Kagiso Rabada sparked a dramatic England collapse as South Africa went in search of a consolation win in the third one-day international at Lord's on Monday. England slumped to 20 for six in five overs after losing the toss before recovering to 153 all out. Fast bowler Rabada took four wickets for 12 runs in his first three overs, before eventually finishing with four for 39 in nine. New ball colleague Wayne Parnell took three for 43 in eight.
Jonny Bairstow, recalled for this match, kept the Proteas at bay with a fine 51. His was one of just three double-figure scores by batsmen in the innings, with David Willey (26) and number nine Toby Roland-Jones, who made an impressive 37 not out on his ODI debut, helping the Yorkshireman compile stands of 62 and 52 respectively.
Nevertheless, there were still nearly 20 overs of the innings left when Keshav Maharaj dismissed last man Steven Finn. Left-arm spinner Maharaj took three for 25 in 6.1 overs. The consolations for England were that they were already an unassailable 2-0 up in this three-match series and that the collapse had not come during the Champions Trophy ODI tournament, which they launch across London with a match against Bangladesh at The Oval on Thursday.
An overcast morning and a green-tinged pitch meant it was no surprise when South Africa captain AB de Villiers opted to field first upon winning the toss. "The stats show there's something in it for the first 15 overs, and that's when we want to do some damage," said de Villiers after the coin fell his way for the third time this series.
As it turned out, the Proteas only needed a mere five overs to have England six down. The fifth ball of the match saw Rabada strike when Jason Roy edged a good length ball to Hashim Amla at first slip. Next over, Joe Root (two) was lbw to a swinging delivery from left-armer Parnbell England then lost their next two wickets on 15. Eoin Morgan, the England captain, fell for eight on his Middlesex home ground, was caught behind off Parnell for eight.
LATEST South Africa beat England by seven wickets to gain a consolation win in the third one-day international at Lord's on Monday. But England took the three-match series 2-1 despite being well-beaten in a match where only 60 overs out of a scheduled 100 were bowled.