England’s batting woes deepened in their final ICC Champions Trophy 2025 group-stage clash against South Africa as Marco Jansen delivered a fiery opening spell, removing openers Phil Salt and Jamie Smith in quick succession. The Proteas’ pacer exploited the extra bounce on offer at the National Stadium in Karachi, rattling England’s top order within the first few overs.
The first breakthrough came when Jansen’s short-pitched delivery forced an aggressive response from Salt, who attempted to take on the rising ball. However, he failed to execute the short as he top-edged it straight to Rassie van der Dussen at midwicket, departing for a brisk 8 off 6 balls.
Jansen struck again almost immediately in the next over of his spell, this time removing Jamie Smith for a duck. In a near mirror image of Salt’s dismissal, Smith miscued a short ball straight to mid-on, where stand-in skipper Aiden Markram completed a straightforward catch. The young batter’s debut Champions Trophy innings ended in disappointment, with England’s woes increasing further against a charged-up South African attack.
With two wickets down early, England now faces an uphill battle to recover. Now the responsibility to recover falls on the middle order batters especially Joe Root who scored a fighting century against Afghanistan in the last match. South Africa, needing a win to seal their semi-final spot has got the much needed start with two key English batters already back to the pavilion.
