ENG vs RSA 1st Match Prediction

ENG vs RSA Team Previews

England

England is the World’s number one ranked team in ODI cricket right now and comes into this tournament full of confidence. They have won eleven out of the last twelve ODI bilateral series that they have played, drawing the remaining one with the West Indies.

England has just completed a 4-0 sweep against Pakistan where they chased down 340 plus totals in two consecutive matches. There is no team that has hit 300 plus scores more regularly than England since the last world cup and it is fair to say that this English team has reset the rules of ODI batting.

That does not mean England cannot be beaten. They lost to Pakistan at the semi-final stage of the Champions Trophy on a pitch that offered the Pakistanis some turn. Eoin Morgan has made it very clear that he believes England should get flat batting wickets to suits their game in the ICC World Cup 2019, although, the pitches are going to be prepared under ICC oversight and not by the English cricket board.

Three last-minute changes to the England World Cup 2019 squad have strengthened the side even more. Jofra Archer, James Vince, and Liam Dawson have all found a place in the squad. Selecting the first eleven is going to be difficult but there is not a single player in the entire squad that can be considered a liability.

England’s biggest strength is its depth in batting. Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Tom Curran are expected to start for the England side.

Liam Plunkett and Liam Dawson could get a chance depending upon the conditions but we don’t think there will be too much of changing the side around just for the sake of it.

This means that England has batting till number eleven and seven bowling options to choose from. We expect England to come out playing aggressive cricket and go hard at the South Africans. This approach has been successful for England but can sometimes backfire spectacularly as well.

South Africa

We cannot remember a single other cricket world cup where South Africa was almost unnoticed, to begin with. This is not a bad thing for the South Africans since they have not been very good at handling the bright spotlight in the past.

There is a lot to like about South Africa’s ODI team. They are led by Faf du Plessis, who we believe is one of the sharpest cricketing minds around, and they are filled with match winners. There has been a lot more experimentation in the South African squad in the build-up to the ICC World Cup 2019 and a few injuries to contend with as well.

South Africa has suffered some big defeats to India at home in the ODI format and was run close by Pakistan as well. Their batting is going to be led by Quinton de Kock at the top of the order but it is unclear who is going to open the batting with him.

South Africa has the option to choose between Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram. We think the experienced Amla will get the nod for the first match of the world cup. Amla has not been in great touch over the last couple of years and his domestic performances are not too encouraging either.

Amla is still an ODI legend, though, and we would not write him off just yet.

Faf du Plessis bats at three followed by JP Duminy, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Imran Tahir.

This is a very strong batting lineup with plenty of firepower. Like England, South Africa also has some world-class all-rounders to help lengthen the batting without compromising the bowling quality. Chris Morris, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Lungi Ngidi are all excellent options that could play if the conditions demand it.

In terms of bowling quality, we think South Africa is stronger than England. Rabada, Steyn, and Tahir are going to be hard for the England batting to target. The trick for South Africa is going to be score as many runs as England.

This is where Faf du Plessis is our pick to be the leading run-scorer for South Africa and Rassie van der Dussen is another player that we strongly recommend keeping an eye on.