With the T20I series done and dusted, the Proteas and England will now shift their focus to the first ODI on Friday. ANDRE HUISAMEN details the Proteas’ ODI record against the visitors since readmission.
South Africa and England have a rich cricketing history and provide arguably one of the best rivalries in the ODI format.
Since the Proteas were readmitted to international cricket in 1992, the two teams have faced each other 63 times in all forms of ODI matchups, including regular series, triangular series, World Cups and champions trophies.
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Out of those 63 encounters, 58 have yielded results with the Proteas winning 30 in total and England 28 up until the final ODI of the 2020 series earlier this year.
On five occasions, a no result was the outcome due to weather abandoning the clash.
The Proteas last beat England in an ODI series back in 2016 when they came from 2-0 down in the five matchups to win the series 3-2 thanks to victories in Centurion, Wanderers and Newlands, where AB de Villiers led from the front with a match-winning century.
In total, South Africa and England have gone up against each other in ten series with both teams winning four each, while two ended in draws.
The Proteas’ biggest series victory over the English came back in 1996 when Hansie Cronje’s charges won a seven-match series 6-1 on South African soil.
Similarly, captain Graeme Smith led from the front when the Proteas beat England 4-1 in 2005 in the series where Kevin Pietersen announced himself on the international stage.
England, though, gave the Proteas a heavy hiding in a five-match series in 2008 when they won 4-0 against a wounded South African outfit.
In recent years, though, under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan, England have held the upper hand since they adopted a new style of play following their dismal performance at the 2015 World Cup.
England beat the Proteas 2-1 in England in 2017, while they also claimed a big victory over them in last year’s Cricket World Cup.
Sam Billings, Lewis Gregory, Liam Livingstone, Olly Stone, Reece Topley and Mark Wood are the new faces in England’s ODI squad for the upcoming series and weren’t part of the squad earlier this year.
The Proteas’ extended squad for the clashes with England include the new faces of George Linde and Glenton Stuurman, with Linde playing in all three of the recent T20Is.
