England respond to Champions Trophy disappointment by crushing South Africa in nine-wicket win

England were excellent with the ball in Southampton, before Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales steered the hosts to a dominant nine-wicket win against South Africa

Bairstow was brilliant as England cantered to victory (Getty)

This T20 international victory against South Africa will not offer much consolation for England following their Champions Trophy failure.

However, its manner and the fact it came on the back of more runs from the in-form Jonny Bairstow bodes well for the rest of the summer.

Eoin Morgan and his players were left shell-shocked by their semi-final defeat by Pakistan in Cardiff seven days ago that prolonged England’s 42-year wait for a first major 50-over title.

However, this much-changed team and much shorter format proved that, although not complete, England’s white-ball recovery from the depths of their 2015 World Cup debacle is definitely on track.

Bairstow’s form this summer – even in defeat last week he scored 43 as an opener – has been as red hot as the recent scorching weather.

And the Yorkshireman’s unbeaten 60 from 35 balls was the platform on which this victory was built. With Alex Hales also finishing unbeaten on 47, the hosts cruised to their target of 143 with a whopping 33 balls to spare.

Despite an unbeaten 65 from AB De Villiers, the tourists had batted far too slowly to make a game of it. The fact they only lost three wickets compounded their slow-coach approach.

England made light work of South Africa (Getty)

Both England and South Africa, with one eye on their upcoming Test series, also rested several key players.

Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball and Ben Stokes sit these three matches out for the hosts.

South Africa’s big-name absentees included Faf Du Plessis, their captain who has returned home to attend the birth of his first child, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy and Kagiso Rabada.

England named five uncapped players in their squad, yet just one in Mason Crane made his debut here.

Indeed, it was South Africa’s team that had the far more experimental look about it.

Both openers – JJ Smuts and Reeza Hendricks - were unfamiliar names to English audiences and nobody learned much about them here either.

Smuts was bowled by the very first ball of the match, David Willey swinging one in and reminding England what they missed during a Champions Trophy campaign that he didn’t appear in.

That dismissal brought De Villiers to the crease earlier than he would have liked.

South Africa were never able to get going (Getty)

But South Africa’s task got harder when Hendricks hooked Mark Wood’s first ball of the second over to midwicket.

David Miller hit an unbeaten 71 against England at this ground during a thrilling last-ball ODI defeat for his team last month.

Yet he made just nine this time before edging Wood’s first delivery of the fourth over behind.

South Africa, now 32 for three, still at least had De Villiers at the crease.

Yet his 110-run partnership in 95 balls with Farhaan Behardien was slowed down significantly by some brilliant debut bowling from Crane, brought on in the seventh over and conceding just 24 runs from his four overs.

The 20-year-old had only played five T20 matches for Hampshire before this. But he held his nerve and the only bad delivery he bowled was his final one - a full toss - that De Villiers dispatched for four.

He might have had a catch in the next over, too, when Behardien hooked Willey to deep-backward square but Crane misjudged where the rope was and saw it clear him and bounce for four.

De Villiers reached his half-century, from 49 balls, with an audacious ramped hook shot off Willey that sailed for six and took his side to 112 for three with three overs to go.

Behardien also reached his maiden international T20 fifty before the end of the innings.

But the way England set about their target put South Africa’s total in perspective.

Jason Roy, dropped for that Champions Trophy semi-final, had found form by hitting 92 for Surrey in the One-Day Cup last Saturday.

The opener also started brilliantly here, reaching 28 from 13 balls before throwing his wicket away by attempting a reckless reverse sweep that saw him trapped lbw to Andile Phehlukwayo’s first delivery of the match.

That left England on 45 for one in the fifth over.

And, with Hales and Bairstow motoring along, the hosts were cruising on 97 for one after ten overs.

The only chance South Africa had after that was when Behardien dropped Hales on 37 and it was Bairstow who fittingly scored the winning runs.