Rain break South Africa 119 for 2 from 20.5 overs (de Kock 69*) vs England
By the time the covers were brought on, at 12.30pm, South Africa had progressed serenely to 119 for 2 after Keshav Maharaj won the toss and chose to bat first on a dry deck in Leeds that promised to be full of runs.
De Kock, in particular, was in the mood to make good on his skipper’s ambitions. His chanceless knock contained 10 fours, almost exclusively the product of supreme timing and placement, not least an angled push through the covers off Reece Topley that perfectly bisected two fielders.
His delicate ramp through deep third off Sam Curran was no less impressive, as he stood tall to the short ball, and deflected it without fuss beyond the reach of the keeper, and he was firmly on course for his 18th ODI hundred when the weather closed in to curtail his advances.
De Kock’s batting partners didn’t find the going quite so good, as England’s seamers in particular continued the good work they have shown all summer to keep their team competitive even while their batters have been struggling for their usual fluency.
David Willey prised the day’s first opening to see off Janneman Malan, who had been limited to two runs from his first 13 balls before changing his approach with two off-side fours in three balls from Reece Topley. That flurry didn’t last, however, as Willey held a firm line across the right-hander from over the wicket, and Jason Roy accepted an open-faced drive at backward point.
Rassie van der Dussen, a centurion at Durham in South Africa’s emphatic victory in the opening ODI, looked good once again for his 26 from 38 balls, with four fours including a dinky ramp over the keeper off Moeen Ali. But, after de Kock had cashed in on an unusually loose first over from Adil Rashid, the legspinner tightened his line to the right-handed van der Dussen, and Jonny Bairstow at backward square leg clung onto a lofted sweep.
Both teams had named unchanged XIs following England’s series-levelling win in another rain-affected contest at Old Trafford on Friday.
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first on a warm day at Headingley, as both teams named unchanged XIs in their quest for an outright series win, with the contest locked at one game apiece.
England also kept faith in the line-up that hasn’t quite found its best form this summer, but has the chance to end their ODI campaign on a high nonetheless. If the rain relents, Phil Salt will get another chance to bat at No.3, following Ben Stokes’ ODI retirement, while Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone – whose cameos at Old Trafford proved so crucial – will once again fill out the middle-order alongside Moeen.
With brighter weather in store for the late-afternoon, there could be the minimum prospect of a 20-over run-chase for England, in which they would currently be set a DLS-adjusted target of 170 to win.
England 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Phil Salt, 4 Joe Root, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Sam Curran, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.
South Africa 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Keshav Maharaj (capt), 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket