England and South Africa draw series after third ODI is washed out

A crackle of class from the flashing blade of Quinton de Kock was as good as it got for the sold-out crowd at Headingley, with the third one-day international between England and South Africa abandoned after just two hours of play because of rain.

De Kock had stroked his way to 92 not out from 76 balls, and South Africa 159 for two from 27.4 overs, when the second deluge of the day proved terminal and the officials called time at 4.03pm. It meant a series drawn at 1-1, a 50% refund for spectators, and a rather soggy end to England’s 50-over programme this summer.

After a pair of 2-1 defeats to India in the Twenty20s and the ODIs, missing out on the chance to claim a first series win as full-time captain was a blow to Jos Buttler. He bemoaned a lack of intensity from his side during the first hour of play here – wickets for David Willey and Adil Rashid pegged things back a touch – and pointed to the 38-hour turnaround since Friday’s win in Manchester as the likely reason for this.

Indeed the schedule was something Buttler was keen to highlight when assessing his start to life as Eoin Morgan’s replacement. England have three Twenty20s against South Africa in the next week – starting in Bristol on Wednesday – to complete a run of 12 white-ball internationals in just 24 days. Thanks to the rearranged fifth Test against India last month, there has been little respite between fixtures.

This may be a longstanding lament – the type that prompted Ben Stokes to call time on his ODI career – but for Buttler it has been particularly acute, with just one full training day and thus a lack of time to impart his vision as captain. England, previously so dominant with the bat under Eoin Morgan, have been bowled out in all five ODI