Barely a pause as Hundred gives way to England-South Africa ODIs

Have you caught your breath? Had a cuppa? Realised that barely 40 hours have passed since Joe Root was playing in the Hundred final and he will be at it again, this time for England in a 50-over contest against South Africa? It's still (sort of) summer, England, and even though the rains have started to roll in, this is your swansong.

South Africa are back, with far less at stake than was the case three months ago, when they competed in the World Test Championship final. Then, everything was on the line, including their reputation as bottlers. Now, with a mace in the cabinet and a captain who is celebrated as a national hero, there is relief and expectation that the next trophy they lift will be the 2027 ODI World Cup, at home.

Of course, the small matter of next year's T20 World Cup remains and, of course, South Africa will be among the contenders but the longer white-ball format is in focus now, especially after they completed a fifth straight successive series win over Australia. South Africa have travelled 16,500 kilometres from Brisbane to Leeds to continue their process of building their white-ball brand of play under all-format coach Shukri Conrad.

Much like his counterpart, Brendon McCullum, Conrad believes in giving his players freedom to play fearlessly and encourages them to be bold in their decision-making. Two sides with that kind of mindset is a recipe for entertainment, so expect the next two weeks could be explosive, especially given the history.

The last time these sides met in a bilateral series, South Africa had to pause the inaugural edition of the SA20 and win the contest to secure their spots at the 2023 ODI World Cup. It's not exactly the same situation for England, but you would argue there are similarities. Next season's Hundred will be the first played with private investment, and there are whispers of a format change to bring it in line with other T20 leagues, while England currently sit eighth in the ICC's ODI rankings. The top eight teams (excluding co-hosts South Africa, who are sixth, and Zimbabwe, who are 11th) qualify automatically for the 2027 tournament and England will want to be careful they don't get too close to the bone as the event draws nearer.

Much more immediate is the SA20 auction, which takes place next week. While no one from the England ODI squad is on the list, many South Africans, including opening batter Aiden Markram, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj and seamers Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger and Kwena Maphaka, will be hoping to put in performances that can sway franchise owners into giving them a big payday.

England WWWLL (last five ODIs, most recent first)
South Africa LWWLW

All eyes will be on Jacob Bethell, who will become England's youngest captain on their T20I tour of Ireland later this month but has had a quiet summer so far. Bethell had a tough time at the Hundred. In eight matches, he only got into double figures three times. But he offers an all-round package: dynamic in the field and effective with the ball. His left-arm spin picked up several key wickets, including Andre Russell's at a crucial stage in the first T20I against West Indies in June. With leadership around the corner for him, he will want to use this series to show he is ready to take on the challenge of seniority so early in his career.

Late last week, South Africa's batting coach Ashwell Prince called Tony de Zorzi "on the fringes" of the first XI and said de Zorzi would be "a little bit disappointed with himself" for his recent performances. Scores of 38 and 33 in Australia would ordinarily not have been enough to keep de Zorzi in the team but Matthew Breetzke is managing a hamstring concern, which gives him another opportunity. De Zorzi has got starts and usually looks organised in the middle but will want to watch out for how he handles the short ball in particular, as he tries to make a case for a longer run.

England confirmed a debut for 22-year-old quick Sonny Baker, who will play just his 12th List A match. Baker will partner Jofra Archer, who has been injury-free this summer and played in six out of eight matches in the Hundred. The two seamers are the only changes from the last time England played an ODI, against West Indies in June, and replace Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Potts. The batting line-up is unchanged.

England: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Sonny Baker.

Kagiso Rabada has not completely recovered from the ankle inflammation that kept him out of the Australia ODIs and will not be risked at the start of this tour. Codi Yusuf, currently playing for Durham, has been called up but not named for the first match. That leaves it to Ngidi to lead a four-man pace pack that includes Burger, Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder. Captain Temba Bavuma, who is managing his workload after sustaining a hamstring injury at the World Test Championship final in June, will start the series, though he may not play all three games.

South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickleton (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Tony de Zorzi, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Lungi Ngidi.

Headingley is known as one of the best batting pitches for white-ball cricket in the UK, with an average first-innings score of 274 since 2005 and only one score of under 200 (in a rain-affected match) in that time. Both line-ups boast batters capable of keeping those numbers high. This will be the first ODI played in England under the new regulations, in which the fielding team must choose one ball to use after 34 overs and it will be interesting to see how that affects run-scoring. It's also worth keeping an eye on the weather, with rain expected from 3pm and again at 9pm.

"We're trying to create an environment where we are working towards something, like Morgs [Eoin Morgan] did when he took over years ago. South Africa will be a new challenge to play against, slightly different to West Indies, and we have got to try and assess situations and execute our skills as well as we can."
England are starting again in some respects, according to captain Harry Brook

"This series will give us another opportunity to improve on the facets within our game. For the younger guys, it's giving them more opportunities to see the extent of the role that they can fulfil within the team. Then, just make sure we keep winning as a team and making sure we are where we need to be."
Despite recent success in Australia, Temba Bavuma says South Africa are also still developing their ODI side