| Third one-day international from Royal London, Leicester |
| England 371-7 (50 overs): Beaumont 119 (107), Lamb 65 (66); Khaka 2-64 |
| South Africa 262 all out (45.4 overs): Tryon 70 (57), Kap 62 (54); Davidson-Richards 3-35, Dean 3-42, Lamm 3-42 |
| England won by 109 runs; lead multi-format series 8-2 |
| scorecard |
A brilliant century from Tammy Beaumont helped England to a dominant 109-run win in their third one-day international against South Africa and ensured they couldn’t lose the multi-format series.
After being used to bat in Leicester in sweltering conditions, England went 371-7 – their fifth-highest ODI result and just seven shy of their record against Pakistan in 2016.
Beaumont smashed 19 fours and a six in her 119 of 107 balls as she shared a second straight stand in the opening of the century with Emma Lamb, who made 65.
Having managed to do so for the first time in the second ODI, England’s top four scored more than 50 points again as Sophia Dunkley followed her first ODI century at 51 while Captain Heather Knight made a 49-ball 63.
In response, Laura Wolvaardt hit a striking 56 before Charlie Dean removed her for the third time in the series as the Tourists fell to 109-4.
Chloe Tryon (70 balls from 57) and Marizanne Kapp (62 balls from 54) breathed life into the chase and put up 110 for the fifth wicket, but when both fell into a five-over spell England could take the tail and bowl pack South Africa out for 262.
Alice Davidson-Richards finished 3-35 while spinners Dean and Lamb both went for 3-42.
The win means England lead the multi-format series 8-2 after beating the ODI series 3-0 without error.
The three-game Twenty20 series begins on Thursday (7pm BST) in Chelmsford, with each game being worth two points.
England punishing lackluster South Africa
In view of Temperatures in the late 30’s and their struggles for a powerful England batting side in their first two games, it came as a surprise when South Africa captain Sune Luus opted for first field.
Discipline was poor throughout, as evidenced by 15 wides and four no-balls in the innings, with Lamb and Beaumont sharing 149 after serving 127 in the last game.
Lamb, dropped to 35 and 54, was bowled out by Shabnim Ismail as she tried to run away, but it was another innings that showed she was cementing her place at the top of the order.
Dropped to 50, Beaumont accelerated as she went from her half-century to her ninth ODI ton in just 30 balls, showing great power through offside and balance to clip her legs. She is now tied with Charlotte Edwards for most ODI tonnage for English women.
The opener was at a loss as she attempted to attack Nonkululeko Mlaba and that led to a slight slowdown in the score after a total of 400 had looked likely.
Dunkley was caught on a long-on by Nadine de Klerk before Danni Wyatt capitalized on loose bowling to bludgeon a 14-ball 33.
England needed 12 from the final to set their highest score but Knight was out before Dean was caught by Ayabonga Khaka for a golden duck.
The fact that the hosts were able to pull off such a total without the rested Nat Sciver demonstrates their strength and depth, but they were helped by a poor South African performance, with a three-ball spell containing two drops and a clear run-out chance who missed the summation increase their performance.
New bowlers raise their hand for England
With South Africa going 61-0 after eight overs, it would have been easy for England’s attack to collapse under the pressure, lacking the experience of Sciver, Katherine Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone.
But the 21-year-old off-spinner Dean stood up and warped Andrie Steyn with her first ball for the decisive breakthrough.
Six overs later she trapped Wolvaardt lbw before Lamb and Davidson-Richards picked up their first ODI wickets by removing Luus and Lara Goodall respectively.
England then threw 12 consecutive overs of pace at Tryon and Kapp and that allowed them to calm down freely and score before Lamb returned to remove the former.
The 24-year-old then outpaced Nadine de Klerk before Tryon went wide of Dean.
Davidson-Richards, costly 1-33 in her first four-over spell, put Trisha Chetty ahead before Ismail and Khaka were bowled by Issy Wong and Davidson-Richards respectively for another tough win.
Being able to make changes and still play a side in warm conditions will have pleased Knight and head coach Lisa Keightley with a new World Cup cycle underway.
“We chased them out of the park” – reaction
England captain Heather Knight: “It’s really gratifying. We got away from the World Cup and we challenged the girls to be better in some areas and we blew them out of the park.
“It’s a really good start to a new 50+ cycle of cricket. The girls we brought in were superb, we were able to rotate a bit and still win. The three players we had Bank today was a pretty good bank!”
South Africa captain Sune Luus: “We sponsored our bowlers to do the work for us. Obviously we haven’t done our best throughout the series and today was a good opportunity for us to hit our straps, throw our lines and lengths and throw them for a reasonable sum.
“Unfortunately that didn’t happen but it was still a good cricket match.”
Player of the game Tammy Beaumont: “I was surprised we struck first, I’m not going to lie. I know Heather wanted to bat first and once she lost the throw I thought it was going to be a long 50 overs!
“I’m just trying to keep my game simple and hit the way I hit. Emma Lamb and I clicked straight away, we get along really well and it’s been nice to form some great partnerships together.”
Emma Lamb series player: “It feels a bit like a dream to be honest. Obviously I’m very happy with how it went. I was positive and clinical with my shots, it paid off. All the hard work has paid off.”
