South Africa crushed England by seven wickets in their final group match to storm into the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Karachi, on Saturday.
South Africa bowled out a struggling England for 179 in 38.1 overs — the lowest total of the tournament, before they raced to victory in 29.1 wickets, to win with more than 20 overs to spare.
Rassie van der Dussen guided the Proteas home with a fluent knock of 72 from 87 balls, while Heinrich Klaasen stroked a quickfire 64 from 56 balls, as the duo put on 127 runs for the third wicket.
England lost all their three matches to finish bottom of Group B.
Earlier, Marco Jansen (3/39) stole the show with the new ball, taking three crucial wickets, and Wiaan Mulder (3/25) and Keshav Maharaj (2/35) applied the pressure in the middle overs as South Africa confirmed their knockout berth, irrespective of the match’s result.
In his final game as England’s ODI captain, Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat, but the decision backfired as Jansen wreaked havoc early, reducing England to 37 for 3 by the seventh over.
Opener Phil Salt (8) top-edged a rising Jansen delivery, while Jamie Smith (0) failed to handle a short ball and followed Salt back to the pavilion. Ben Duckett (24) then perished to a caught-and-bowled effort by Jansen, as England’s top-order collapsed.
Harry Brook (19) and Joe Root (37) attempted a recovery with a 62-run stand, but just when the partnership seemed to gain momentum, South Africa struck twice in quick succession.
Brook fell to Maharaj with Jansen taking a superb catch in the deep while Root’s off-stump was sent cart-wheeling by Mulder.
England’s woes continued as Liam Livingstone (9) and Jamie Overton (11) quickly followed, leaving the side in disarray at 129/7 in the 26th over.
Buttler (21) and Jofra Archer (25) added some respectability to the total with a partnership of 42, but Archer was dismissed by Mulder, and the England skipper was then removed by Lungi Ngidi with a slow ball.
