England Clinch Series Finale with Record-Breaking Victory Over South Africa
Leeds,England – England secured a dominant victory over South Africa in the third ODI at Headingley on Sunday,winning by a notable margin and salvaging a result in the three-match series. The win was highlighted by a record-breaking batting performance and a devastating spell of bowling from Jofra Archer.
england posted a formidable 5-414, their fifth-highest ODI total ever, surpassing South Africa’s chase. Jacob Bethell starred with a blistering century, scoring 145 runs off 82 balls, featuring 13 fours and three sixes. This surpassed his previous career-best score of 96 in a Test match against New Zealand in 2024. Contributions also came from Jos Buttler (62 not out) and Jamie Smith (62).
“The ultimate performance. We were awesome with the bat, put them under pressure all the way through that innings and the bowling just speaks for itself, really,” England captain Harry Brook said. “If we get in on good surfaces like that there’s no reason why we can’t get 400-450 each time we bat with our line-up.”
Bethell expressed his elation, stating, “It feels pretty good. A few emotions pouring through,but it feels unbelievable and to do it,and in a convincing win like that,it’s even more importent. I wouldn’t say relief,I don’t listen to what people say to be honest. It was nothing to do with other people – I wanted it for myself and the team. It was a great feeling, an addicting feeling and hopefully more to come.”
jofra Archer then ripped through the South african batting lineup, finishing with impressive figures. Archer dismissed Aiden Markram in the frist over, followed by Wiaan Mulder in the next. He then removed Ryan Rickelton and Matthew Breetzke, leaving South Africa reeling at 3-6. Archer continued his onslaught, claiming the wicket of Tristan Stubbs, finishing with 5 wickets.
“It was awesome to see Jofra bowling rockets there.To have that in your side, it’s quite frightening,” Brook added.
Adil Rashid further compounded South Africa’s woes, taking three wickets as they were bowled out for a substantially lower total.
England had lost the first two matches of the series, falling to a seven-wicket defeat at Headingley and a five-run loss at Lord’s. Bethell, who will captain England in their upcoming ODI series against Ireland, had a quiet outing in the first match, scoring just one run, but improved to 58 off 40 balls at Lord’s before his match-winning performance on Sunday.(Video highlights and full scorecard details are available via[linktonewssource/cricketwebsite-[linktonewssource/cricketwebsite-[linktonewssource/cricketwebsite-[linktonewssource/cricketwebsite-replace with actual link])
