England chased South Africa down brilliantly before Jos Buttler was felled by Lungi Ngidi’s slower ball and Will Jacks was left holding onto hope until eventually losing out as South Africa cruised home for victory.
Ryan Rickelton’s opening stand of 73 runs with Matthew Breetzke was followed by half-centuries from Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis as South Africa racked up 315-6 batting first. Kagiso Rabada then picked up three wickets to secure their victory 2-1 in the series.
This thrilling contest reflects the current England cricket team vs South Africa national cricket team standings, highlighting the edge South Africa holds in recent encounters.
| Date | Format | Venue | Result | Match Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2025 | T20I | Cardiff | South Africa won by 14 runs (DLS method) | South Africa set a revised target of 69 in 5 overs; England managed 54/5. (Reuters) |
| Sep 7, 2025 | ODI | Leeds | England won by 342 runs | England scored 414/5; South Africa all out for 72. (myKhel) |
| Sep 4, 2025 | ODI | Nottingham | South Africa won by 5 runs | South Africa chased down 330/8 with 5 wickets remaining. (myKhel) |
| Sep 2, 2025 | ODI | London | South Africa won by 7 wickets | South Africa successfully chased 137/3. (myKhel) |
| Aug 24, 2025 | ODI | Cardiff | No result due to weather | Match abandoned due to rain. (Cricbuzz) |
ODI standings
Jofra Archer has vaulted 16 places up the ODI rankings after his stellar performance for England against South Africa in Southampton’s final one-day international (ODI), taking four wickets and helping England secure a record victory to lead 2-0 in their series.
Additionally, Archer hit fifty while also becoming one of the all-time leading wicket-takers (standing second overall on this list).
Jacob Bethell scored his maiden hundred as England thrashed South Africa to win their three-match ODI series in Southampton, finishing off a complete thrashing.
Jofra Archer bowled superbly to restrict them to 72 in just 20.5 overs after they batted, with all six England bowlers sharing in six wickets between them while spinner Adil Rashid took three for himself – all within 24 overs after they were put into bat!
England now have a 30-3 advantage against South Africa after winning 30 of 71 ODIs against them; their last meeting, however, ended 1-1 at Headingley back in August 1998.
Furthermore, Kevin Pietersen returned as former England captain – set to feature again when South Africa plays England at Cardiff on Sunday!
South African skipper Temba Bavuma had to leave the field due to illness during the second ODI and was replaced by all-rounder Aiden Markram, leaving only 13 players available for South Africa to field. Kagiso Rabada suffered an ankle injury while Wiaan Mulder succumbed to illness reducing them further.
The visitors were initially slow in their chase of 331 runs and struggled to maintain momentum; however, an opening stand between Markram and Ryan Rickelton saw them draw level at 69 for 3, with Jos Buttler looking comfortable before miscuing an edge behind for 27 to Adil Rashid.
England tried hard, but were ultimately unable to overcome their deficit and avoid a whitewash with an unexpected defeat.
The series was marked by unevenness, with Headingley being decidedly one-sided while Lord’s produced more excitement than Headingley ever could; when teams start hitting like this though it can be tough for any opponent to stop them!
Test standings
England were reduced to mere spectators by an infallible South African side that ticks all of the right boxes. Two successive defeats have buried England at the bottom of ICC Test rankings and they face an uphill struggle to qualify for Japan 2025 World Cup co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe are guaranteed places while eight more spots will be decided through rankings.
England require new leadership, improved opening pair combinations and an approach for their white ball game that improves performance on pitch.
On Thursday at Lord’s, South Africa claimed an insurmountable 2-0 advantage in their three-match series against England with victory at Lord’s. England attempted to build on their earlier total but were bowled out for only 158. Kagiso Rabada (5/35), Ollie Pope (67) and Jofra Archer (3/51) all played crucial roles.
However, the tourists made a strong comeback, led by Zak Crawley’s stunning 69* from just 57 balls that guided his side to an unlikely win. However, Proteas struggled in their second innings with Dean Elgar top scoring with 36 and Sarel Erwee scoring 48 as their total collapsed to 212/6.
