England vs South Africa | South Africa tour of England, 2025 | 1st ODI

Right then, that is it from this contest and South Africa have the crucial 1-0 lead in this three-game ODI series. However, the Proteas already had a couple of injury concerns before the first match and it seems like Tony de Zorzi will be added to that injury list, further depleting the squad. The next game will be played on Thursday, 4th September at Lord's and will begin at 12 pm GMT. However, you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up as well. For now, you can switch tabs and join our coverage of the UAE Tri-Series, where Afghanistan and Pakistan are battling it out in Match 4 of the series. Cheers!

South Africa skipper, Temba Bavuma, says it is important to start the series well and carry on the momentum from the series against Australia. Tells that they were clinical with the ball despite being put under pressure initially in the first innings. With the bat, they could have been more clinical but were happy with how they took on England's bowlers inside the Powerplay. Mentions it is tough to defend on this ground, with the dimensions and the conditions. Reckons Lord's might be different but they'll assess the conditions, keep the standard high and step up again.

Harry Brook, the captain of England, is down for a chat. Brook backs up this team's performance and sums up this as one bad day. He accepts that they were not up to the mark and also gives full credit to the South African side for outplaying them. Also backs up the debutant, Sonny Baker and says that he would bounce back in the upcoming matches. Finishes off by saying that the toss wouldn't have mattered much to them and they would have tried to replicate the same, which the Proteas did in the first innings with the ball. And looks to bounce back in the coming matches and play some good brand of cricket in front of the home crowd.

Keshav Maharaj is the Player of the Match for his fine four-wicket haul. Maharaj says it was a good wicket for the spinners and there was some nibble in the deck as well and fortunately, their bowlers utilized it. He says that England play really well under these conditions. Shares he made minor changes to his game and is happy to see the dividends pay off. Mentions they are still in transition and are happy to see players put their hands up and help the team.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Temba Bavuma won the toss and put England into bat. Most of the home side's players were coming up long campaigns in The Hundred, which only finished a couple of days back but Jamie Smith looked in sublime touch early on. South Africa managed to make inroads in the first 10 overs but what followed wasn't expected one bit. When Harry Brook fell, the score read 82/3 but soon enough, the hosts were bundled out for 131, a monumental collapse. Keshav Maharaj was one of the chief architects of that collapse as he picked up 4 wickets but it was Wiaan Mulder who really broke the back of the English middle order with his three-wicket haul.

England barely had any runs to defend but the way Sonny Baker started made it all more difficult. Jofra Archer bowled a stellar opening spell from one end, but. Baker conceded 56 runs in his first 4 overs. Archer couldn't pick up a wicket and the rest of the bowlers seemed to be finding it hard to create any wicket-taking opportunities, until Adil Rashid managed to get rid of Aiden Markram, thanks to a stunning catch from Jamie Smith. That catch seemed to be the highlight of England's effort in the field but Rashid picked up a couple of more wickets in successive deliveries to give the crowd something to cheer for.

Having set the game up in the first innings with the ball, South Africa needed only 132 runs for the win. Aiden Markram set the tone by racking up 14 runs in the first over and he followed it up throughout the first Powerplay. Ryan Rickelton looked sluggish at the other end and even the shots that he timed weren't finding the gaps but he didn't look like getting out either. The duo put on 121 runs before finally Markram fell on 86, frustrated with himself as he would have loved to be there when the winning runs were hit. Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs also fell in quick succession before Dewald Brevis came in and smoked one out of the park to end the game.

A rollicking victory for South Africa and 2025 is turning out to be a wonderful year for the Proteas. First, a WTC Final win against the Aussies, then an ODI series win against Australia in Australia and now they are 1-0 up against England in England as well. They have outclassed England in this first ODI at Headingley and get the early advantage in the three-match series.

Dewald Brevis comes in to face the hat-trick ball. With the scores level, expect Brevis to not care for the hat-trick ball and just go for the big hit.

Tristan Stubbs is in at number 4 for South Africa.