ICC World Cup 2019: Match 1, England vs South Africa: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

The ICC World Cup 2019, after a lot of anticipation, is set to get underway. The hosts, England, and South Africa will lock horns in the tournament opener and there will be no more warm-ups now. The serious business starts and both the teams will be eager to make a mark and gain enough confidence early in the competition. England are the hot favourites to win the title while the Proteas are also a team brimming with talent and experience.

It will all be about the nerves in the first few overs for both the sides and it will be interesting to see how things unfold then. As far as the team combination is concerned, Jofra Archer, Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes seem to make it to the playing XI with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali as the two spinners. The batting order picks itself. South Africa have an injury issue with Dale Steyn being ruled out of the opening game and Dwaine Pretorius or Chris Morris could play this game.

Match Details

The 1st match of the ICC World Cup 2019 will be played between England and South Africa at the Kennington Oval in London.

The match starts at 10:30 AM local time (9:30 AM GMT) (3:00 PM IST).

The game will be live on Star Sports. Live streaming available on Hotstar.

Weather Report

The unpredictable UK weather is greeting the teams at the event. It is expected to be cloudy for the whole day in London on Thursday. But there is only a 7% chance of rain during the match which shouldn’t be a concern. The temperature will hover around 12-14 degrees Celsius for the major part of the contest and the overnight showers might spice up the pitch a little bit.

Pitch Report:

The pitch at the Kennington Oval has changed a lot since the start of the season this year. Earlier, the scores close to 300 were racked up easily but then the totals were decreased suddenly. The last three One-Day matches (including World Cup warm-ups) have seen the team batting first getting bowled for less than 200. Having said that, a fresh pitch is likely to be on offer for the tournament opener.

Average first innings score: 221 (last six One-Day matches including World Cup warm-ups)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 3, Lost – 3

Probable Playing XIs:

England

Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett.

Bench – Tom Curran, James Vince, Mark Wood, Liam Dawson.

South Africa

Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis (C), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir.

Bench – Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Aiden Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Team News:

Dale Steyn is ruled out of this game as is yet to recover fully from a shoulder injury.

Mark Wood was declared fit after getting injured in the warm-up game.

Eoin Morgan suffered a flake fracture ahead of the warm-up matches but is fit for this game.

Power Picks:

Kagiso Rabada vs England in ODIs:

Matches: 7

Wickets: 16

Average: 20.68

Strike-Rate: 24.6

4-wicket hauls: 2

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain Options: Faf du Plessis, Jonny Bairstow, Quinton de Kock

Vice-Captain Options: Eoin Morgan, Andil Phehlukwayo, Joe Root, Jos Buttler

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Wicket-Keepers – Jonny Bairstow (VC), Jos Buttler, Quinton de Kock (C)

Batsmen – Joe Root, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen

All-Rounders – Andile Phehlukwayo

Bowlers – Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada.

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Grand/Mega Leagues:

Wicket-Keepers – Jonny Bairstow (C), Quinton de Kock

Batsmen – Eoin Morgan, Faf du Plessis (VC), Hashim Amla

All-Rounders – Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes

Bowlers – Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir.

Expert Advice:

Can pick new-ball bowlers from the team bowling first as it might be cloudy to start with and the wickets might fall early. So pick only one of the openers from the team batting first.

Probable Winners:

The chasing team is expected to come up trumps even though England enter the contest as the favourites.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.