After beating Australia 2-1 in the ODI series, South Africa will next battle it out with England in the upcoming three-match ODI series, starting on Tuesday, September 02. Ahead of the mouth-watering series, here are the latest ICC ODI Team Rankings. The three games will be played today at Headingley, September 04 at Lord's Cricket Stadium, and September 07 at Southampton.
These two teams last met during the Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, wherein the Proteas emerged victorious by seven wickets. They also won the last bilateral series, defeating England 2-1 at home in 2023. Overall, the record between these two teams have been tooth & nail since the first ever match in 1992. England have emerged on top 30 times, while South Africa have won 35 games, with five no-results and a tie. While the Proteas have momentum, as they beat Australia Down Under in the ODI series, the hosts are coming off a 3-0 ODI series whitewash against West Indies in June this year.
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Currently, India occupies the top position in the latest Men's ICC ODI Team Rankings with 124 points, followed by New Zealand (109) and Australia (106). South Africa is placed sixth in the rankings (98) points, while England is placed eighth with (88) points.
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England hoping for automatic qualification for the ODI World Cup 2027
Notably, England's position (eighth) in the rankings is not good, as a further slip up will not enable them an automatic qualification for the ODI World Cup 2027 event. Currently, the Number nine position is the last to automatically qualify for the showpiece event. Teams below them, 10th ranked Bangladesh, and 12h ranked Ireland are in danger of missing out on direct qualification for the showpiece event. Eleventh-ranked Zimbabwe will directly qualify for the ODI World Cup since they are co-hosts alongside South Africa for the tournament.
A win for England, currently guarantees them of a direct spot in the WC. However, a slip-up against South Africa might spell a disaster for the hosts.
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