The Proteas are walking a fine line as they seek automatic qualification for this year’s World Cup and it involves more than just winning matches, as they must do in the next few months. 

There’s team selection to ensure players are rested as was the case Sunday with Kagiso Rabada and player of the match from the first ODI, Sisanda Magala, both sitting out while a third change — Keshav Maharaj for Tabraiz Shamsi — had more to do with poor form from the latter.

There’s also the over rates that South Africa struggled with throughout England’s innings in Bloemfontein. The heat didn’t help, nor did delivering 24 extras, six of which were conceded by stand-in wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen. 

He was in that position when Quinton de Kock needed treatment after being struck on the wrist by a Anrich Nortjé delivery that bounced a second time in front of him at the end of the 15th over. Fortunately for De Kock, X-rays showed no sign of a fracture.

Though that period of time when De Kock was receiving medical assistance on the field would have been taken into consideration by the umpires, it still left South Africa an over behind heading into the last eight overs of the England innings. They risk being docked at least one point, which they can ill afford, for bowling their 50 overs in more than the stipulated 210 minutes. 

Their own bowling would not have pleased them too. Lungi Ngidi and Wayne Parnell started decently using the conditions that led to Temba Bavuma deciding to field after winning the toss. There was some stickiness in the surface, which the Proteas skipper rightly judged would assist the seamers, who dismissed both the England openers inside the first 10 overs. 

England showed there was more to their attacking game than just mindlessly attempting to hit boundaries.

Young Harry Brook absorbed pressure and then flourished to score 80 off 75 balls, his innings changing the momentum of the touring team’s innings. Brook’s presence in this series owes to England’s own rotation policy as they seek out who might provide options in the absence of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. 

Brook has the talent and match awareness, which he used perfectly on Sunday. 

The same can’t be said of the South African bowlers, particularly at the ‘death’. While variety is always welcome whether in length or pace, the fact that they eschewed the ‘yorker’ was alarming. It remains the main wicket-taking threat and as Marco Jansen showed on one occasion when he actually landed one, it stops scoring too.

Instead what the Proteas delivered in the last five overs, was a mixture of balls bowled into the surface, a lot of them off-speed deliveries, which the English dined out on. Moeen Ali bashed 51 off 45 balls and Sam Curran 28 off 17. Skipper Jos Buttler, who at one stage was denied the strike, finished with an unbeaten 92 off 84 balls that included eight fours and three sixes. 

England finished on 342/7, something that would have exceeded their expectations at the halfway point of the innings. In those last five overs they scored 63 runs, 39 of which came off Ngidi’s last two, as he sought out the middle of the pitch rather than bowling full and targeting the stumps. 

If that is the kind of execution and thinking the South Africans are going to employ then they will be heading to Zimbabwe in the winter for that qualification tournament.