Van der Dussen creams century as South Africa sink England in Stokes’ farewell

It was a disappointing swansong for Ben Stokes in the 50-over format as the World Cup-winning all-rounder bid goodbye to ODI cricket with a chastening defeat at the hands of South Africa at Chester-le-street. An incredible Rassie van der Dussen ton helped the Proteas post 333 on the board before Anrich Nortje’s four-fer crippled the hosts for 271 to give South Africa an emphatic 62-run victory and 1-0 lead in the ODI series.

Having won the toss and opted to bat first in the sweltering heat of the UK summer, South Africa made the English bowlers toil in the extreme conditions as they struck their highest ODI total in England despite not hitting a single six. Although Sam Curran dismissed Quinton de Kock early in the powerplay, Janeman Malan added 109 for the second wicket alongside Rassie van der Dussen to lay the platform for the innings.

After Malan holed out in the deep against Moeen Ali on 57, Aiden Markram continued the opener’s momentum, adding another 151 runs with van der Dussen in excellent batting conditions. While Markram peppered the English spinners to the boundary, van der Dussen ran the singles and found the gaps expertly as he brought up his third ODI century in 90 deliveries.

Markram picked up the pace and pummelled Ben Stokes for three boundaries after reaching his 50, but Liam Livingstone eventually produced the breakthrough for the hosts, removing both set batters in the 46th over to give England some respite. However, South Africa still managed to add 36 runs in the final 24 balls as David Miller’s quickfire cameo at the death took the tourists to a commanding total of 333.

In response, England took a more cautious approach to the run chase with just 47 runs coming in the opening ten overs. Bairstow was dropped by David Miller on the final delivery of the powerplay, and the opener capitalized on that good fortune as he brought up his 50 and put on a century stand with Jason Roy, their 14th in ODI cricket.

However, with the pitch slowing down as the game progressed due to the baking sun, the spinners were brought into the contest in the second innings. The skipper Keshav Maharaj broke the 102-run stand when Roy chipped the left-armer to David Miller at long-on before part-timer Aiden Markram landed two timely blows.

Bairstow was trapped on the crease lbw by the off-spinner, and after scoring five singles, Ben Stokes suffered the same fate whilst playing a reverse sweep in his final innings in ODI cricket. Tabraiz Shamsi took an excellent return catch to remove the big fish Jos Buttler while Liam Livingstone inside-edged onto his stumps for ten. Joe Root spurred England forward with a masterful 86 of 77 balls, but after receiving no support from the middle-order, the number three was castled by Anrich Nortje, who picked up the final four wickets to bowl England out for 271 and seal an emphatic victory for the tourists.