Archer signs off in style as Buttler's men start to build case for World Cup defence

ONE WAY or another, this tour always seemed set to centre around Jofra Archer and so it proved.

- Malik Ouzia

The pace bowler bookended the series with his most expensive ODI figures on his comeback from injury, then his best-ever in an England shirt to single-handedly assure victory in yesterday's third match here.

"His performance was outstanding," captain Jos Buttler said of Archer's six for 40, which included crucial breakthroughs in all three of his spells, as England beat South Africa by 59 runs. "Every time you turned to him to try and take a wicket, he did that."

Archer's performance ends the tour on a high note, not simply for halting a slide of five straight ODI defeats, but also for the sense that, despite a 2-1 series loss, things are at least moving in the right direction less than nine months out from the World Cup; a most crucial piece of the puzzle falling back into place, providing, of course, he can stay fit.

Even in defeat in the first two matches, the former thanks to a duffed chase and the latter due to a very good one from the Proteas, Buttler had highlighted the positives: Olly Stone's middle-over emergence, Jason Roy's hundred, Harry Brook's knock of 80 in Bloemfontein. He admitted, though, that there is no substitute for winning.