Cricket World Cup results: South Africa demolish England, leave title defence in tatters
Defending champions England are on the verge of being ruled out of the World Cup semi-finals just halfway through the group stage – and their latest loss was an absolute disaster.
Heinrich Klaasen made a brilliant World Cup century as South Africa thrashed England by a mammoth 229 runs in Mumbai on Saturday to leave the champions’ title defence hanging by a thread as they suffered a record defeat in a one-day international.
Klaasen made 109, despite being repeatedly troubled by cramp, as South Africa, sent into bat, posted a colossal 7-399 – the highest total conceded by England at this level.
England then collapsed to 6-68 and were 9-170, with 28 overs left, when the match ended, with last man Reece Topley unable to bat following a potentially tournament-ending hand injury suffered while bowling.
Klaasen received brilliant support from Marco Jansen in a sixth-wicket stand of 151 in just 77 balls.
Jansen finished on 75 not out -- his maiden ODI fifty -- having struck three fours and six sixes.
He then followed up with two early wickets in his more familiar role of left-arm quick.
“That hundred is up there with my best ever,” said player-of-the-match Klaasen at the presentation ceremony.
“The conditions were brutal. It’s proper heat and saps the energy out of you.”
Not even Ben Stokes, playing his first game of the tournament, could rescue England this time, with the talisman caught and bowled by Kagiso Rabada for just five.
England’s third defeat in four games, including a shock loss to Afghanistan last time out, left them with a mountain to climb to reach the semi-finals, with skipper Jos Buttler admitting: “It leaves us with no room for error.”
“We probably have to win every other game we play from here on, and that’s the situation we’re in.”
Earlier, the big-hitting Klaasen struck a six and a four off successive deliveries from fast bowler Mark Wood to complete a 61-ball hundred.
He was eventually out when bowled by Gus Atkinson in the last over, having struck 12 fours and four sixes in total.
A resounding victory was just what South Africa needed after their stunning loss to the Netherlands, a non-Test nation.
“The defeat to the Netherlands was a tough loss but one defeat does not make a bad team,” said Klaasen.
“This was a fantastic performance.”
The Proteas ran riot as they scored 143 off the last 10 overs after losing the toss.
Topley took three wickets but conceded 88 runs in 8.5 overs, with express quick Wood going for 76 in a wicketless seven overs.
“We came here with high hopes, we wanted to play our best cricket but we were well short of that and were really well beaten in the end,” said Buttler Reeza Hendricks, who only received a late call-up after Proteas captain Temba Bavuma was ruled out through illness, made 85 and shared a stand of 121 with Rassie van der Dussen (60) after fellow opener Quinton de Kock fell to the second ball.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid removed both Van der Dussen and Hendricks, but he could only watch as Jansen smashed two successive sixes off Topley full-tosses.
England lost Jonny Bairstow early in their chase before Jansen’s day out continued when he dismissed Joe Root and Dawid Malan to leave England 3-24.
After Stokes’s exit, Gerald Coetzee took two wickets in three balls, Buttler edging to opposing wicketkeeper De Kock and Harry Brook lbw for 17.
Tailenders Atkinson (35) and Wood (43 not out) delayed the inevitable before the former was bowled by spinner Keshav Maharaj off the last ball of the 22nd over.
The disastrous result was compounded by the likely loss of key paceman Reece Topley to a finger injury that could end his tournament.
“We’re still waiting to confirm about Reece’s finger, it looks like it’s a crack, that’s an early diagnosis,” coach Matthew Mott told Sky Sports.
“It’s highly likely there’s a fracture there, which would make it difficult for him to keep playing.”
Topley, who has taken eight wickets in three games, was struck on the index finger of his bowling hand when attempting to block a drive in his follow through.
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