South Africa v England ODI Series: England Player Ratings

The England team had a phenomenal tour to South Africa. Though they ended up losing the ODI series 3-2, they looked in command for most part of the series with their dominating show. Had it not been a Morris outbreak in the 4th ODI at the Wanderers, the English team looked set for a historic series win in South Africa. So how did their players fare up individually? Here is the England team rating for South Africa v England ODI series.

Jason Roy – 5/10:

The swashbuckling opener couldn’t give flying starts to his side in the entire series. With his 30-ball 48 in the first ODI, he set the tone for England’s gigantic score of 399. But after that, he failed to capitalize on the starts that he got and couldn’t convert them to big scores. Scores of 14, 20, 6 and 8 followed in the remaining four games for this attacking batsman. He could score just 96 runs in 5 matches at a poor average of 19.20. He gets a rating of 5 on 10.

Alex Hales – 9.5/10:

Jason Roy’s opening partner Alex Hales was belligerent on the Protea bowling lineup throughout the series. With scores of over 50 in each match, he was the star of the series. He ended up as the leading run scorer of the bilateral series with 383 runs in 5 matches at a staggering average of 76.60. Hales struck an arrogant 57 off 47 balls in the first ODI to set up the base for England’s 399. He was unlucky to have missed out on a century in the 2nd ODI as he was dismissed on 99. He followed it up with scores of 65 and 50 in the 3rd and 4th ODI. But his best came in the last ODI when he struck 128-ball 112.

Joe Root – 9/10:

England’s star batsman Joe Root lived up to his name in the series and emerged as the second leading run scorer of the tournament. He kicked off the series with a half century and then went on to hit two consecutive tons (125 and 109) in the 3rd and 4th ODIs. He was unlucky to be on the losing side on both occasions. With an aggregate of 351 runs in 5 innings at an average above 50, Root certainly was one of the top performers of the series and gets 9 in the ratings.

Jos Buttler – 7/10:

England’s wicketkeeper Jos Buttler got the opportunity to bat up the order in this series but he couldn’t quite capitalize on it to the fullest. He starred with a hammering 105 off just 76 balls in the first ODI and then faded away for the rest of the tournament. He scored an unbeaten 48 during England’s successful run chase of 262 in the 2nd ODI. But then 2 golden ducks in the remaining three ODIs didn’t work wonders for him. His keeping was reasonably well though, which earns him a grading of 7 on 10.

Eoin Morgan – 4/10:

England’s captain Eoin Morgan could have capitalized on key moment with his captaincy but he missed them. With just 64 runs in 5 matches at a low average of 12.80, Morgan had the top score of just 29 in the series. He looked absolutely unsettled at the crease and could never be a threat for the South African bowling. He fell to Tahir and Wiese on two occasions each and his failure in the middle order certainly hurt England.

Ben Stokes – 5/10:

The man with the golden arm, they said, Ben Stokes was largely ineffective in the series for England. He started off like a star with a quickfire 57 off 38 balls but then failed to create moments. He scored a duck in the next game and followed it up with a fifty. The next match saw him score just 2. Being highly inconsistent, Stokes disappointed big time. On the bowling front he could pick up just 4 wickets and averaged over 54.

Moeen Ali – 4/10:

Moeen Ali could muster just 59 runs in 5 innings at an average 14.75 and was one of the biggest flops for the English side that looked dominating. He was certainly the weak link in the batting line up. His top score was an unbeaten 21, apart from which he could rarely shine. His bowling, a total of 5 wickets, did see him as England’s third best wicket taker in the series but averaged 47 with the ball. He gets a 4 in the ratings.

Chris Jordan – 3/10:

Jordan played just 3 games in the series. While he could take just one wicket in the three matches, that of Hashim Amla in the 3rd ODI, his performances with the bat were far from being impressive. He scored 17 runs in 2 innings and wasn’t very influential in either of the departments for his side. He gets 3 in the ratings.

Adil Rashid – 6/10:

Adil Rashid emerged as the second highest wicket taker for England with 5 wickets to his name at an average of 45. His economy was under 6. While no English bowler seemed to be troubling the South Africans, Rashid was very impressive with his lengths. He also scored a quick 39 off 26 in the 4th ODI that helped England post a respectable total of 262. With 63 runs to his name in the series, he averaged 21 with the bat.

Stuart Broad –  3/10:

Stuart Broad was exceptional in the Test series but couldn’t carry that form in the ODIs. Having played just two ODIs, Broad could pick up one solitary wicket of Hashim Amla in the 4th ODI. He got that wicket in the first over of the game. He looked impressive but later took a toll from Chris Morris who hammered him in the death to seal the match for the Proteas.

Reece Topley – 7/10:

By and large, Reece Topley was England’s most successful bowler in the series. He was also the leading wicket taker among both sides in the 5-match series. With 10 wickets in 5 matches, Topley averaged 21.90 with the ball, which is highly impressive for the young man. However, his economy was on the unexpected side of 6, which he needs to work on. His best of 4/50 came in the 2nd ODI that enabled England to restrict the hosts to 262. England won that match comfortably with 5 wickets. Topley gets 7 on 10.

Chris Woakes – 4/10:

Chris Woakes got limited opportunities in the series. Having played just 2 games, he picked up one wicket. He disturbed the stumps of Faf du Plessis in the fourth ODI to get his only wicket of the series. Woakes bowled just 13 overs in the series and gave 74 runs. His economy was well under 6, which is a positive for the young pacer but he gets a rating of just 4 for this series.

David Willey – 4/10:

David Willey started off the series with the wicket of Hashim Amla in the first ODI and had the figures of 1/30 in his 5 overs. In the next game, he couldn’t pick up a wicket but was economical and gave away just 33 runs in his 7 overs. The last ODI that he played in, the 3rd of the series, he was expensive and leaked 40 runs in 5 overs. He had a mixed bag series and picked up just one scalp.