South Africa's Matthew Breetzke became the first player to score half centuries in each of his first five ODI appearances to set up his side's gripping series-clinching five-run victory over England at Lord's on Thursday.
Breetzke scored 85 and shared in a 147-run fourth-wicket partnership with Tristan Stubbs as South Africa recovered from losing three quick wickets to post a formidable 330-8.
Tasked with pulling off a record ODI run chase at Lord's, England were still well in the game under the lights with Jos Buttler taking them to within range of victory.
But he was bowled by a magical slow ball from Lungi Ngidi for 61 and when Will Jacks was dismissed for 39, England's hopes of an improbable victory looked forlorn.
Some courageous late hitting by Jofra Archer, including two sixes, induced some South African jitters, but England ended on 325-9 to give the visitors an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
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England vs South Africa live
- England face South Africa at Lord's in the second of three ODIs | Live on Sky Sports
- England win the toss and choose to bowl under cloudy skies in London
- Matthew Breetzke scores his fifth half century in five one-day internationals
- Tristian Stubbs brings up his 50 as South Africa turn the screw on England
- Wicket! Stubbs furious with teammate Brevis after being run out on 58 (South Africa 259-5)
- South Africa set England big total of 331 to win second ODI
- Bethell and Root bring up 50s to steady England
- Wicket! Root stumped after mis-judging Maharaj delivery (England 147-4)
- Wicket! Brook hooks to Bavuma in the covers (England 216-5)
- Jos Buttler lands a half-century to aid England's late run chase, but he falls for 61
- South Africa win by five runs after tense finale
22:18
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Buttler's wicket killed England's chase
21:41
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Shaun Pollock says the wicket of Jos Buttler, brilliantly slow bowled by Lungi Ngidi on 61, was the key moment of the run chase.
Lungi Ngidi does Jos Buttler all ends up with a brilliant slower ball pic.twitter.com/HvQkMIaP1a
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 4, 2025
South Africa win by five runs!
21:28
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Archer can’t find the middle of the bat, and jogs a forlorn single. A good effort, but England fall just short of a record run chase at Lord’s.
England need six for a super over
21:27
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Archer finds four more!
England need 11 runs from two balls
21:26
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Archer can’t find the boundary, and refuses the single. Only sixes will do now...
England need 11 runs from three balls
21:26
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Archer reverse slogs for four! Surely he can’t...
England need 15 runs from four balls
21:25
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Archer swings and misses, good bowling by Muthusamy.
England need 15 runs from five balls
21:24
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Mahmood slaps a single, Archer on strike.
England need 16 runs from six balls.
21:24
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Lawrence Ostlere
Archer tells Mahmood, “just don’t get out”, on the last ball of the penultimate over. Mahmood instead thrashes at it and it’s a single that keeps Mahmood on strike. Perhaps not the best tactic.
Wicket! Adil Rashid run out Breetzke 2
21:21
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Ah! Rashid is run out by a mile and England are nine down.
England require 18 from nine balls.
England need 19 runs from 10 balls
21:18
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Adil Rashid is in and he is running hard as Jofra Archer swings. England need a few big boundaries to have any hope... and Archer delivers with a giant six over midwicket!
WICKET! Will Jacks c Maharaj b Burger 39
21:11
,
Lawrence Ostlere
And that might be that. Jacks slices to backward point and England are surely done now.
England 290/8, needing 41 runs off 19 balls to win.
WICKET! Brydon Carse c Markram b Burger 7
21:06
,
Chris Wilson
WICKET! Carse is gone.
He drives high but not long and straight into the hands of Markram!
England 288-7.
England 288-6 (Carse 7, Jacks 39)
21:05
,
Chris Wilson
Over 46
9 off the last over, so almost the required rate for the hosts. Can they improve in the final five overs?
Muthusamy comes back in to bowl.
Jacks lands two off the first ball, reverse-sweeping it for two but not with enough power for the boundary.
