South Africa vs England, 1st ODI, Preview - Proteas mark the start of a new era against World Champions

Is this how a new-look side may have wanted to begin their new era? By facing the number one team in the arena and the outfit which claimed the biggest prize in the format about eight months ago? Perhaps South Africa could have still fancied themselves facing England in Tests as a revamped side. But the Englishmen are a beast when it comes to limited-overs cricket and the Proteas felt it in the 2019 World Cup.

Nevertheless, after the hosts’ submission in the longest format, recruits of Quinton de Kock‘s South Africa would be keen to kickstart the white-ball version on a positive note. CSA announced a change in the guard and have named a plethora of new faces for the three-match series that gets underway in Cape Town on Tuesday. To begin with, they have handed over the reins of the 50-over setup to De Kock. From the XI that earned a consolation victory against Australia in Manchester in the 2019 World Cup, at least five slots from that team would be up for grabs.

The selectors have placed faith in the likes of Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma, and Kyle Verreynne to challenge the penetration of the English bowlers. Kagiso Rabada’s absence means Lungi Ngidi has to take the new ball along with either Lutho Sipamla or Beuran Hendricks. Tabraiz Shamsi, who finished the MSL 2019 as the second-highest wicket-taker should don the role of the leading spinner with Imran Tahir retiring from the format.

And England haven’t been far behind either with regards to choosing amateur yet promising faces. In their first involvement in ODIs since the World Cup final in July last year, the English selectors have decided to rest Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, and Mark Wood – the nucleus of their successful World Cup campaign. Instead, they have handed opportunities to Tom Banton, Saqib Mahmood, and Matt Parkinson. It comes on the backdrop of continuously marking their rise through the shortest version of the game.

The comebacks of Sam Curran, Dawid Malan, and Chris Jordan gives Eoin Morgan plenty of options choose from with one eye on yet another World Cup later this year. The only shocking exclusion and supposedly isn’t resting is that of Liam Plunkett, whose frequent strikes in the middle overs played a big part in the World Cup. But Morgan would be hoping they have enough armoury at the tank to keep the South Africans at bay.

Team Combination

South Africa

South Africa may hand as many as four ODI debuts from their squad of players. Janneman Malan remains the frontrunner to open the innings along with Quinton de Kock. At the same time, Lutho Sipamla, Kyle Verreynne, and Bjorn Fortuin are also likely to feature in ODIs for the first time. With the track at Newlands being spin-friendly, the hosts can go with two frontline spinners.

Probable XI: Janneman Malan/Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (C & WK), Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, David Miller, Kyle Verreynne, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla/Beuran Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi, Bjorn Fortuin.

England

Keeping in mind the practice matches before the ODI series, England should open with Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy since they both slammed hundreds. Joe Denly’s blistering knock of 85 in the second match may have sealed his place in the middle-order. Moeen Ali is also likely to get another chance to prove his mettle after being left out of the XI during the World Cup. 21-year old Tom Banton couldn’t make a case for selection in the two hit-outs.

The visitors have five specialist pace bowlers in the squad, four of whom have produced vastly inconsistent results in the two warm-up matches. Chris Woakes should make the cut without a doubt. Either Sam Curran or Tom Curran and Chris Jordan may also potentially start due to their batting prowess as an additional skill. Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson’s five wickets in two games lines him up for his first appearance in the One-Day Internationals.

Probable XI: Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Joe Denly/Tom Banton, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran/Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Matt Parkinson.

Focus will be on

Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa)

Rassie van der Dussen averages a staggering 73.77 in 14 ODIs so far. Since his debut, the 30-year old has been highly consistent and was South Africa’s second-highest run-getter in the 2019 World Cup. His highest score of 95 came against Australia in Proteas’ last group game in which he bided his time before taking the attack to the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.

With Faf Du Plessis potentially nearing the end of his career, the responsibility lies with Van der Dussen to bat long and help the new man in charge. After blowing hot and cold in the four Tests, the right-handed batsman would be desperate to get back among the runs consistently.

Joe Denly (England)

In the victorious four-match Test series, Joe Denly was often accused of not converting several promising starts into something significant. Though the Kent batsman successfully made the bowlers tired through his traditional gameplay, not getting a massive individual score may have always haunted him.

In the absence of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, the 33-year old made a strong case for selection in the second warm-up match. While batting at number four, Denly smoked five sixes and five fours in his 63-ball 85 apart from taking two wickets. It was a testament that the veteran can carry the task of power-hitting when required and if he gets a chance, Denly would want to make the most of it.

Head to Head

Played – 60 | Won by South Africa – 29 | Won by England – 27 | Tied – 1 | No result – 3

Stat Attack

100 – Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes will both play their 100th One-day international in the upcoming series.

93 – Quinton de Kock needs 93 runs to get to 5000 ODI runs. In 115 innings he has 4907 runs. If he reaches the milestone on Tuesday, the keeper-batsman will become the fifth-fastest along with Joe Root to reach the milestone.

5 – In five ODIs between South Africa and England at the Newlands, the home side has won all of them.

Broadcast details

TV – Sony Six, Sony Six HD

Live streaming – Sony LIV

Match Timings – 11:00 am (local), 4:30 pm (IST)