England may have failed to score runs in the final session, but Jos Buttler’s half century proved enough for them to seal an historic series win against old foes South Africa. Temba Bavuma heaped praise upon Keshav Maharaj and Matthew Breetzke, especially, and offered praise on behalf of their respective teams.
South Africa returned to second place in the ICC Test rankings following their victory, while England fell back into third position.
South Africa remains only eight rating points off Australia at the top, while Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka hold fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively; these sides still have an outside chance at qualifying for World Cup qualification but need to improve their current form before doing so.
England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick acknowledged their side must put more effort into climbing up the rankings than before and insists their attention must be refocused in order to progress higher up the rankings ladder.
Their assistant coach Marcus Trescothick recognized that his side must do not allow their rankings aspiring efforts will cause them harm by shifting focus between innings or by taking breaks during matches; insisting they need refocusing their attention in order to climb higher up the rankings ladder – or risk falling off altogether!
T20I standings
At Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Wednesday, England and South Africa will convene for a three-match T20I series starting Wednesday.
England are hoping to improve upon their poor record in this format after losing both one-day internationals 2-0; Harry Brook will lead in place of regular captain Temba Bavuma due to an injury affecting Kagiso Rabada who can no longer play.
Even in defeat, there were plenty of positives to take away from this match. Jos Buttler led with an unbeaten 81 from 52 balls but his innings was dwarfed by Jacob Bethell’s remarkable innings – he scored unbeaten 71 off 42 balls before this match! Bethell boosted England’s chances of victory but ultimately fell victim to some defensive mishits that let opponents back into the match.
After an underwhelming summer, England have altered their white-ball schedule to include two series against South Africa and Ireland, starting with four one-day internationals at home followed by three T20Is at Malahide before concluding the series at Malahide with another set of matches.
Both teams have enjoyed an outstanding start to the 2025 season, but South Africa have taken an edge against England in T20I head-to-heads and Sophia Gardens where they won last time out against England in 2016.
The hosts will be hoping for a turnaround after an underwhelming display in the opening ODI. Their hopes rest with Matthew Breetzke and Keshav Maharaj proving their abilities in T20 cricket and being integral figures for Proteas victory.
England’s batting will be key in their T20I series against South Africa and finding some form will be crucial if they want to succeed. Joe Root and Jos Buttler should look to improve their form in this shortened format format while other batsmen must step up and provide support.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 standings
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was a multi-format tournament featuring eight teams split across two groups, playing each other twice in round-robin play for points with the top four qualifying for semi-finals and then the winner progressing directly to the final.
Held between 19 February and 2 March 2025 with its inaugural match taking place on day 1, Pakistan hosted this multi-format competition which began its inaugural match up.
England are in peril of being eliminated from competition following their humiliating loss against Afghanistan, but hope can still be revived with a win against South Africa. While South Africa are second in Group B with two points from one match played so far while England have only amassed two from two.
Jos Buttler will hope to lead England back towards winning by becoming captain during 50-over format matches but will have to do it without Mark Wood who is injured and therefore replaced by Saqib Mahmood instead of replacing Jos Buttler as captain instead.
England are vulnerable against South Africa in ODI cricket, having won all three ODI encounters against them so far in 2016. A loss would almost certainly rule them out, while victory may propel them up into third place and qualify them for the last four. England have an excellent track record against them having won their previous three encounters against them in ODIs.
South Africa won their second One-Day International (ODI) against England to establish an unassailable 2-0 advantage in the series. Heinrich Klaasen took charge as stand-in captain, in Aiden Markram’s absence due to fielding duties, and led his side with ease throughout.
Marco Jansen provided some powerful bowling while Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen guided their chase expertly as South Africa recorded an easy seven-wicket win.
England managed to score 179 runs in their first innings, yet struggled with their batting, losing three of their top four batsmen early on during their chase for 72 in all; only Jacob Bethell and Joe Root managed half-centuries before all out was reached; Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse’s bowling performances proved crucial as they broke down South African’s batting line-up during Powerplay play.