England secures record 342-run ODI win over South Africa

Jacob Bethell scored his first professional century, an elegant 110 off 82 balls, helping England reach a commanding total of 414-5 in the third ODI against South Africa. Joe Root also contributed a century with 100 runs, while Jos Buttler and Jamie Smith added valuable runs, pushing England to their highest ODI total in three years and their best home score since 2018. Despite having already lost the series, England's comprehensive victory by 342 runs marked the largest winning margin by runs in men's ODI history. Jofra Archer's fast and hostile new-ball spell was pivotal, taking four wickets for 18 runs and reducing South Africa to 72 all out, with Adil Rashid claiming the final three wickets. South Africa's batting collapsed dramatically, losing early wickets and failing to recover from Archer's onslaught, with injured captain Temba Bavuma unable to bat. This dominant performance served as a morale boost for England after earlier defeats in the series and set the stage for the upcoming T20 matches between the two sides.