Archer help England snap out of losing streak

ENG 346/7 (50)

RSA 287 (43.1)

England won by 59 runs

Jofra Archer's maiden ODI five-for crowned his comeback and ensured England would leave with more than a consolation victory after Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan's perfectly crafted centuries prevented what had looked like a certain series sweep to South Africa.

The tourists depart in the knowledge that Archer is back in business after his 6 for 40 in just his second international match after spending the best part of two years out of the game injured. He sealed a 59-run victory despite the best efforts of Heinrich Klaasen and Wayne Parnell, who put on 85 runs off just 54 balls for the seventh wicket, which poses implications for South Africa's hopes of qualifying directly for this year's World Cup. They must now beat Netherlands 2-0 in their upcoming series and hope New Zealand defeat Sri Lanka at least once in their three-match series to secure an automatic berth in India.

Half-centuries from Klaasen and Reeza Hendricks and starts by Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma and Parnell kept South Africa in touch but breaking partnerships was key for England and Archer was the chief destroyer.

The hosts were on course for a 3-0 series result when England slumped to 14 for 3 thanks to Lungi Ngidi's three wickets for seven runs in the space of 11 balls. But Buttler and Malan staged a fourth-wicket stand worth 232 runs to take their side to 346 for 7.

Temba Bavuma: Very happy, we came in with a lot of pressure. The series win as well, England is a top side. There is a lot of learnings and confidence to take from this series. Guys going out and expressing themselves, guys going out and challenging themselves in different situations, almost the way England go about it. There are a lot of positives to take and a lot of boxes were ticked. Also, the bowlers bowling aggressively and a lot of positives to take from this series. The guys will go back and play the local T20. We really will like it to become a part of our culture. Test cricket as well when comes to West Indies, it is not too far away. There won’t be much disruption and time away from the game is not a bad thing. Winning the series is the main thing. Happy about my performance and about the team. I was playing nicely, finding the gaps, I will want that to continue. I think I am a happy captain standing here at the moment.

Jos Buttler | Player of the Match | Player of the Series: Nice to finish with a win today, we've played some brilliant cricket apart from the last 10-15 overs of the chase in the first game. Both teams wanted to bowl first, they struck early, then to build a partnership, go on to make 346 after being 20 for 3 was fantastic. We thought we'll look to build a partnership, things will get easier at some point, the boundaries weren't big and we knew with the depth we had, the power-hitters, we could make it up later. We haven't had some players out here, Jofra was outstanding, both with the new ball and in the back end, the wicket of Klaasen was the game breaker. A lot of guys have played plenty of cricket and are leaders themselves, we have a strong squad, we have a good bond and are building towards India later this year for the World Cup. We've guys heading off to New Zealand for the Test series, a few off to Dubai for the completion of #ILT20 and a few of them for the #SA20. We look forward to getting back as a group for the Bangladesh series.