England scored their highest overseas ODI total in their history, notching up a mammoth 399-9, as they set South Africa a daunting run chase. Jos Buttler recovered from his Test exile with a wonderful century, before the bowlers set about their job as they gave England full control of the match. The visitors couldn't finish the job themselves as the rain intervened to give England a 39-run victory and 1-0 series lead.
Buttler bats South Africa out of the game
Buttler was moved up to fourth in the batting order, which was a masterstroke in tactics from Eoin Morgan, as he made full use of some brilliant foundations set by the openers Jason Roy (48) and Alex Hales (57).The free-scoring batsman played some masterful strokes as he smashed 11 fours and five sixes on his way to a 105 from just 76 balls.
The Lancashire man capitalised on some poor bowling from the Proteas and an absolutely perfect batting track, as he hit the ball to all areas of the park; it was a true 360 degrees innings.
To put the game out of South Africa's reach he needed support, and support is what he got. 48 and 57 from Roy and Hales respectively meant that when Joe Root and Buttler came to the crease, they had the pressure taken off them and it allowed them to score freely.
Root cashed in as he scored a well paced 52 as he shared a 97 run stand with Buttler. Ben Stokes was the man who really accelerated the run-rate, however, when he came out to bat. Despite starting slowly, the explosive all rounder soon started racing as four fours and three sixes helped him to 57 off just 38 balls.
These three fifties and useful cameos from Morgan, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan ensured that England scored at a shade under eight an over, setting South Africa 400 to win.
De Kock scores a majestic century
After watching Jos Buttler and England smash their way to 399, South Africa walked out to bat knowing that they were going to need something special to even be within touching distance of England's total.
Stand up Quinton De Kock. Despite having a rather poor Test series, the South Africa batsman looked in complete control from the very first ball.
Despite watching Hashim Amla fall cheaply at the end to David Willey, he was supported well by Faf du Plessis (55). He played his natural game as he took the attack to the England bowlers, immediately putting the visitors on the back foot. Until the rain came, De Kock looked totally invincible with England barely even drawing a chance out of him. He concluded his innings when the rain came, finishing on a magnificent 138* from just 96 balls.
Unlike Buttler however, he didn't get the kind of support he needed as England took regular wickets to keep South Africa out of the game. Only du Plessis really offered any resistance, with the explosive AB de Villiers unable to shake off his poor Test form.
He tried to take on Ali but couldn't clear the ropes and Stokes - in the deep - took one of the catches of the year, bringing the ball down one-handed while running at full speed. De Villiers was shell-shocked at the crease before he finally started walking back to the pavilion. England kept the pressure on and ensured no other batsmen could make it into the twenties. They looked in full control before the rain finally ended the game, earning a 39-run victory via the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Could South Africa have made the 400?
Obviously there will never be a definitive answer to this, as the unpredictability of ODI cricket means that anything can, and will, happen. The likely answer though, is no.
Although De Kock was going fantastically and could well have pushed his way past the 150 mark, England were already beginning to make serious inroads in to South Africa's batting line-up; only Farhaan Behardien likely to provide anything even close to resistance.
Realistically, with South Africa still needing such a high volume of runs, it was always going to be a fairly comfortable victory for England.
This win has given England a much-needed 1-0 lead in the series. The teams will meet again on Saturday for the Second ODI in Port Elizabeth, with the tourists looking to give themselves a very dominant position in the series, while the Proteas will be desperate to get a foothold in this series.