Nothing off the second or third deliveries...
But a four off the next one! Jacks moves off and then scoops a shot away leg side for the boundary.
Nothing off the next ball though, straight to the fielder...
Before a six off the final ball of the over! He makes up for the last shot with a superb reverse-sweep high over deep third.
England 277-6 (Carse 8, Jacks 27)
21:00
,
Chris Wilson
Over 45
Ngidi coming up once again. His first ball is hot for a single by Jacks, before the second is a great yorker that somehow misses the stumps and goes for a bye.
Jacks can’t score off the third ball – another yorker – and his next delivery misses the length, with Jacks swiping it over midwicket for six!
There’s a single to follow, and Carse replies with one of his own to take England to 277.
England 267-6 (Carse 7, Jacks 19)
20:55
,
Chris Wilson
Over 44
Bosch on for his final over of the day. He’s at figures of 1-30, while England are needing 10.29 on the RRR.
Nothing comes of the first ball...but Carse blasts in a four as he opens up the off-side and guides it through. That’s the first boundary in five overs.
Nothing off the next ball though, and a single after that.
Jacks back facing, and he lands a double before ending the over with a single.
England 259-6 (Carse 2, Jacks 16)
20:51
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Chris Wilson
Over 43
It’ll be Brydon Carse out to see out the over. He takes a single off his first ball, before Jacks lands a single off the penultimate ball of the over.
One more from Carse to end the 43rd over of the day.
WICKET! Jos Buttler b Ngidi 61
20:49
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Chris Wilson
WICKET! Buttler is next to go.
It’s a slower ball from Ngidi, and Buttler came for the charge down but sees the ball fall below his bat before taking out the middle stump.
The visitors are really in charge now.
England 256-5 (Buttler 61, Jacks 15)
20:48
,
Chris Wilson
Over 43
Ngidi up next for over number eight. His first delivery is a fairly harsh wide.
His second ball goes for three though, as he charges down the wicket to pull the shot through midwicket. Only a great dive from Markram prevents the boundary.
Jacks takes a single next.
England 251-5 (Buttler 58, Jacks 14)
20:45
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Chris Wilson
Over 42
Bosch back in for his ninth over.
Jacks hits him for two off the first delivery, before flicking a shot behind square for a single.
Buttler finds a single of his own, adapting well to change the potential leg-side shot and guide it down to deep third.
Jacks luckily misses the next delivery as it’s caught behind, before he taps in a single and Buttler finishes the over with a single of his own.
England over 250 now!
England 245-5 (Buttler 56, Jacks 10)
20:41
,
Chris Wilson
Over 41
Into the final powerplay, with Ngidi up for his seventh over. It begins with a single for Buttler and Jacks.
Nothing off the third delivery, a single off the fourth.
Buttler next up, and he sweeps to backward square for two. He then secures another double on the final ball, somehow managing to find space in the deep.
England 238-5 (Buttler 51, Jacks 8)
20:35
,
Chris Wilson
Over 40
Jacks starts with a single on the second ball, and as it’s thrown in it deflects off the stumps to give England another two!
Jacks follows it up with another single, which puts Buttler into position to secure his half-century now.
He does just that, with a single taking him to 50 off 43 deliveries. His 28th in ODI cricket.
Both England men follow with a single each before the final ball of the over sees Jacks add another to the tally.
England 231-5 (Buttler 49, Jacks 3)
20:31
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Chris Wilson
Over 39
Muthusamy takes the ball for his sixth over.
Nothing off the first...but Buttler goes for the reverse sweep on the next one and drives a six over over deep third and over the boundary!
Nothing on the next ball but a single on the one after takes a lucky bounce away from a fielder, putting Jacks on strike for the last two balls of the over.
He lands a single on the final ball to take the hosts to 231.
England 223-5 (Buttler 42, Jacks 2)
20:28
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Chris Wilson
Over 38
Burger from the Nursery End.
Jacks starts with a single, before Buttler drives a four up and over the covers.
