England carelessly fell to a 27-run defeat in the first one-day international against South Africa despite Jason Roy’s belligerent century in Bloemfontein.

He powered England to 146-0 inside 20 overs and 196-3 in the 30th over before he was caught on the boundary for 113 from 91 balls.

But the wicket of Moeen Ali four overs later began a collapse of six wickets for 49 runs in the face of fiery fast bowling.

Anrich Nortje took 3-13 in a four-over spell and England were bowled out for 271 in with 5.4 overs to go to complete a remarkable turnaround.

Rassie van der Dussen had earlier hit a measured 111 from 117 balls in South Africa’s 298-7.

It had looked as though the hosts had failed to capitalise on being 75-1 after 10 overs and 167-3 after 30, Sam Curran leading an England fightback with 3-35.

On his first England appearance for almost two years, Archer struggled at times, finishing with figures of 1-81 from 10 overs – his most expensive figures in ODIs.

The win puts South Africa 1-0 up in the three-match series before Sunday’s second ODI and is a boost for the hosts’ bid to qualify automatically for this year’s 50-over World Cup.

England throw away win

On the face of it this looks a low-key series, rearranged after it was originally cancelled because of Covid-19 in 2020, but is not without its importance.

It marks the first of 13 ODIs which act as England’s build-up to the defence of their 50-over World Cup title in October in India.

For so long it looked as though they would make a dominant start, easing their way back into a format that has taken a backseat while they chased, and achieved, a World Cup win in the 20-over game.

England should never have lost from the position of needing 103 from 125 balls with six wickets left when Roy was dismissed.

Moeen pulled seamer Sisanda Magala, who took 3-46, to deep square-leg before Nortje produced a fine delivery to take Jos Buttler’s edge to remove the England captain for 36 from 42 balls.

The run-rate was never a problem but Nortje, one of the quickest bowlers in the world, bounced out David Willey and Archer to finish with 4-62, while Curran played a loose waft to the final delivery of Kagiso Rabada’s set of 10 to depart caught behind.

South Africa are in a perilous position in terms of securing an automatic place at the World Cup, sitting 11th in the standings with the top eight qualifying.

They need two more wins from their final four matches – two against England and then two more against the Netherlands – to have any chance.

Roy returns to form

The defeat takes the gloss off a much-needed return to form for Roy – a lynchpin of the 2019 World Cup win.

His form – no fifties in his past 14 international innings – had resulted in him being dropped from the T20 side and led to serious questions about his place in this team going forward.

After being gifted a quick start by wayward South Africa bowling, he looked back to his dominant, dismissive best in crashing 11 fours and four sixes in an opening stand with Dawid Malan, who made 59.

Malan was caught miscuing a pull off Magala and Ben Duckett and ODI debutant Harry Brook, two recent stars of Ben Stokes’ Test team, fell in quick succession for three and nought respectively.

Roy continued, slog-sweeping Shamsi for six and imperiously pulling Nortje for four to reach three figures.

After that he roared in celebration before looking to the skies, an innings mixed with frustration, happiness and relief. He was eventually caught off Rabada on the square leg boundary – a wicket that unexpectedly proved crucial.

A testing return for Archer

Archer’s last game for England was in March 2021. Since then he has had two surgeries on his elbow and suffered a stress fracture of the back.

It would be harsh to call his much-anticipated return a reality check. Instead it was a reflection of how he rated himself before the game – at “about 80%” of his best form.

He took the new ball and, while bowling short of his previous top speeds at around 86mph, was played expertly by opener Quinton de Kock, who drove down the ground and cracked a pull for six over square leg.

After a first spell of 0-41 from five overs, Archer returned later in the innings when the rust was more evident. His ninth over cost 20 included a front-foot and a waist-high no-ball – Van der Dussen striking the free hit for six, the only time the right-hander cleared the ropes in an otherwise calm innings of accumulation.

With Archer leaking runs, Curran was the pick of England’s bowlers. The left-armer slowed the scoring by mixing his pace and had De Kock caught behind for 37 with a surprise bouncer.

In the final over Archer ensured his comeback was not wicketless by completely outfoxing Wayne Parnell with a trademark slower ball – the left-hander tamely offering a catch to backward point.

The performance showed, even for a bowler with Archer’s undeniable talents, patience is required as he makes his return.

‘We should go on and win that game’ – reaction

England captain Jos Buttler: “Disappointed, I think we played some excellent cricket for the majority of that game. To be in the position we were after that opening stand, we should go on and win that game so we’re disappointed not to finish it off.

“We should keep going after the good start with the bat, have conviction and commitment to our game. That is something that has served us well for a very long time.”

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma: “It did change quickly. Magala made things difficult for them and got us some momentum. The guys after him really rode that momentum well.

“I always expected one of the bowlers to do something special for us. Everyone played some part in the game for us.”