Listing the lowest all-out totals for South Africa in ODIs
What's the story
In a historic ODI match, South Africa suffered the biggest-ever defeat in the format's history - by a whopping 342 runs. The Proteas were bowled out for just 72 runs while chasing a mammoth target of 415, set by England in the third and final match in Southampton. On this note, let's look at SA's lowest-ever all-out totals in ODI cricket.
#1
69/10 vs Australia, Sydney (1993)
South Africa's lowest ODI total is a mere 69 runs, recorded against Australia in Sydney back in 1993. Chasing a target of 173 runs, South Africa fell apart after losing their captain Kepler Wessels. They went from a promising start of 34/2 to being all out for just 69 in 28 overs, thanks to an impressive spell from Paul Reiffel, who took four wickets. Wessels (19) and Hansie Cronje (20) were the only Proteas batters with double-digit scores that day.
#2
72/10 vs England, Southampton (2025)
South Africa's 72/10 in the aforementioned game is second on this unwanted list. Chasing a massive 415, SA's innings crumbled in just 20.5 overs, narrowly avoiding their lowest-ever ODI total. Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid shared seven wickets as Corbin Bosch (20) top scored for the visitors. Captain Temba Bavuma, who was injured and couldn't bat, admitted the team was poor in all departments.
#3
83 vs India, Kolkata (2023)
In their 2023 World Cup encounter in Kolkata, South Africa suffered a massive defeat at the hands of India. Batting on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch, Virat Kohli's century helped India post a total of 326 runs. In response, South Africa's batters struggled against India's bowlers with Ravindra Jadeja taking five wickets and the team being bowled out for just 83 runs in 27.1 overs. Marco Jansen was their top-scorer with just 14 runs.
#3
83 vs England, Nottingham (2008)
In a Nottingham ODI in 2008, South Africa were bundled out for another low total of 83 runs in 23 overs. Stuart Broad's five-wicket haul helped England bowl out the Proteas after they had batted first. The highest score in their innings was Andre Nel's paltry contribution of just 13 runs. Ian Bell and Matt Prior chased down this target with ease in just 14.1 overs.
#3
83 vs England, Manchester (2022)
In Manchester, South Africa recorded another low total of 83 runs against England in a 2022 ODI. Chasing a target of 202 runs, the Proteas lost five wickets for just 27 runs to left-armers Reece Topley, David Willey, and Sam Curran. Spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali cleaned up the rest of their batting order as England won by a massive margin of 118 runs. Heinrich Klaasen (33) top scored for the visitors.