Nothing off the next two balls though, and England need to pick up the run rate a little, though it’s still in the balance.
A single follows, giving Jacks the final delivery of the over...nothing doing.
England 217-5 (Buttler 37, Jacks 1)
20:24
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Chris Wilson
Over 37
Will Jacks out at seven then. He starts with a single of his second ball, and England have two runs over that over.
WICKET! Harry Brook c Bavuma b Muthusamy 33
20:22
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Chris Wilson
WICKET! Brook is gone!
Brook seems caught off-guard as he goes to drive hard but instead finds a slower delivery which he loops to cover, and Bavuma takes the catch.
England 216-4 (Buttler 37, Brook 33)
20:20
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Chris Wilson
Over 37
Muthusamy back on. England’s current run rate is 5.97, but they need just over 8.
They start with a single from the first two.
England 215-4 (Buttler 36, Brook 33)
20:18
,
Chris Wilson
Over 36
Buttler is fine.
The next ball is a leg bye, before two blanks to end the 36th over.
England 214-4 (Buttler 36, Brook 33)
20:16
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Chris Wilson
Over 36
Two singles to open Bosch’s eighth over, before the third delivery bounces high and hits Buttler on the helmet. He takes a little while to assess the damage, and the physios come out.
England 212-4 (Buttler 35, Brook 32)
20:13
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Chris Wilson
Over 35
Muthusamy back in to bowl, with South Africa choosing the ball they want to use for the rest of the innings.
The over starts with a single for Brook.
And Buttler replies with a huge six! It goes well over wide long-on and straight into the Harris Gardens.
Not bad on the next delivery either, as Buttler drives into the covers.
A single follows to put Brook on strike. He can’t get anything from his first ball, but drives to deep midwicket for two to end the over.
England 200-4 (Buttler 26, Brook 29)
20:07
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Chris Wilson
Over 34
SIX! It’s close, but it goes.
Brook drives the first delivery of the over hard and flat over deep cover for maximum runs.
Nothing off the next four for Brook though, despite attempting the run down the wicket.
He does manage a final single though, taking England to 200 as he flicks to mid-on.
England 193-4 (Buttler 26, Brook 22)
20:04
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Chris Wilson
Over 33
Maharaj’s last over of the day sees him concede just five runs, to finish on 2-59.
Five conceded there as Bosch lines up the next over.
England 188-4 (Buttler 23, Brook 20)
19:58
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Chris Wilson
Over 32
Bosch is 1-9 as he picks up the ball again. His first two deliveries yield no runs, but Buttler comes down the wicket and drives the third ball straight back down for four.
He glances a single behind on the next ball before Brook sees out the over with a single driven out to deep point, and that’ll be drinks.
England 182-4 (Buttler 18, Brook 19)
19:53
,
Chris Wilson
Over 31
A single run for each batsman to start the over.
On the third ball, Brook sweeps behind square leg for four!
Another single for each to end the over.
England 174-4 (Buttler 16, Brook 13)
19:51
,
Chris Wilson
Over 30
Muthusamy back on the attack. Not a lot happening in his overs for England!
That is almost the case again, as he concedes just two before he throws a delivery high and Buttler drives it over straight mid-on.
England 166-4 (Buttler 9, Brook 12)
19:49
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Chris Wilson
Over 29
No quick runs to start this over either, with both batsmen landing singles. Brook takes another to put Buttler on strike for the final ball of the over.
He drives to wide long-off to end the over.
England 162-4 (Buttler 7, Brook 10)
19:46
,
Chris Wilson
Over 28
Good over from Muthusamy, who concedes just three runs and sits at 0-9.
England need 169 from the remaining 22 overs.
England 159-4 (Buttler 6, Brook 8)
19:43
,
Chris Wilson
Over 27
A lovely four from Buttler, who nails the reverse-sweep to the boundary.
He grabs another single on the fifth ball before Brook ends the over with a single of his own.
