England vs South Africa 2017: 1st ODI, 5 Talking Points

#1 de Villiers left stranded by pathetic middle-order display

AB de Villiers looked in great touch but received little support from his teammates

South Africa needed a special knock from AB de Villiers after Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis fell in quick succession. The Proteas skipper looked in ominous touch as he took on Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali. He was tactical in his approach and ensured the required rate did not climb too much.

What de Villiers needed was some support from the middle-order. But none of them seemed too keen to provide that. JP Duminy holed out to deep mid-wicket, the only deep fielder on the leg side, and David Miller mirrored that dismissal. Chris Morris, after slamming a beautiful straight hit off Moeen Ali, played a bizarre reverse sweep off the next ball to be dismissed caught behind off a leading edge. de Villiers eventually went on the attack and in the process lost his wicket to Ali.