England Vs South Africa, 1st ODI: Brook Backs Baker To Respond After Tough Debut Against Proteas

England's tight-knit squad will rally round Sonny Baker after his nightmare ODI debut in their seven-wicket defeat to South Africa, says captain Harry Brook. 

Brook was brought in for his competitive bow in the format at Headingley on Tuesday, but endured a difficult day with both the ball and the bat. 

The 22-year-old, who made his England Lions debut earlier this year, was bowled out for a duck by Keshav Maharaj, who ended the match with figures of 4-22. 

Baker then saw his first four overs of bowling result in the concession of 56 runs, and he ended with the worst figures by any England debutant in men's ODI's, at 0-76 through seven overs.

But England's overall display was poor as they were skittled out for just 131 runs, their third-lowest ODI total ever recorded at Headingley, and their lowest since the 1975 World Cup, when they managed just 93 against Australia. 

Indeed, South Africa romped to victory with 175 balls to spare, their highest such margin in a men's ODI away from home. 

Only once have they beaten England with more balls to spare in the format, which came at the 2007 World Cup, when they won with 184 balls remaining. 

"'[The batting] wasn't ideal. It wasn't a great start to the series. It was just one of those bad days, and we have to move on as quickly as possible," Brook said. 

"Everyone will hold their hands up and say they had a bad day, apart from [Smith], who batted really nicely. We just couldn't get a partnership together.

"Everybody will get behind him [Baker]. That's the nature of this group. We are such a tight-knit group. We're all good mates.

"We spend a lot of time away from the game together as well. He's had a tough day, but the way that he just kept on cracking on and digging deep, to keep on running in and try and get wickets there for us.

"Even after getting a little bit of tap, was awesome to see. And that's exactly what we asked of every bowler."

South Africa needed just 21 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, spearheaded by their impressive showing in the powerplay, plundering 67 without loss. 

Brook revealed that following the tourists' early surge, it was damage limitation from there, while also allowing Baker to go in for a second stint with the ball in hand. 

He initially fared better, conceding two runs in his fifth over before Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton continued to attack him thereafter as their opening stand reached 121 in 18 overs.

"I was just trying to get him a wicket, to be honest," Brook said of Baker. "Obviously we didn't get off to the greatest of starts with the ball.

"After the start that they got, I knew that we were never really going to win the game. It was just a matter of trying to get him a pole at that time, and the lads trying to develop and upskill their skills, that they've been working on in practice and trying to take them into a game.

"The way that they chased that, with Markham coming out and going really ultra-aggressive, was the perfect way to chase a low score, especially in the powerplay, when you've only got one or two people out.

"It is tough to defend. So [Baker] might have missed his execution the odd time, but Markram played some extraordinary shots, so hats off to him."

The second match gets underway on Thursday at Lord's, with Baker and England hoping for an improved display to keep the series alive.