England's ODI series vs South Africa ends 1-1 with decider at Headingley abandoned after just 27.4 overs due to rain; Proteas were 159-2, with Quinton de Kock 92 not out - watch the first T20I live on Sky Sports Cricket on Wednesday (6pm on air, 6.30pm start)
Monday 25 July 2022 06:07, UK
Jos Buttler is still waiting for his first series victory as England white-ball captain after rain wrecked the deciding one-day international against South Africa at Headingley.
The three-match contest finished tied at 1-1 with a second downpour of the day leading to the final ODI being abandoned - South Africa were 159-2 from 27.4 overs after electing to bat with Quinton de Kock 92 not out.
An initial near two-hour rain delay, which arrived with the Proteas 119-2 from 20.5 overs, had forced the game to be cut to 45 overs a side.
South Africa added a further 40 runs from 47 balls in the 20 minutes of play before the wet weather returned, with the umpires eventually calling the match off shortly after 4pm.
Buttler began his tenure as permanent skipper with 2-1 defeats to India in both T20 and ODI cricket but had hopes of chalking up a maiden series success after his side bounced back from a 62-run defeat to South Africa in the first ODI at Durham by storming to a 118-run success in Manchester.
Rain thwarted England and South Africa in Leeds but Buttler will get another opportunity to break his duck when his team face the Proteas in a three-match T20I series next week, with games in Bristol on Wednesday, Cardiff on Thursday and finally in Southampton on Sunday.
It was a soggy end to proceedings at Headingley but De Kock played a sizzling 76-ball innings, striking 13 fours, racing to a 29th ODI fifty from just 39 deliveries and ending up just eight runs shy of an 18th ODI hundred.
The left-hander - who played a delicious ramp off a Sam Curran bouncer over third man for four amid reverse sweeps and coruscating off-side drives - shared half-century partnerships with Rassie van der Dussen (26) and Aiden Markram (24no) for the second and third wickets respectively.
De Kock added 75 with Van der Dussen after opening partner Janneman Malan (11) sliced David Willey to Jason Roy at backward point in the sixth over and then an unbroken 60 with Markram once Van der Dussen swept Adil Rashid to Jonny Bairstow at deep square leg in the 17th.
Markram passed 1,000 runs in ODI cricket during his unbeaten knock.
England captain, Jos Buttler: "We have to be realistic with where we are as a team in the ODI format. It is about building towards that World Cup in India [in 2023]. What will we need in the conditions out in India?
"We have had a bit of change in the recent past [with Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan retiring] so it's about drawing a line in the sand, looking forward to that next World Cup and getting a team to try and win it.
"When you lose a genuine all-rounder in Ben you are going to feel short in either batting or bowling. Now we have time to work out which way we want to go and give guys an opportunity to stake a claim for that place."
Player of the Series, Rassie van der Dussen: "It was a pity about the rain, I think we were in a pretty good position.
"Quinny [Quinton de Kock] batted brilliantly to put the pressure back on England and we were looking to get to 300-plus. I think 1-1 in the series is probably a fair result. England were good at stages and so were we."
England and South Africa will now meet in that aforementioned three-match T20 international series, before facing each other in a three-Test series, starting at Lord's (August 17-21) before further matches at Emirates Old Trafford (August 25-29) and The Kia Oval (September 8-12).
Watch the first T20 international between England and South Africa, from Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol, live on Sky Sports Cricket on Wednesday. Coverage starts at 6pm with the first ball at 6.30pm.
