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The South Africans are touring England for what could be a decisive and interesting one-day series. With three ODI games in this 2025 tour, it could be said, that two of world cricket's most dominant and consistent sides are going to lock horns over one incredible series. Both teams feature match-winning and game-changing batters and extremely sucessful bowlers. While the English side will look at the series as an opportunity to test their mettle on home turf against a group that is truly coming into its own having recently claimed the World Test Championship.
The South Africans will look at the series as a chance to test their potential against one of the three leading powers in world cricket, India and Australia being the other two. Having said that, which are the five players to watch out for in the England versus South Africa ODI series? Let us dive into that straight away.
Let's take a look at the players to watch out for in the England vs South Africa 2025 ODI series:
1. Joe Root
There are batters, there are class acts and then bonafide legends like Joe Root, a one of a kind talent for England. The last time that Root played a one-day series and that too, at home, he plummeted the Windies side for a sensational match-winning hundred and when his team were down and out facing the threat of a defeat. He's a changer of waning fortunes, the hitter of glorious hundreds and a man who reminds the bowlers that it ain't over, unless and until they take his wicket. Clearly, a class act, Root is the biggest wicket in a batting order where Duckett and Smith open for England with the likes of Brook to come.
He would be the big fish that the Proteas line up would be eager to get. Root has already scored 7126 ODI runs, prior to the start of this series, with 18 hundreds to his name.
2. Aiden Markram
Markram is, if you think closely, among the finest current batters operating in international cricket. A big match player, Markram, 2455 runs, 80 one dayers, 13 fifties, is an elegant timer of the cricket ball and someone who can change gears to further enforce himself over his opponents. That is what South Africa would quite like their premier marksman with the bat to do in what are critical points to be earned in the build up to the next edition of Men's ODI World Cup.
There's a sense of ceaseless class and enormous capability about Aiden Markram, the dominant right hander. And truth be told, the three hundreds in the ODI format don't quite tell you the full story!
3. Jofra Archer
Fast, furious and unforgiving, any cricketing contest tends to further pack a punch and rises to become an unmissible event when it features Jofra Archer - usually injured and often found in recovery mode.
But after he was used rather watchfully and judiciously by his English side in the July-bound Tests against India, Jofra Archer has added further bite and pace to his craft. He will be expected to catch leading Protea batters such as Markram, Bavuma, Brevis and company by surprise and will look to perform at the peak of his powers given these contests are taking place at home in England.
Though he has only played 31 one dayers so far, Archer has picked 54 wickets from them and that makes him, a sublime force in action for the English side.
4. Dewald Brevis
Given his recent scintillating form with the bat, particularly as seen against Australia in the shortest format of the sport, where Brevis hit the highest-individual T20I score for a batter in Australia, the young batter seems to be the key man for the Proteas.
He seems to have refound his lost touch and is looking to be the key man who's rediscovering himself in the highest annals of the game. The attacking right hander, interestingly, is coming out of the giant shadow of comparison with AB de Villiers, something that was rather harshly attributed to him.
Brevis is touring England for the first time ever and he'd want it to be a special series, one ought to imagine.
5. Keshav Maharaj
Maharaj was the pick of the spinners on either side featuring both South Africa and Australia as seen in the limited-over contests recently Down Under. Maharaj brings the big match-winning experience and prowess at the highest level of international cricket and his services are widely respected by the South African men's team.
With 64 ODI wickets, Maharaj, who has bowled in 51 contests so far, would be raring to go and would aim to flummox the great batters of the class and reputation of Joe Root and Ben Duckett and the likes. The left arm orthodox bowls at an exceptionally good economy of 4.6 an over and that is something to cherish, if you are a Protea supporter or player.
