Cup 2023 reached Mumbai for the first time and the South Africans put up a fantastic show for the Mumbaikars. They absolutely decimated the defending champions in a one-sided affair at the Wankhede. After being put to bat by the English skipper, Jos Buttler, South Africa posted a mammoth target of 400 on the board. In reply, England was completely clueless and the Proteas’ pace battery demolished the English batting lineup.

Let’s take a look at the top 3 points from the encounter between South Africa and England:

3. South Africa’s scintillating middle order

The South Africans displayed in this contest that their middle order is arguably the most impactful one in this tournament. The intimidating names keep coming one after the other and all of them bat with a positive outlook. Their strike rate is always on the higher side providing the Proteas a great launch pad. After a shock loss against Afghanistan, they made a great comeback, once again asserting that they are one of the main contenders to lift this World Cup.

Against England, stand-in skipper Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klassen, and Marco Jansen exploited the batting-friendly conditions at the Wankhede. The all-rounder Jansen assisted Heinrich Klassen in the later phase of the innings as they took the bruised English bowling attack by surprise. If this middle order keeps clicking the way they are then South Africa would continue to dominate their opponents.

2. Panic in the English setup

After a confidence-shattering loss to Afghanistan, the English team seems to have stuck in a whirlwind. Against South Africa, the defending champions made three changes in their starting lineup as they brought in Ben Stokes, David Willey, and Gus Atkinson. Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, and Sam Curran had to sit out to make way for the changes. But to the disappointment of England, none of these changes brought rewards for them. 

Another cause of panic in the English camp is the number of injuries in the squad. Bowling in hot & humid conditions in Mumbai proved to be disastrous for England. David Willey got serious cramps and is doubtful to play in Bengaluru. But the biggest setback was the injury to Reece Topley. Topley was the most successful bowler for England against South Africa on a day when every bowler was taken to the cleaners. Topley is likely to be ruled out of the World Cup and that would make the English campaign even tougher.

1. The Proteas Pace battery

One of the biggest talking points from this match would be the lethal bowling attack of South Africa. This bowling lineup is not only dangerous but has a lot of variety as well. Against England, they operated at full throttle and blew England out of the contest right from the word go. 

Rabada, Ngidi, Coetzee, and Jansen have different skill sets which makes this squad very formidable. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi have always been the prominent members of this pace battery but the addition of Coetzee and the emergence of Jansen has made this unit enormously impactful. The English batting unit coming into this World Cup was arguably the most dangerous batting unit but the way these South Africans made them surrender in front of them, has issued a statement to every other team in this tournament.