The winning series of Harry Brook when the White-ball captain of England to a hair-raising stopped against South Africa, with the painful debut of Sonny Baker a scorching representation in the first Metro Bank One Day International.
Earlier this summer, Brook started his limited rules with six consecutive victories in the West Indies, but the honeymoon ended after his side was thoroughly surpassed in a seven-wicket that hit Headingley’s home base.
The hosts were out for 131 in just 24.3 overs – slightly less than half of their allocation – in which Jamie Smith’s 54 protruded like a sore thumb in the midst of a large number of failures.
That was probably never enough to control the Proteas, who with 175 balls left in an attack that Baker took as an additional damage.
The 22-year-old was already fired for a golden duck at number 11, in which the weak batting effort of England was completed, when he got the new ball and asked to impress a game that had already disappeared.
Instead, he was drawn by Aiden Markram and served seven Wicketless Overs for 76 – the most expensive ODI analysis by a debutant in England.
Baker has earned his place with a few clear versions in both the Rothesay County Championship and the hundred, but needs a lot of character to bounce back from a start like this.
However, he was not just struggling. Smith and Adil Rashid were the only players who achieved a passing figure, with the latter all the Wickets of England in a lost case.
There are clear mitigating factors, most pertinently a chaotic preparation period caused by the tight turning between the end of the hundred and the beginning of the series.
The team only came together completely on Monday evening, with their lonely pre-match training session seriously exhausted when those involved in the final of Sunday from traveled to the north while their teammates delivered.
But even against that background, this was an incoherent display from one side that has recently earned their modest world ranking from eight.
Sent to Bat, England started in a positive tone when Smith spoke the fifth ball of the day for the first of his 10 limits.
Things soon took a turn of it worse, and rarely looked like recovering.
Ben Duckett fell over in the third and took a defensive push behind, before Joe Root spent Lungi Ngidi to Ryan Rickelton, who held with one hand during the second attempt.
Smith scored pressure enough to transfer the total to a respectable 82 for two in the 14th, but he couldn’t do it alone.
Brook hit his first ball to the ropes, but ran up for 12 chasing a non-existent second point and when Smith was well caught by Corbin Bosch after brightening Wiaan Mulder to Fine-Leg, the collapse accelerated.
They lost seven wickets for 29, where Keshav Maharaj helped himself to four to 22. There was no lush spider for the left armer, but he still brought mistakes from Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Rashid and Baker.
South Africa was racing to win at the switch and struck as if they knew.
Baker shifted 14 from the first, Markram welcomed him on stage with three borders in four deliveries.
He followed with two sixes on the next visit from the newcomer when the runs flowed, with the travails of England on the other side.
Jofra Archer thought he had Rickelton for a duck, only for the low slip catch of root to be excluded, when Brook was unable to revise a legitimate lbw profession of the next ball.
Almost immediately the game was over like a match. After he had seen two overs go for 34, persistent Brook with Baker, who improved somewhat but completely lost the fight when Markram eagerly boarded 86.
Smith gave the Yorkshire faithfully something to cheer when he removed him with a beautiful catch for coverage.
Rashid added Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs with only one run needed and Dewald Brevis ended up things with a big blow to six.
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