South Africa's ICC World Cup 2027 Winners Announced

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has made a bold prediction after South Africa recorded a thrilling 5-run victory over the Harry Brook-led English side in the second ODI of the ongoing three-match ODI series on September 4 at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

With this thrilling win, the Proteas clinched the ODI series, having won the first game by seven wickets, while the third and final game is scheduled on September 7 in Southampton. It was the Proteas' first ODI series victory in England after a long gap of 25 years.

England’s ODI slump grows, South Africa records historic series win at Lord's

Their last series victory in England came in 1998. On the other hand, England had won their last bilateral ODI series against South Africa in 2017. The English side joined the lower-ranked teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe when it comes to win percentage in ODI cricket.

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Since the 2023 ODI World Cup, England has been struggling badly, as they have managed to win only one out of six series.

They have a win percentage of 31.8 with only seven wins out of 22 ODIs since the 2023 ODI World Cup. Among full-member nations, only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have a lower win percentage than England since the tournament in India.

Michael Vaughan backs South Africa as favorites for ICC World Cup 2027 glory

England changed the captain, replacing Jos Buttler with Harry Brook, but there is no change in their outcome, while South Africa is in great form across the formats. They recently won the ODI series in Australia and now in England, which left Michael Vaughan really impressed.

Following their series-clinching victory at the Lord’s, Michael Vaughan took to his social media handle X and predicted that the Proteas will win the ICC World Cup 2027 at home, given their recent success and form, and then the home conditions will provide them added benefit.

He posted, X: “South Africa to win the World Cup in 2027, methinks …”

South Africa to win the World Cup in 2027 me thinks …

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 4, 2025

Proteas script another ODI classic

Meanwhile, the Proteas' 5-run win over England in the second ODI at Lord’s was one of their tightest finishes in ODI history. It is their second-narrowest margin of victory, with the closest still being the unforgettable 1-run thriller against England in Cape Town back in 2000.

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In their previous four ODIs, the Proteas side managed to outclass the 2019 World Cup champions, and that too away. After the match, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said that it was special to give supporters back home something to celebrate.

Temba Bavuma said at the post-match presentation, “Very proud. Brought some pride and enjoyment to the people back home, and also the ones who came in here enjoyed a good game.”

On the other hand, England captain Harry Brook said, “They probably got 10-15 too many; to get within one blow of that score was a great effort. They had two left-arm spinners and tried to keep the right- and left-hand combo. We were quite unlucky in the power play; lots of plays and misses, and a couple of LBWs did not go our way.”