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Bethell's first ton sets up record England win over SATo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can friv jogos 1not be playedMedia caption, Bethell and Archer star as England beat South Africa by record ODI marginByMatthew HenryBBC Sport Journalist in SouthamptonPublished7 September 2025645 CommentsThird one-day international, Southampton England 414-5 (50 overs): Bethell 110, Root 100South Africa 72 all out (20.5 overs): Bosch 20; Archer 4-18 England won by 342 runs; SA win series 2-1ScorecardJacob Bethell scored his much-anticipated first professional century before Jofra Archer ripped through South Africa as England thrashed the Proteas by a record 342 runs in the third one-day international in Southampton.With the series gone, 21-year-old Bethell, long tipped for a huge future despite his meagre county experience, delivered on all of his promise by elegantly hitting 110 from 82 balls in England's cruise to 414-5.The left-hander put on 182 with Joe Root, who himself stroked a 96-ball 100, to lay a platform before Jos Buttler took on the scoring with a destructive 62 not out from 32 balls.It was England's highest total in ODIs for three years and their best effort at home since 2018, while Bethell's ton, in his 33rd international innings, made him England's second-youngest ODI centurion after David Gower.South Africa were well below the standards set in their impressive wins at Headingley and Lord's which had already secured the series with a game to spare.They dropped Bethell on 44, gave away 19 wides and were 72-9 in 20.5 overs when the players shook hands with Temba Bavuma unable to bat - England's winning margin the largest in the history of men's ODIs in terms of runs.Archer took four wickets in a fast and hostile new-ball spell, reducing the Proteas to 7-4 and 24-6 from which they never recovered. He finished with 4-18 and Adil Rashid 3-13.Though the series was already gone, this was a morale-boosting win for England after a difficult run in the 50-over format.The same sides now play a three-match T20 series starting on Wednesday in Cardiff.Could brilliant Bethell give England Ashes conundrum?Published7 SeptemberBethell says he should have 'played more' in 2025Published7 SeptemberEngland seal biggest winning margin in ODI history - as it happenedBethell comes of ageTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedMedia caption, Bethell scores 'magnificent' first hundredAs dead rubbers go, England could not have asked for more.Yes, the thumping win is largely irrelevant but a breakout innings for a player the hierarchy rate so highly made it a near-perfect afternoon.Bethell's summer has been curious. Having given up his Test place by staying at the Indian Premier League, he has barely played. Before this match, he admitted he had made a mistake by playing so little cricket.But rhythm that was relocated in scoring 58 at Lord's on Thursday was on full show again.He was again promoted to number four to take on the world's top-ranked bowler, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, and thrived with that responsibility and time.An early straight six, one of three in his innings, against Maharaj settled Bethell into his work after which he pounced to pull anything short. One of those pulls was spilled by Nandre Burger at mid-on and there was also one top edge over the wicketkeeper but otherwise he stroked 16 eye-catching boundaries.Bethell spent just four deliveries in the nineties but at no stage looked flustered.He reached three figures by crashing through the covers and celebrated with his arms wide as the crowd cheered. This will surely be the first of many.Root capitalises on South Africa's bad dayTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedMedia caption, Smith survives after 'astonishing' Breetzke dropFor all England were good, South Africa were similarly bad.Before the Burger miss, Matthew Breetzke comically put down Jamie Smith on 23 when a leading edge from the opener, whose 62 put England on the front foot, looped to him at extra cover.Afterwards, Root played the most Rootian of innings as the anchor.He only hit two boundaries in reaching 50 and, though he did later hit one trademark reverse scoop, he largely accumulated. His dot ball percentage in reaching three figures was the second lowest in any of his 19 ODI tons.Skipper Hary Brook bizarrely ran himself out after Bethell was stumped off Maharaj looking to continue the assault in the second half of the innings.That only brought in Buttler, perfectly-timed for England in the 41st over, and he drove, ramped and pulled to provide a finale reminiscent of the hosts at their best.In addition to the drop, Burger finished with 0-95 – the worst figures for South Africa in the format – while Codi Yusef's 0-80 were the most expensive by a Proteas debutant.Archer thrills againTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedMedia caption, Best bits from Archer's 'rapid' spell against South AfricaBy the time they came to bat in gloomy conditions with the floodlights on, South Africa looked a beaten side.Aiden Markram nicked a wide delivery from Archer second ball and a sorry slide followed.Archer's pace topped 93mph. He nicked off Ryan Rickelton, bounced out Breetzke, whose run of reaching fifty in each of his ODI innings ended at five as he made four, and had Tristan Stubbs taken at second slip.At the end of his first seven overs he had remarkable figures of 4-10 and though he did not find a fifth when he returned in search of the final wicket, his burst provided another jolt of excitement now that he is back fully fit.'A great feeling' - what they saidEngland batter Jacob Bethell to BBC Test Match Special: "It feels pretty good. A few emotions