England 153-4 (Buttler 1, Brook 7)
19:40
,
Chris Wilson
Over 26
Muthusamy comes into the bowling attack now, but he’s pulled through backward square for four on his second ball.
Still an economical over though, with Brook firing a single back down the wicket on the penultimate ball before Buttler ends the over by punching to long-off.
England 147-4 (Buttler 0, Brook 2)
19:37
,
Chris Wilson
Over 25
Jos Buttler walks out next. No run from his opening ball, and the over ends.
WICKET! Joe Root st †Rickelton b Maharaj 61
19:36
,
Chris Wilson
Over 25
WICKET! Root is gone!
He comes down the wicket to meet the delivery from Maharaj but misses it, and Rickelton quickly stumps him!
England 145-3 (Root 60, Brook 1)
19:32
,
Chris Wilson
Over 24
Harry Brook is next to enter the fray, and he begins with a simple single.
Root adds another single and the over comes to an end.
WICKET! Jacob Bethell c Brevis b Bosch 58
19:29
,
Chris Wilson
WICKET! Bethell is gone!
He goes for the cut again and it finds Brevis at backward point, and he holds on to a great catch.
England 143-2 (Root 59, Bethell 58)
19:27
,
Chris Wilson
Over 24
A single to start with for Root, before Bethell cuts to deep third for two.
England 140-2 (Root 58, Bethell 56)
19:25
,
Chris Wilson
Over 23
Bethell eases a single to midwicket to put Root on strike.
He follows that up with a superb four, flicking a full ball through midwicket.
He can only get one more run though, pushing a slow ball to leg side.
England 134-2 (Root 53, Bethell 55)
19:20
,
Chris Wilson
Over 22
Just five separate singles off the next over from Burger. Two for Root, three for Bethell.
England 129-2 (Root 51, Bethell 52)
19:16
,
Chris Wilson
Over 21
One run off Ngidi to start with for Root, with Bethell having no such luck other than landing a single to deep square leg at the end of the over.
England 127-2 (Root 50, Bethell 51)
19:12
,
Chris Wilson
Over 20
Bethell and Root open the 20th over with a single each, with that latest run taking Root to his 50. His 43rd in 182 ODIs.
Bethell should follow soon...not yet though, as the fourth delivery beats him on the outside edge before the fifth is missed.
But he lands it! A four to take the youngster to 50!
He connects with the final ball of the over, slamming it over mid-on to take his half-century.
England 121-2 (Root 49, Bethell 46)
19:07
,
Chris Wilson
Over 19
Root takes a single to start the over.
And another six from Bethell! This time off Maharaj, pulling a shot square.
He follows it up with three fours in a row! The first two go over mid-off, with the third going over midwicket.
He follows that with a single to end the over.
England 101-2 (Root 48, Bethell 27)
19:02
,
Chris Wilson
Over 18
Markram back bowling and he’s swept behind square again by Bethell, this time for four!
Bethell clears mid-on for two on the next delivery, before each batsman gets a single.
On the penultimate delivery, Bethell hammers a six over midwicket!
England 87-2 (Root 47, Bethell 14)
19:00
,
Chris Wilson
Over 17
The next over is more economical, with the hosts only taking one bye and a run off Maharaj.
England 85-2 (Root 47, Bethell 13)
18:58
,
Chris Wilson
Over 16
Markram in to bowl now, with Bethell easing the first through leg-side for two. He follows up by guiding through deep cover for another two, before a single to deep point.
Root adds another single and the over finishes with England’s first six, with Bethell sweeping it high behind square!
England 73-2 (Root 44, Bethell 2)
18:53
,
Chris Wilson
Over 15
England just working through the deliveries now, with Root guiding a couple off his legs and Bethell pushing into the deep for a single.
The required run rate is over 7 for England at the moment, with the hosts having a rate of 4.81 so far.
