Mark Butcher was unimpressed with England’s batting as they were bundled out for 131 in under 25 overs by South Africa in the first ODI.Following England’s embarrassing seven-wicket loss to South Africa in the first ODI, former English batter Mark Butcher slammed the Three Lions’ poor performance, saying that they do not have a “sort of an absorption button” in ODIs and played some “horrendous shots”.
England had one of the most ridiculous batting collapses in recent memory, going from 82/2 in 14 overs to being all out for 131 runs in just 24.3 overs at Leeds on Tuesday, with Jamie Smith’s half-century (54 in 48 balls, with 10 fours) saving the 2019 World Cup champions from pure embarrassment. Aiden Markram (86 in 55 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes) hammered England bowlers, including the debutant Sonny Baker (0/76 in seven overs), to absolute shreds as the Proteas marched to a seven-wicket win in just 20.5 overs.
England knocked over for 131 in first South Africa ODI
In the first of three ODIs on South Africa’s tour of England, the visitors elected to bowl first at Headingley, and saw their decision vindicated in some style. England openers Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett started briskly, and after 17.1 overs they were sitting relatively comfortably at 102-3. But once Smith flicked Wiaan Mulder to fine leg to depart for 54, England’s innings fell apart.
Mulder and Keshav Maharaj ran through the rest of the order to bowl the hosts out for a paltry 131, the last seven wickets going down for just 29. None of the bottom six made it to double figures, and next-highest scorer after Smith was Jos Buttler, with 15. South Africa knocked off the required runs in 20.5 overs, led by Aiden Markram’s 86 off 55.
England’s showing in the first half of the match (which did not last even 50 overs) once again prompted discussions over their approach to the format, particularly against the backdrop of their dire form in 50-over cricket. Since the end of the 2023 World Cup, they have won just seven of 21 ODIs – only UAE, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have recorded a win/loss ratio below England’s 0.5 in this time.
Worst win-loss Ratio in men’s ODIs (since November 20, 2023)
| Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | W/L Ratio |
| UAE | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0.230 |
| Zimbabwe | 17 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0.272 |
| Bangladesh | 17 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.416 |
| England | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 |
| Canada | 25 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0.533 |
Former England batter Mark Butcher has criticised the team’s batting approach following a dismal defeat in the first ODI against South Africa.
Mark Butcher brutally slams the England ODI Team for their humiliating loss vs SA in the 1st ODI
Following England’s dismal seven-wicket defeat to South Africa in the first ODI, former English batter Mark Butcher criticised the Three Lions’ performance, stating that they lack the ability to absorb pressure in ODIs and played some “horrendous shots”.
England experienced one of their most severe batting collapses in recent memory, plummeting from 82/2 in 14 overs to being all out for 131 runs in just 24.3 overs at Leeds on Tuesday. Jamie Smith’s half-century (54 in 48 balls, with 10 fours) somewhat rescued the 2019 World Cup champions from complete humiliation. Aiden Markram (86 in 55 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes) dismantled the England bowlers, including debutant Sonny Baker (0/76 in seven overs), as South Africa cruised to a seven-wicket victory in just 20.5 overs.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Mark Butcher said, as quoted by Wisden,
“The extraordinary thing, I think, for me, and the worrying thing for me about England’s batting in one-day international cricket … is that they do not have a sort of an absorption button.”
“You know what, opposition is going all right here at the moment. We got off to a bit of a flyer. The opposition have found something length-wise or whatever that is going to make it a little bit more tricky for us to carry on going at seven or maybe push the scoring rate that little bit higher,” he added.
Mark Butcher urged England batters to put up a “little partnership”, even if it means cutting down the run-rate to five and a half per over from six and play the game “the way it is meant to be played”.
“And then we have got enough players with enough skill and enough power to then make an absolute mess of any (bowling) line up when it comes to the last 15 to 20 overs,” he continued.
Mark Butcher pointed out that while the Proteas attack led by contributions from spinner Keshav Maharaj (4/22) and Wiaan Mulder (3/33) was good, it “was not that good”.
“You know what I mean? We weren’t playing against (Malcolm) Marshall, (Michael) Holding, (Joel) Garner, et cetera, et cetera, who blew us away by virtue of unplayable bowling. We played some horrendous shots. Got no sort of responsibility being held by any of those fantastic, fantastic players England have in that middle order, to say, you know what, we can absorb for a little while,” he added.
“Let us get ourselves back in and have a reassessment at some point and put a score on the board that our bowlers have a chance of bowling at. None of those things happen, you lose the game,” he concluded.
The second ODI will take place at Lord’s on Thursday, with England needing to win this three-match ODI series in order to make sure they do not slip down in the ODI Rankings. Currently placed at number eight, they risk falling down even further, which will put their automatic qualification for the 2027 Cricket World Cup in jeopardy. The top eight teams, excluding the hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe (placed 6th and 11th respectively) are guaranteed a spot or else Three Lions will have to play qualifiers.
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