Harry Brook’s England side lost its inaugural T20 International at Sofia Gardens in Cardiff by 14 runs, but must win its next match against South Africa at Old Trafford in Manchester on Friday to keep its chances alive in the england cricket team vs south africa national cricket team standings.
Jos Buttler did an admirable job guiding his chase when he was brought down by a peach from Lungi Ngidi’s bowler Lungi Ngidi. Will Jacks and Jofra Archer attempted to keep their hosts competitive but ultimately it wasn’t possible.
| # | Date | Format | Winner | Venue | Margin / Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 Sep 2025 | T20I | England | Old Trafford | England won by 146 runs (AiScore) |
| 2 | 11 Sep 2025 | T20I | South Africa | (in England) | South Africa won by 14 runs (DLS) (Reuters) |
| 3 | 07 Sep 2025 | ODI | England | Southampton | England won by 342 runs (myKhel) |
| 4 | 04 Sep 2025 | ODI | South Africa | (in England) | South Africa won by 5 runs (myKhel) |
| 5 | 02 Sep 2025 | ODI | South Africa | (in England) | South Africa won by 7 wickets (myKhel) |
England
England will look to bounce back after suffering their first T20I loss to South Africa at Old Trafford. England must make the most of their limited-overs opportunities and their batsmen must produce in order to avoid another series defeat against Proteas.
England were defeated by South Africa in their initial match due to a rain-curtailed encounter, but will hope to make amends in their second encounter. South Africa will benefit from Heinrich Klaasen and Rassie van der Dussen’s return, while Jos Buttler hopes his last captaincy can go out with a bang by winning!
South Africa and England have met five times recently in ODI matches; of these games three have gone to South Africa while one ended without any resolution; two games were abandoned altogether. Here are the key moments from recent history between them.
England remains hopeful of reaching the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy despite dropping their opening two matches, as a victory will guarantee top spot in Group B and secure qualification to the quarter-finals. They face South Africa for their final group match this Saturday; should they come out victorious, this could ensure they finish top.
South Africa boasts an excellent record against England in ODIs, having won six out of the eleven meetings between these sides. Unfortunately, in March 2017’s match at The Oval, South Africa fell well short of their potential when bowled out for just 233 in their innings – something which happened twice during this encounter!
As both teams attempt to qualify for the final of ICC Champions Trophy, this game will be an essential test. South Africa needs to beat England while also hoping Afghanistan does not defeat them and earn themselves a semi-final spot. To increase their chances of victory and ensure they advance further into tournament, Proteas need to improve both batting and fielding performances in Karachi.
Both teams have faced off against one another 70 times, with South Africa holding an edge on head-to-head matchups at 34-30. Furthermore, five ODIs ended without result between them.
South Africa
South Africa made an emphatic statement against England as they took a major step toward retaining their title, winning by an overwhelming margin in the opening game between these teams. South African bowling excelled while Aiden Markram scored an outstanding century to put South Africa in the driver’s seat. They lost some early wickets but Heinrich Klaasen and Rassie van der Dussen batted beautifully to keep up the momentum – ultimately becoming unbeaten so far in this tournament and heading towards semi-finals without defeat.
Ben Duckett and Joe Root, in fine form themselves, anchored the innings with an outstanding partnership of 77 runs until all four had fallen to end the innings and effectively end their team’s chances.
South Africa began their attack with bowling, with Nandre Burger taking an early wicket with his first delivery. They kept things tight through the middle overs before beginning to chip away at England batting. Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj all bowled exceptionally to pick up several wickets; Lungi Ngidi added to England’s woes by making an athletic catch off Jamie Overton’s leg stump – adding further misery for England!
Responding, England’s batting struggled to get going. Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell were dismissed cheaply while Jos Buttler attempted to keep pace with the required run rate but fell short, while Sam Curran’s dismal form continued as he failed to score fifty.
South Africa made quick work of their victory, comfortably leading Group B and making their way through to the semi-finals with no trouble at all. Jos Buttler’s reign as England white-ball captain ended in defeat; however, this should not dampen spirits too greatly; they will learn much from this tournament and can use that experience going forward; they play Bangladesh on Saturday – live streamed via Sonyliv and FanCode apps with updates available via Twitter @sonyliv_uk for latest updates!
ODIs
South Africa and England have held 71 One-Day Internationals so far; England have won 30 games while South Africa have taken 34. Most recently, South Africa prevailed two out of four matches against England with Jofra Archer making history with an exceptional bowling performance that propelled him 16 places into the top three world rankings!
In 1907, South African team toured England for the inaugural time since Test-playing had begun. Led by Herbie Taylor – widely considered one of the finest sides ever seen before then – their tour proved futile when faced with an English team led by Clem Hill and Victor Trumper; who ultimately defeated them 4-1 over five matches.
Taylor made history against England with an astonishing innings score of 176 in one match; this record-setting innings represented South African cricket’s highest ever against them at that time despite having played for England himself previously. Overall though, Taylor’s tour proved unsuccessful.
By the time South Africa visited England again in 1913-14, they were no longer considered one of the premier teams of their era. Sherwell, Schwarz and Vogler’s batting had started to decline while Taylor was set for international retirement; as a result of an outstanding English side winning all five matches, South Africa were completely defeated 5-0 during this five-match series.
South African cricket team’s ODI and Twenty20 kits feature a green shirt with yellow accents and the national flag emblazoned on its left-hand breast, complete with trousers of matching color. In addition, their caps feature green with yellow lines on visor and stylized protea badge in dark green for international matches; different manufacturers produce these caps hats; they can be purchased both online as well as select retail stores; customized caps can even be customized with player initials for personalization purposes.
Tests
South Africa have long dominated shorter forms of cricket, claiming six consecutive One Day International (ODI) titles and two ICC Champions Trophy victories. But their Test struggles have been more evident; despite possessing one of the world’s finest batting units, South Africa have found it challenging to consistently score runs during Test cricket matches; further exacerbating this issue was their semi-final loss to New Zealand at major tournaments last year – further cementing South Africa’s image as chokers at major events.
Still unbeaten in this year’s two-Test series against Zimbabwe, they came away victorious after winning the opening Test by 328 runs. Teen debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius led an outstanding performance and spinner Johnny Briggs provided them with crucial wickets – taking 15-28 in the second innings alone!
South Africa’s success can be credited largely to AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis’ performances at bat, combined with their powerful bench strength – especially as each series in this WTC cycle has consisted of only two Test matches; thus limiting players’ exposure to this rigorous format and preventing them from building momentum or peaking at just the right moment.
An impressive victory against Australia would provide the Proteas with an enormous confidence boost and demonstrate their progress since their ban was lifted, yet also serve as an acid test of how effectively the WTC keeps Test cricket alive amidst T20 cricket’s growing prominence.
The Proteas’ success over the last three years can be measured through their position in the International Cricket Council’s Test rankings. This rating system uses a formula which takes into account a player’s overall record in each format as well as his or her performance against five of the highest ranked teams; additionally, matches played and won are considered in these rankings, with draws between teams with similar records increasing or decreasing ratings accordingly; losses reduce them; furthermore, points awarded for Test series series also use this formula.