England 68-2 (Root 41, Bethell 1)
18:47
,
Chris Wilson
Over 14
Jacob Bethell is out into the crease for the start of the 14th over. Root moved to 40 in the last over with a couple of singles.
Bosch is testing Root now, as another delivery nips back onto the batsman’s pads.
Root lands a quick single to give Bethell his second ball though, and he gets off the mark with a single on the final ball of the over.
WICKET! Duckett b Maharaj 14 - England 66-2
18:40
,
Chris Wilson
Over 13
WICKET! Duckett never got going and now he’s dismissed.
He goes for the sweep but he’s mis-timed it and Maharaj bowls him cleanly.
England 63-1 (Root 38, Duckett 14)
18:37
,
Chris Wilson
Over 12
Another over passes and Bosch only concedes a single on this one.
He almost tricks Duckett into edging one too, and he finishes with just two runs from his first three overs.
England 62-1 (Root 37, Duckett 14)
18:33
,
Chris Wilson
Over 11
Maharaj is up next, bowling from the Pavilion End.
Duckett sweeps away and while Bosch blocks it, England take the three.
The ball is thrown in and Duckett is stumped, but he was clearly home. He follows it by sweeping another single.
Next time, the reverse sweep from Root lands the final single of the over. Six in total for the hosts.
England 56-1 (Root 33, Duckett 12)
18:29
,
Chris Wilson
Over 10
Another economical over from Bosch.
The only run conceded is a risky one from Duckett, who taps forward and gets Root through.
England 55-1 (Root 33, Duckett 11)
18:24
,
Chris Wilson
Over 9
A single to open the next over for Root.
Ducket – who was 8 off 17 – can only follow it with a double, before clipping it down to fine leg to add another.
The position of the sun and shadows are making conditions a little more difficult at the moment.
England 50-1 (Root 32, Duckett 8)
18:19
,
Chris Wilson
Over 8
Corbin Bosch sees his first deliveries of the day, and he starts with a maiden.
England move to 50-1 off 44 deliveries though courtesy of a leg-bye.
England 49-1 (Root 32, Duckett 8)
18:14
,
Chris Wilson
Over 7
The second ball pitches high but Root mistimes it a little, coming off the underside of his bat for two.
No mistake the next time though, as he guides a drive through for four.
And again! Another four right away as he cuts through point.
And he’s got three in a row! There’s less length on the delivery and Root cuts it through again.
He finishes with a single to mid-off for 15 runs in the seventh over.
England 34-1 (Root 17, Duckett 8)
18:10
,
Chris Wilson
Over 6
Another tight over originally, as the hosts are limited to just two runs, one a leg-bye and the other a single behind point from Root.
However, Duckett salvages something with the final ball, hitting a boundary through square leg.
England 28-1 (Root 16, Duckett 4)
18:04
,
Chris Wilson
Over 5
Nice single from Duckett to put Root back on strike with a ball left of the over.
The inside edge bounces onto the foot but no appeals.
England 27-1 (Root 16, Duckett 3)
18:01
,
Chris Wilson
Over 4
Clever from Root as he squeezes one through square and the fielder can only tap the attempted clearance into the boundary for four.
The next delivery hits Root high on the pad, with Ngidi grinning at the batsman.
Root adds another boundary next though, edging it as the ball curled wide.
And he finishes the over by plugging a shot through the covers for another four!
England 15-1 (Root 4, Duckett 3)
17:55
,
Chris Wilson
Over 3 - Review lost
The umpire’s decision stands, and it’s a wide.
The final ball of the over sees Duckett sweep two for 15-1.
England 12-1 (Root 4, Duckett 1)
17:54
,
Chris Wilson
Over 3
A wayward ball from Burger to begin the next over, and that’s four for the England tally as Rickelton can’t catch it.
No runs hit from the batting duo though, with Burger nearly finding the outside edge on Duckett.
The penultimate ball of the over sees Duckett edge it and there’s a muted appeal from the visitors, though the umpire gives a wide!
