England’s batting flopped embarrassingly on their return to ODI duty, bowled out for just 131 in their Metro Bank Series opener against South Africa .

The squad only came together in full on Monday evening, with their solitary pre-match training session severely depleted due to the conclusion of The Hundred, and their chosen XI turned in an error-strewn and incoherent effort.

The Proteas, who have only recently arrived from a one-day series in Australia, were much sharper as they took advantage of a sloppy performance that lasted just 24.3 overs – less than half of their allotted time.

Jamie Smith top-scored as he continued his new role as opener, hitting 54 in 48 balls, but it was a solitary effort as the rest of the order toppled in timid fashion. England’s next best was 15 from

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