England lost to South Africa by 229 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, their heaviest defeat in ODI history, leaving their World Cup title defense in tatters.
After losing to Afghanistan in Delhi, England had to play South Africa, who also suffered a shocking defeat to the Netherlands. However, the match got off to a poor start for the defending champions as Reece Topley had to leave injured in the seventh over after electing to play. Adil Rashid was also unwell but bowled 10 overs as England had limited alternative bowling options in the 11th over.
Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone were all omitted from the starting XI, but Ben Stokes returned and David Willie and Gus Atkinson made their tournament debuts. With 15 overs remaining in South Africa’s innings, the Proteas’ score was 4 for his 233, and England’s hopes of posting a defensible total were not yet lost.
However, a 61-ball century by Heinrich Klaasen and maiden ODI 50 by Marco Jansen dashed these hopes. South Africa eventually scored 7 for England’s 399. This is the most runs England have conceded so far in his ODIs.
Facing a massive counter-attack, England lost their first three wickets for 24 runs. Stokes then got his fifth out and Kagiso caught and bowled by Rabada, extending the shot to eight for his 100.
Topley won’t bat, and it’s all over in Mumbai.
South Africa won by 229 runs, but things could have been even worse for England had Wood and Atkinson not scored 70 off 32 balls for the ninth wicket.
– Wisden (@WisdenCricket) 21. October 2023
Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson’s 70 runs off 32 balls was the only silver lining in their ninth wicket partnership, making it England’s record ninth wicket. . Topley did not come into bat and England’s innings ended when Atkinson was bowled by Keshav Maharaj.
England currently sit second in the table in net run rate with a difference of 0.002. She will almost certainly have to win all five of her remaining matches to advance to the semi-finals.
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