Marco Jansen Leads South Africa To Dominance Over England

Karachi: South African all-rounder Marco Jansen pulled off a spectacular \ndiving catch at midwicket here on Saturday during Match 11 of the ICC Champions \nTrophy 2025. The stunning effort sent England’s Harry Brook back to the \npavilion, weakening what was already a struggling England innings against \nSouth Africa’s disciplined bowling attack.

The moment unfolded in the 17th over when Keshav Maharaj bowled a tossed-up \ndelivery on the leg stump. Brook, attempting to clear midwicket, went for \na lofted shot but failed to cover the distance. Jansen, fielding at long-on, reacted \nswiftly, covering 28 metres in the outfield. With flawless timing, he dived to his \nright, slid onto his knees, and completed the catch, stunning spectators and leaving \nBrook bewildered.

Marco Jansen didn’t just shine with his fielding but also made his mark with the ball, \ntaking three wickets for 39 runs. He reduced England to 37 for three within the \nfirst seven overs, crippling their hopes of recovery throughout the game. Joe Root, the standout batter for England, top-scored with only 37 runs, as several of his teammates faced challenges pushing their scores higher. Skipper Jos Buttler contributed 21, Ben Duckett added 24, and Jofra Archer managed 25 runs. \n

Brief scores noted: England: 179, South Africa: 43/1 (8). (Agency inputs)

Wiaan Mulder and Jansen, with their combined efforts, delivered South Africa’s \ndominant bowling performance, ensuring England was eventually bowled out for 179—the lowest total of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. This convincing display solidified South Africa’s place in the semifinals, directly eliminating Afghanistan from the tournament.

England found themselves at sea following their decision to bat first after winning the toss. Joe Root scored modestly yet proved resilient at 37. Meanwhile, the batting lineup faltered awfully, losing wickets with alarming regularity as South Africa exhibited solid fielding and strategic bowling. Despite Aiden Markram, the stand-in captain, leaving the field due to hamstring trouble, the Proteas tightened their grip on the game.

From the onset, Jansen delivered key breakthroughs. He quickly sent back Phil Salt via top edge to mid-wicket within the first over. Returning to the attack, he dismissed Jamie Smith for just three balls, and then followed suit with Ben Duckett, who was dismissed for 24, offering a leading edge back to Jansen. The pivotal catch of Brook later added to the growing tension within England’s camp.

Root tried to build momentum, launching several boundaries and hitting sixes off Mulder and fours off Rabada; yet, the partnership with Brook faltered quickly. Their stand of 62 ended abruptly when Brook mis-hit, allowing Jansen to execute another stunning catch off Maharaj.

Following this, Mulder removed Root, who failed to connect successfully, and stumps were crashed down after the ball had made contact with his pad. The collapse continued with Liam Livingstone being stumped off Maharaj and Ngidi’s exceptional catch sent Jamie Overton walking off the field.

Jos Buttler played his last match as the England captain, attempting to reinforce the innings amid growing despair. A notable partnership of 42 runs was built alongside Jofra Archer, yet this too came to an end when Jansen executed another remarkable catch to dismiss Archer. Shortly after, Buttler returned, chipping the ball directly to mid-off and falling at Ngidi’s hands for 21 runs, leading to the disastrous end of England’s innings.

With Adil Rashid edging behind off Mulder, England’s collapse was complete with 11.4 overs still remaining to play.

Current match scores summarized: England 179 all out within 38.2 overs. Notably, Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen similarly led the bowling charts with 3-25 and 3-39, respectively. \n
England’s disappointment deepened as they faced uncertainty about their potential to advance. Their final score was juxtaposed against South Africa’s early innings total of 43/1 after just eight overs.

The playing XIs for both teams noted: England's lineup included Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Saqib Mahmood. South Africa’s team members consisted of Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, and Lungi Ngidi.