Magala, Nortje shine as Proteas hit back to stun England in ODI opener

The burly Sisanda Magala, pounding in and hitting the deck hard, may be the antithesis of Michael Holding’s lithe and athletic, gliding bowling style, but he was similarly inspirational on Friday night as his three wickets started a remarkable comeback by the Proteas that saw them beat England by 27 runs in the first ODI in Bloemfontein.

Chasing 299 for victory, England were holding all the cards as openers Jason Roy and Dawid Malan put on 146 for the first wicket in less than 20 overs. Roy went on to score what should surely have been a matchwinning 113 off 91 balls, his dismissal leaving England on 196/4 in the 30^th over.

With captain Jos Buttler seemingly steering the visitors home with 36 off 42 balls, it still seemed that a brave Proteas effort would not be enough to stop England from taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

But Magala kept chipping away, removing Malan for 59 off 55 and then trapping Harry Brook lbw for a duck in his next over. Malan had been bounced out and the dangerous Moeen Ali (11) then also fell to the Magala short ball as he finished with a career-best 3/46.

Read more: Magala back in Proteas ODI squad for England series

Anrich Nortje then took over and produced an heroic spell of 4/13 in his four overs as he ripped through the lower-order with superb fast bowling that reduced England to 267/9. Kagiso Rabada had also been excellent with 2/46 in his 10 overs.

Captain Temba Bavuma then bravely turned to spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who had endured a wretched night up till then, conceding 55 runs in his five overs, to bowl to the last pair.

Shamsi delivered with his second ball as Olly Stone’s leading edge provided a return catch which the bowler juggled but then held on to, sparking wild celebrations.

Mostly behind

It was a game the Proteas had mostly been behind in, even their total of 298/7 seeming a few under-par.

They got that far thanks mostly to Rassie van der Dussen’s typically well-constructed century while the rest of the batting line-up tended to get in, get set and then get out. Van der Dussen farmed the strike expertly and accumulated and accelerated in composed fashion.

Van der Dussen provided a superb platform as he compiled 111 off 117 balls coming in at No.3, but David Miller was the only one to stay with Van der Dussen for an extended period of time, as they added 110 for the fifth wicket off 101 deliveries. But even Miller was not at his most fluent, scoring his 53 off 56 balls.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first, South Africa prospered at first as Quinton de Kock (37 off 41) and Bavuma (36 off 28) put on 61 for the first wicket in just 52 deliveries. England managed to pick up regular wickets in the next hour, though, with De Kock, Bavuma and Aiden Markram (13) all falling to soft dismissals as South Africa slipped to 116/3.

Heinrich Klaasen (30 off 32) then added 55 off 58 balls with Van der Dussen, before trying to sweep a delivery from leg-spinner Adil Rashid that was too full and being trapped lbw.

Read more: Proteas out to avoid World Cup qualification embarrassment