England end ODI series with emphatic win - but issues remain

England's one-day international cricket has been a grim watch for quite some time - so thank heavens for Sunday in Southampton.

They scored 414-5 and then rolled South Africa for 72. The 342-run victory was not just England's biggest by runs in men's ODIs but the biggest by runs in men's ODIs.

The problem is that this win came after the series had been lost with a hammering at Leeds and a narrow defeat in Lord's giving the Proteas an unassailable 2-0 lead.

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England's record reads eight wins from 23 ODIs since the abject World Cup title defence in India in 2023 in which they were beaten in six of their first seven matches.

It has become five ODI series defeats in six for the 50-outfit, to West Indies (twice), Australia, India and now South Africa.

You also need to add in a dismal Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year when England lost all three group games and became progressively worse in each one - decent against Australia, poor against Afghanistan, shambolic against South Africa.

Those disappointments saw the end of Jos Buttler's reign as captain and successor Harry Brook does have a winning record in permanent charge - four victories from six with Sunday's shellacking of South Africa following a 3-0 sweep of West Indies in June.

But the back-to-back ODI losses versus the Proteas highlighted that England still have issues to fix, with qualification for the 2027 World Cup far from guaranteed.

The fifth bowler

England's problem with their fifth bowler against South Africa was that they didn't really have one. Not a proper frontline option anyway, with part-time spinners Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks supplementing leg-break supremo Adil Rashid and three seamers.

Bethell and Jacks were not utilised with the ball in the first ODI as a shocker of a batting display from the hosts meant the tourists were only chasing 131 for victory and they sprinted to that target in 20.5 overs after Aiden Markram butchered Sonny Baker.

Nor were they needed in the final game after another 20.5-over South Africa innings... Bethell could simply focus on fielding duties after clubbing his first professional hundred earlier in the day.

The part-timers were required to bowl in game two at Lord's, though, and recorded combined figures of 1-112 from 10 overs at an economy rate of 11.20 - Bethell registering 1-61 from five, Jacks 0-51 from five.

Having Bethell and Jacks at No 6 and 7 respectively boosts batting depth and they both contributed as England narrowly failed to chase down 331 at Lord's - Bethell smoking 58 and Jacks 39 - but when you take into account what they shipped with the ball, they were in negative credit to the tune of 15 runs.

Against the best sides, the make-up of England's fifth bowler probably isn't going to cut it. The remedy is perhaps all-rounder Sam Curran, whose T20 recall may pave the way for a 50-over return.

Should the seamer replace Jacks, say, at No 7, England would have a proper bowler - one that offers variety with slower balls and the left-arm angle - without significantly weakening the batting. It looks a win-win and England certainly need some wins.

The team have been largely wedded to the three-seamer policy in ODIs since Brendon McCullum took over but the head coach insisted to Sky Sports on Sunday that he was open to being flexible.

"I am stubborn but have the ability to be quite malleable and we are never married to our ideas too much. Curran is an attractive resource," said McCullum.

"We learnt a lot in the Lord's ODI about using that fifth bowler a little bit better, maybe not being quite so attacking and having them in a holding role.

"It's not a perfect balance either way but you have to put your money on something and that's the way we have gone so far. I think sometimes you have to live with one or the other."

Too much cricket?

These ODIs came after a packed summer for England's multi-format stars, principally Brook, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith, who play everything, and Joe Root, who remains a Test and ODI linchpin around his oft-questioned disappearance from the T20I set-up.

When you add in The Hundred as well, which finished just two days before the start of the South Africa series, it's no wonder some of them look knackered. Duckett, in particular, seems cooked.

The opener's form has really dwindled since starring in that jaw-dropping Test series against India.

He averaged 17.57 for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred and then made scores of five from eight, 14 from 33 and 31 from 33 vs South Africa. When he was bowled on the reverse sweep at Lord's, it felt like a mercy killing.

You can play too little cricket - Bethell has probably done that this summer - but you can also play too much.

It looks the right call to rest Duckett and Smith for the T20 series and England finding the right balance (that word again) between giving players breaks and not weakening their white-ball cricket is going to be the challenge moving forward.

Not enough 50-over cricket?

The elephant in the room regarding England's 50-over cricket remains the fact their best players don't feature in it domestically, not since the Metro Bank One Day Cup started clashing with The Hundred after the latter's inception in 2021.

The finest white-ball operators are in The Hundred, relegating the One Day Cup to a developmental tournament. It's a great competition for new talent and taking cricket to out grounds but perhaps not one that is best serving England's 50-over ambitions.

The current ODI regulars are learning how to construct a one-day innings on the job so blunders are perhaps to be expected, albeit that the dismal return of 131 all out at Headingley - as England's bowlers would soon find out - is hard to defend.

The domestic structure is not going to change in the foreseeable so England just have to plough on and get to grips with 50-over cricket quick but, thinking ahead, perhaps the England Lions set-up - the rung below the senior team - should prioritise playing ODIs.

Alternatively, we could adopt the idea floated by Sachin Tendulkar a few years back when he said ODIs should be spilt into two 25-over innings instead of one block of 50.

This current generation of T20 lovers may enjoy that.

England vs South Africa - results and fixtures

All games live on Sky Sports, all times UK and Ireland 🕰️

• First ODI (Headingley): South Africa won by seven wickets 🟢
• Second ODI (Lord's): South Africa won by five runs 🟢
• Third ODI (Southampton) - England won by 342 runs 🔵

• First T20: Wednesday September 10 (6.30pm) - Sophia Gardens Cardiff
• Second T20: Friday September 12 (6.30pm) - Emirates Old Trafford
• Third T20: Sunday September 14 (2.30pm) - Trent Bridge