England vs South Africa 3rd ODI; The third and final ODI between England and South Africa was abandoned due to rain and hence the series ended at 1-1. South Africa’s Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten 92 out of 76 runs went in vain as the game has been called off and he lost the chance to reach a century. The hosts came back strongly in the second ODI, defeating South Africa by 118 runs after South Africa had destroyed England by 62 runs in the first ODI.
South Africa won the toss and decided to bat at Headingley, Leeds on Sunday. With the unchanged side, de Kock got off to a decent start for South Africa with Janneman Malan. Although he quickly parted ways with Malan, he managed to build a nice partnership with Rassie van der Dussen that allowed South Africa to reach a comfortable position. Prior to refreshments, the partnership was broken, and Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock continued to play through a break to keep the scoreboard updated.
Quinton de Kock maintained his perfect score of 92 from just 76 deliveries to keep South Africa in the hunt for winning the series, but no further play was taken place due to the non-stop rain. After Quinto de Kock moved into the 90s, everyone expected a much-deserved century, but he missed out on the chance. He has scored thirteen boundaries in the game, one of his career best.
With Rassie van der Dussen’s 26 and Aiden Markram’s 24, South Africa scored a total of 159 runs. Since South Africa withdrew from the series against Australia the following year, it was crucial for them to win the game and add points to the table to directly qualify for the 2023 World Cup. Also, for England, after losing the T20I and ODI series against India earlier this month, Jos Butler tried to lead England to its first series victory with the white ball. But it was all for nothing. Now, the series will be shared by South Africa and England as it ends on 1-1.
Questions regarding the congested global schedule were raised again after the rain-interrupted ODI match. It was after England’s all-rounder Ben Stokes’ ODI retirement, that the discussion started. After the three-match series ended in a draw, de Kock admitted that it is going to be tough for players now. Playing 3 formats at a time is difficult for many as it looks like more games are happening over the calendar.
“Players need to make decisions individually and if they feel they can do it (play Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals), I am happy for them,” he said.
“But guys need to take decisions into their own hands. For me, I am happy where I am. I’ve been roped in to play a couple of leagues but that’s my own consequence. I am happy to do it. It’s still a sacrifice but I’m slowly getting to an age where I need to think about where I want to be in my career”, he added.
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