South Africa's Temba Bavuma on their must-win Cricket World Cup clash with England
England suffered another humiliating 229-run defeat against South Africa at Mumbai, which will be hard to come back from and keep any chances of Cricket World Cup semi-final qualification alive.
In Delhi, Jos Buttler’s side were left stunned and contemplating the nature of their 69-run defeat to Afghanistan, who only recently acquired full-ICC member status, and they fell apart again against the Proteas.
The cracks that had been evident in their first two matches became gaping holes, Henrich Klaasen smashed 109 from 67 to take South Africa to just short of 399, as England struggled to take wickets but it was the batting where the match became a disaster.
South Africa ripped through the top order, and other than a prolific record-breaking partnership for the ninth wicket between Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood, the next-highest score was Harry Brook’s 17.
It was England’s heaviest defeat in ODI cricket. It is worth remembering that England lost three matches and still qualified for the semi-finals when they went on to win the competition back in 2019, but with India and Australia still to play, it is looking like a difficult task.
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