England suffered a significant setback in their white-ball series against South Africa, experiencing a surprising loss at Headingley. Batting first, England managed only 131 runs, a target that the Proteas comfortably surpassed in 30 overs, securing victory with seven wickets to spare. Following this disappointing performance, Michael Atherton provided a candid analysis, emphasizing the need for immediate adjustments.
“I think inevitably because of how England have played, that’s the straight line you draw,” Atherton stated during Sky Cricket’s post-match analysis.
“If you get beat like that, play like that it’s the obvious angle to take. England have unquestionably been caught cold here,” the former opener commented. “South Africa look like a side that have been playing 50-over cricket. English players have been playing the Hundred. They’ve had no chance for preparation, they’re playing a completely different format, and it looked like it today.”
Atherton also criticized the demanding schedule, highlighting the swift transitions between formats without adequate breaks.
“If you think of players like Root, Brook, Duckett, they’ve come straight from an arduous five-Test series against India, straight into the Hundred, straight here, so you can argue they are over-cricketed in a way,” he said.
“Your mindset for cricket is not quite in the right place. One thing for me is that one-day cricket is becoming tournament cricket,” Atherton remarked. “You have to perform on the day. There is no we will write this off and move on to the next one. How can we still be competitive in this game and not be bowled out for 130?”
England will compete in the second ODI at the iconic Lord’s cricket ground on Thursday, September 3.