pouring through, but it feels unbelievable and to do it, and in a convincing win like that, it's even more important."I wouldn't say relief, I don't listen to what people say to be honest. It was nothing to do with other people - I wanted it for myself and the team. It was a great feeling, an addicting feeling and hopefully more to come."Player of the match, England bowler Jofra Archer: "I just tried to hit the pitch hard and bowl straight and that's it. Sometimes, you're going to bowl well and come out with nothing like at Headingley then some days you'll get some like today."I'm feeling good. I didn't think I would play this one, in the past it would've been like workload management but getting to play three games in a row, that means a lot."South Africa captain Temba Bavuma: "We were just poor to be honest, in all departments. Our fielding really let us down. The extras as well with the ball, far from ideal. "With the bat it was always going to be tough, and their bowlers really put us under pressure, Archer and Carse, we didn't have a chance."To sum it up - a poor game of cricket from us."Related topicsEngland Men's Cricket TeamSouth AfricaCricketMore on this storyNotifications, social media and more with BBC SportPublished16 AugustComments can not be loadedTo load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browserCommentsJoin the conversationThese comments are now closed.645 commentsShowLatestOldestHighest RatedMost RepliedCComment by coops at 17:50 7 Sepcoops17:50 7 SepBethell gets an excellent 100. The comments: "dead rubber, doesn't matter""errr but he went for a lot of runs with the ball last game"How about just saying 'well batted'? He now averages over 40 in both white ball formats for England, but you wouldn't know from the ridiculous cricitism he gets in the comments.Reply39742Show comment linksDComment by dunc brownley at 17:54 7 Sepdunc brownley17:54 7 Septo coops"Bethell gets an excellent 100. The comments: "dead rubber, doesn't matter" "errr but he went for a lot of runs with the ball last game" How about just saying 'well batted'? He now averages over 40 in both white ball formats for England, but you wouldn't know from the ridiculous cricitism he gets in the comments."Never a Dead rubber , the match always goes into the stats as gam e played, x amount of runs or wickets , ect.Players. Averages taken into account and also details noted by the ICC in rankings too.Reply13328Show comment linksMore replies (34)MComment by Mr Whiteside at 17:40 7 SepMr Whiteside 17:40 7 SepIt seems the more 50 over games they played the better we got.Who would have thought ECB?Reply3129Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (36)MComment by msmudger1987 at 17:46 7 Sepmsmudger198717:46 7 SepThe most frustrating aspect of this series has been the ludicrous scheduling. The ECB cram the Hundred into the whole of August (a tournament they want their short form stars to play in) and then schedule the 50 over series to start 2 days after the end of the Hundred and THEN have the T20 series after the 50 overs! Absolutely nonsensical and just setting up the players to fail.Reply27424Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (23)MComment by MarkyMark at 18:01 7 SepMarkyMark18:01 7 SepA game easily won by SA, a game easily won by England and a game that went to the last ball. Pretty even, I'd say.Reply18418Show comment linksCComment by ChrisSiny at 18:12 7 SepChrisSiny18:12 7 Septo MarkyMark"A game easily won by SA, a game easily won by England and a game that went to the last ball. Pretty even, I'd say."2-1 isn't evenReply41161Show comment linksMore replies (15)DComment by David c Root b Broad Warner at 17:37 7 SepDavid c Root b Broad Warner17:37 7 SepBethell tucked into Burger with relish.Reply1479Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (18)MComment by Monk d'Wally d'Honk at 18:07 7 SepMonk d'Wally d'Honk18:07 7 SepHope the Bethell haters will give him a break for a bit...... he's got the talent, just needs more experience.Reply12813Show comment linksPComment by Pembers at 18:14 7 SepPembers18:14 7 Septo Monk d'Wally d'Honk"Hope the Bethell haters will give him a break for a bit...... he's got the talent, just needs more experience."I don’t think people were denying his talent, just his readiness to play test cricket. He won’t be ready for test level cricket until he plays more red ball. Can’t just throw him in to the Ashes just yet.Quality Knick that was, well done young man.Reply777Show comment linksMore replies (13)UComment by Unhappy Voter at 17:43 7 SepUnhappy Voter 17:43 7 SepBefore this series, SA we're playing ODIs Vs Australia (which they won before getting thrashed in the dead rubber, just like today)Most of the England team were playing the Hundred.Yeah, can't fault England's performance today (especially the centurions and Jofra), but they need to be ready for international series with proper warmups, not slogfests.Reply10710Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (11)ZComment by zlatan_86 at 17:42 7 Sepzlatan_8617:42 7 SepImagine if we’d warmed up properly, like in most series’Reply9911Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (8)CComment by C David J at 18:26 7 SepC David J18:26 7 SepNo form of cricket is pointless if people come to watch and enjoy themselves. I am 61 and think all forms of the great game are good fun. Cricket must move with the times and not get stuck in the past. Few seem to realise T20 and 100 bring new people to watch the game. Probably then being encouraged to watch the older forms of the game.Reply7811Show comment linksTComment by TheNightmanCometh at 19:47 7 SepTheNightmanCometh19:47 7 Septo C David J"No form of cricket is pointless if people come to watch and enjoy themselves. I am 61 and think all forms of the