South Africa vs England: Jos Buttler on the money for classy guests in second one-day international

Buttler was fresh from his match-winning century in the first ODI and his £386,000 bonanza from the IPL auction

(Getty)

Jos Buttler celebrated his Indian Premier League windfall with a brilliant cameo that helped England get over the line in this second one-day international against South Africa.

Buttler, fresh from his match-winning century in the first ODI and his £386,000 bonanza from the IPL auction earlier in the day, hit an undefeated 48 from 28 balls to ensure a five-wicket victory for Eoin Morgan’s side.

England, who chased down 263 with 22 balls to spare, now have a 2-0 lead with three matches of the series remaining. And in Buttler, who landed a lucrative deal with Mumbai Indians in India’s glitzy Twenty20 tournament, they have a superstar in the making.

Alex Hales had earlier scored 99 to lay the foundations for England’s successful pursuit. But the match was in the balance when he departed in the 42nd over with the tourists on 202 for five, 61 short of victory.

England still needed 29 from the final 30 balls. However, Buttler clubbed three successive sixes off Imran Tahir’s leg-spin in the 46th over and Moeen Ali then finished it off with successive fours in the next, bowled by Morne Morkel, to wrap up an ultimately comfortable win.

“He was brilliant,” Morgan said of Buttler. “I thought the game was in the balance right until that Tahir over. He just took the game by the scruff of the neck as top-class players do.”

England’s captain also took satisfaction from his team’s ability to grind out what was by modern standards a modest run-chase. There have been only five 300-plus scores in ODI cricket at St George’s Park and so a different mindset was required on a tough batting pitch by this young England side who have made a habit of reeling off 350-plus scores since their re-emergence at the start of last summer.

Morgan said: “It was hugely satisfying. The style of cricket we do play is great but today’s performance shows we’re not all crash, bang, wallop. We can play proper cricket.”

After losing the toss and being asked to field, England got their initial breakthrough in the third over, Reece Topley bowling Hashim Amla for four. Quinton De Kock, who scored an unbeaten 138 in the opening match of the series, was then trapped lbw by Ben Stokes as the hosts slipped to 53 for two in the 11th over.

Faf Du Plessis shared a 45-run partnership with AB De Villiers but departed for 46, edging Adil Rashid’s leg-spin to Chris Jordan at slip to leave South Africa 98 for three in the 20th over.

Jordan is England’s best fielder by a distance and he showed why when taking a spectacular catch in the deep to end a fine knock of 73 from De Villiers in the 41st over.

South Africa’s captain shared a 107-run stand with JP Duminy to guide his side past 200. However, the brilliance of Jordan, covering 20 metres after De Villiers launched Stokes into the stratosphere and then taking a steepling catch over his shoulder, put the brakes on the scoring rate.

Just 57 runs came from the final 56 balls of the innings, England restricting their opponents to 262 for seven as left-armer Topley dismissed Duminy, Rilee Rossouw and Kagiso Rabada in the final 10 overs to pick up career-best ODI figures of four for 50.

England’s reply was checked in the third over when Jason Roy was bowled by Kyle Abbott.

Joe Root and Hales helped England add 97 for the second wicket before the former under-edged an Abbott short ball onto his stumps. Root’s dismissal left the tourists on 117 for two in the 26th over. By that stage Hales had reached his half-century in 68 balls and the Nottinghamshire opener shared a 52-run stand with Morgan before England’s captain holed out off Morkel in the 35th over, leaving his side 169 for three.

Stokes, who successfully reviewed an lbw decision given to Tahir, was still dismissed for a duck in the next over, bowled by Morkel, as England slipped to 176 for four. Buttler was next in with England needing 87 from 80 balls. The equation to seal the win was reduced to 61 from 52 when Hales was left stranded one run shy of his second ODI hundred, the fifth English wicket to fall, after edging Abbott behind.

It was the second time Hales has been out for 99 in his international career, having also been dismissed for the same score in a T20 against West Indies in 2012.

However, Buttler took over the responsibility and ensured England grabbed control of this series.