Wasim Jaffer Trolls England, Michael Vaughan With "Spirit Of Cricket" Jibe

The England cricket team suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of South Africa in the first ODI of the three-match series on September 2. The Three Lions were bowled out for 131 before opener Aiden Markram's 55-ball 86 led the Proteas to a seven-wicket win at Headingley, Leeds. The hosts were dismissed in 24.3 overs as Keshav Maharaj took 4 for 22 and Wiaan Mulder 3 for 33. Opener Jamie Smith top-scored for England with 54 off 48 balls. South Africa chased down the paltry target with 175 balls to spare.

As the Three Lions continue to suffer in ODI cricket, former India opener Wasim Jaffer took a sarcastic dig at the side. Six years ago, England won the Cricket World Cup but have failed to live up to the expectations after that.  While trolling the team, Jaffer also poke fun at Michael Vaughan by tagging him in his post.

Highlighting the position of eighth-placed England in the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings, Jaffer took to X and wrote, "England at No. 8... surely against the spirit of cricket. ICC should look into this."

England at No. 8... surely against the spirit of cricket. ICC should look into this. @MichaelVaughan pic.twitter.com/txSFOtJnh0

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) September 3, 2025

Reflecting on England's disappointing loss to South Africa at Headingley, captain Harry Brook said, "It's not good enough. I can't say much more than we've just had a bad day. Obviously, you want to keep on winning and winning, don't you? But we've mis-executed a lot of our skills today. Nobody wants to come and watch that.

"You've just got to get rid of these games, I'm afraid. We've got to put it behind us as quickly as possible and move on to the next match."

With several squad members involved in the Hundred eliminator and final over the weekend, England held one sparsely attended training session Monday and only came together as a group later that evening. Brook refused to use that as an explanation.

"In my eyes, that's an excuse. We're not a team that makes excuses up," he said.

"At the end of the day, that batting performance wasn't good enough. I think everybody will hold their hands up and say that."

(With AP Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket England Cricket Team India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Michael Vaughan Wasim Jaffer