Hashim Amla picks England as home favourites for the Champions Trophy

The Proteas have been in England for over a week now coming to play the three Royal London ODI series against England en route to the Champions Trophy next month. They lost the first ODI by 72 runs chasing an England ground record of 339 in their allotted 50 overs and wrapping up the South Africans with five overs to spare.

South African opener Hashim Amla having lost the game against the hosts is of the opinion that they certainly have a really good chance to win the Champions Trophy as well. He termed them a good team and also stated that they have made considerable progress with their game in the recent past.

Amla on England’s chances

“In the Champions Trophy you’ve got eight really good teams, but England being the home team does have their back,” said Amla. “They are a good team as well, apart from being at home. In the last year they have played some really good cricket and we had a really good home series against them not too long ago. They bat and have a lot of bowling options so they are certainly one of the top teams in the tournament.”

Amla himself top-scored for South Africa with a polished 73. He believes that being in familiar conditions will work in advantage for the home side who are still on the hunt for their first ever 50-over championship. The elegant opener is of the opinion that the current England side has a lot of depth in both the bowling and batting departments and feel they are one of the favourites disregarding the fact that they are placed fifth in the ODI rankings and the Proteas on top.

Amla also showered praise on fellow Kings XI Punjab player Eoin Morgan who led England with a match winning 107 off just 93 balls. “You don’t often get a guy coming in at four or five and getting hundreds so his innings was certainly a game-changer.”

South Africa will play the second match of the series against England on Saturday at the Ageas Bowl which is a must-win for the visitors.