great game are good fun. Cricket must move with the times and not get stuck in the past. Few seem to realise T20 and 100 bring new people to watch the game. Probably then being encouraged to watch the older forms of the game."Take your ludicrous objective logic out of here, this an England cricket HYS. Reactionary takes only, please.Reply418Show comment linksMore replies (3)RComment by Rseer at 17:37 7 SepRseer17:37 7 SepA wonderful day for Bethell in particular, well played. What a pity England saved such an excellent all-round performance for when they have already lost the series...Reply625Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (3)AComment by Asterix at 17:48 7 SepAsterix17:48 7 SepDelighted for Bethell and the team. But I’d trade his hundred today for 30 in the last test vs India!Reply536Show comment linksNComment by Nick at 18:50 7 SepNick18:50 7 Septo Asterix"Delighted for Bethell and the team. But I’d trade his hundred today for 30 in the last test vs India!"Pity Bethell has to learn on the job live on tv, no pressure there. Well played today lad but have Key and Baz dropped him in the deep end a bit like Baker One swallow doesn't make a summer England, but it's a start. Let's see what happens nextReply252Show comment linksMore replies (2)TComment by TheNightmanCometh at 17:38 7 SepTheNightmanCometh17:38 7 SepI blame the Hundred for such an embarrassing England performance.Am I doing a cricket HYS right?Reply6119Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (12)AComment by Adrian at 17:47 7 SepAdrian17:47 7 SepAh, if only our fellas played 50 overs more often! It's amazing seeing what can be achieved when they get into rhythm.Reply355Show comment linksRemoved CommentMore replies (4)NComment by Norman at 20:30 7 SepNorman20:30 7 SepI worry about Harry Brook,talented yes but he keeps getting out in the most stupid ways ,if only he had Roots temperament he would be better for itReply270Show comment linksLComment by LJD at 20:58 7 SepLJD20:58 7 Septo Norman"I worry about Harry Brook,talented yes but he keeps getting out in the most stupid ways ,if only he had Roots temperament he would be better for it"I couldn't agree more. It pains me to say it as a Yorkshire cricket fan, but Brook is very frustrating to watch. There's definitely a lot of talent there, but it doesn't always come out. He lacks the maturity and the tactical nous to be captain, in my view. He should be relieved of the captaincy, so that he can focus on his batting and not getting run out....Reply151Show comment linksMore replies (2)MComment by Masterbrewer at 17:49 7 SepMasterbrewer17:49 7 SepSome of the previous comments about Bethell have been absurd. You could argue other young players who haven't had a shot deserve it more having paid their dues, but comments about him being another slogger are silly. He has the talent and needs the ECB to properly manage his career and to help him find balance (something Brook has lost). I for one am looking forward to seeing him develop.Reply358Show comment linksCComment by coops at 18:09 7 Sepcoops18:09 7 Septo Masterbrewer"Some of the previous comments about Bethell have been absurd. You could argue other young players who haven't had a shot deserve it more having paid their dues, but comments about him being another slogger are silly. He has the talent and needs the ECB to properly manage his career and to help him find balance (something Brook has lost). I for one am looking forward to seeing him develop."I would agree with them about his lack of county performances if he had come into the side and consistently failed, but the fact is he's played a lot of very good innings. Isn't the fact he is better for England than county a good thing?? People just form a first impression and don't want to admit they could be wrong, so ignore those performances that don't fit their narrative.Reply134Show comment linksMore replies (3)SComment by Smally74 at 20:32 7 SepSmally7420:32 7 SepAccording to the cricketing know-it-alls on here, South Africa didn't care about losing today, and they definitely didn't care about losing by a world record score. They're clearly not professionals, with professional pride then ??OF COURSE THEY CARED. Why wouldn't you want to try and win by a clean sweep? Some people just can't bare to say anything positive about EnglandReply294Show comment linksMComment by mrcollins at 18:44 7 Sepmrcollins18:44 7 SepI came on here planning to make a jokey comment of “I bet some people are still going to moan”…and then I read the comments. For goodness sake, get a grip. Or a hobby which doesn’t make you so bitter and obnoxious.Reply317Show comment linksGComment by Gulf-of-Cuba at 18:50 7 SepGulf-of-Cuba18:50 7 Septo mrcollins"I came on here planning to make a jokey comment of “I bet some people are still going to moan”…and then I read the comments. For goodness sake, get a grip. Or a hobby which doesn’t make you so bitter and obnoxious."Sadly these BBC comment forums are now infested with trolls. Probably a lot of ABEs. Barely worth bothering to read.Reply184Show comment linksMore replies (2)GComment by gidders at 18:05 7 Sepgidders18:05 7 SepSo England were woeful a few days ago and have progressively got better, it's either SA have got worse or England were undercooked at the outset and more likely a bit of both.Reply232Show comment linksMComment by MarkJ2222 at 19:30 7 SepMarkJ222219:30 7 SepAnyone who follows sport know that SA never, ever conced a dead rubber. They are one of the fiercest nations on earth. Deserved 2-1 win, but grateful for a good England come backReply161Show comment linksDComment by Dirk Pitt at 17:40 7 SepDirk Pitt17:40 7 SepOne extreme to the other. Well done anyway EnglandReply161Show comment linksMore commentsBack to toploading comments module