It’s sent upstairs for review...
England 7-1 (Root 4, Duckett 1)
17:48
,
Chris Wilson
Over 2
Ngidi is next up with the ball, with Duckett to face. The Englishman lands a run off first ball, with a wide given on the third.
Root lands the first four of the day for England as the ball is a little short and he guides it through midwicket.
England 1-1 (Root 0, Duckett 0)
17:43
,
Chris Wilson
Over 1
Root is in now and he misses an attempted pull shot, before the only run of the over comes from a wide.
WICKET! England 0-1 (Smith c Rickelton b Burger 0)
17:39
,
Chris Wilson
A wicket from the first ball!
A great opening ball from Burger and Smith nicks it inside edge, with Rickelton diving to take the catch behind!
Nightmare start for the hosts.
Archer takes four wickets for 62 runs
17:29
,
Lawrence Ostlere
The last ball of the innings:
Archer has four wickets! pic.twitter.com/pEHM6fYupt
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 4, 2025
South Africa innings
17:24
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Markram 49 (64)
Rickelton 35 (33)
Bavuma 4 (7)
Breetzke 85 (77)
Stubbs 58 (62)
Brevis 42 (20)
Bosch 32* (29)
Muthusamy 7 (6)
Maharaj 1 (2)
Extras 17
Total 330-8
Rashid England's stand-out bowler
17:21
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Adil Rashid was excellent as ever, recording figures of 2-33 off his 10 overs. The part-time spinners meanwhile had a really tough time: Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell combined for 1-112 off their 10 overs.
Perhaps in hindsight a seam all-rounder would have helped balance the English attack.
Wicket! Keshav Maharaj b Archer 1 (South Africa 330-8)
17:07
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Keshav Maharaj gets down on one knee and tries to scoop the final ball, which he misses, and it clatters the stumps.
No matter: it’s advantage South Africa, who set England 331 to win this second ODI and keep the three-match series alive.
It would be a record run chase at Lord’s in this format.
Wicket! Senuran Muthusamy lbw b Archer 7 (South Africa 326-7 )
17:03
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Jofra Archer bowls the final over and immediately removes Muthusamy – who should have reviewed it, because it hit his pad outside the line of off stump. An odd decision not to review in the final over, I must say.
South Africa 326-6 (Bosch 29, Muthusamy 7)
17:00
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Over 49
Mahmood’s final over looked like being a good one, stemming the flow a little, until Bosch top edged a four over Jos Buttler’s head.
The over ends in odd circumstances as Mahmood launches a full toss into Bosch’s hip. He appeals and then reviews, but it was always missing the stumps and that was an odd decision by England.
South Africa 319-6 (Bosch 24, Muthusamy 6)
16:54
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Over 48
Bosch hits nine runs off the over and keeps the strike.
South Africa 310-6 (Bosch 15, Muthusamy 6)
16:50
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Over 47
Bosch adds a few more runs to the tally off the bowling of Mahmood.
Will Jacks is coming back into the attack for one last over.
South Africa 303-6 (Bosch 8, Muthusamy 5)
16:46
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Over 46
Senuran Muthusamy is the next man in, and he’s quickly off the mark.
Wicket! Dewald Brevis c Rashid b Bethell 42 (South Africa 297-6)
16:43
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Brevis tries to cut Jacob Bethell away through the off side and slices it into the hands of Rashid at backward point. How England needed that.
South Africa 295-5 (Bosch 8, Brevis 40)
16:41
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Over 45
Good from Rashid in his final over. He ends with two wickets and one maiden for 33 runs off his 10 overs.
South Africa 291-5 (Bosch 6, Brevis 38)
16:37
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Over 44
Brevis ends the Carse over with another huge six, slashed over mid-wicket.
South Africa 278-5 (Bosch 2, Brevis 29)
16:33
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Over 43
Corbin Bosch is the new man in, and he’s quickly off the mark against Bethell, before Brevis smashes a six back over the bowl
