RSA vs ENG 1st ODI Match Prediction

RSA vs ENG Team Previews

South Africa

South Africa has decided to pick quite a conservative squad for this ODI series. Temba Bavuma remains the captain and young players like Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Bjorn Fortuin, and Ethan Bosch continue to wait in the wings. There is no way to sugarcoat the fact that having Temba Bavuma in the lineup is a big disadvantage for South Africa. 

He is just not good enough a batter to deserve a place and all his players are aware of that as well. South Africa will always struggle to rally around such a leader. Looking at the positives, South Africa has a very good batting lineup with Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock, and Aiden Markram in the squad. 

Both Malan and Markram prefer the pace of ODI cricket as that allows them time to get settled but playing both of them is going to be difficult. David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen will be the core of the middle order with Heinrich Klaasen perhaps finding his way in the eleven as well. 

Four fast bowlers and a spinner should help round out the playing eleven. If South Africa picks Marco Jansen and Wayne Parnell then their batting lineup is very deep and capable of surprising any team, including England. Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Lungi Ngidi are also in the squad, and picking both bowling all-rounders is going to be tough. 

Keshav Maharaj could be the lone spinner that plays in the lineup.

South African cricket is strong and the squad is filled with some fantastic cricketers. They are capable of beating England and the series is going to be closer than people expect. 

England

England is one of the world's best white-ball teams. The depth of its squad can be judged by the fact that it has over 60 players currently playing in different leagues around the world (SA T20, IL T20, BBL, and the BPL). It is spoilt for choice when it comes to picking its playing eleven and will have to make some tough decisions. 

The first tough question that England has to deal with is about its opening pair. Jason Roy has been short of runs for a very long time now and other players are piling on the pressure. Phil Salt and Jason Roy are likely to end up opening in the first match but the countdown has begun for Roy. 

Dawid Malan, Harry Brooks, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, and Sam Curran are the other players that are likely to feature in the first match. Ben Duckett performed very well against Pakistan but may struggle to find a place in the lineup. 

Special interest from around the world will be on the return of Jofra Archer. He played a few matches in the SA 20 and looked fit but this is the first time he will bowl a larger number of overs. Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, and Chris Woakes/Ollie Stone should form the rest of the bowling unit. 

A very strong team with a brilliant amount of depth and all-round skill, England also has the confidence and belief that it can win from any position. That is equally important in a cricketing contest.