England vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, 20th Match Match Details, Schedule, Summary
Here are the Playing XIs of both teams. Livingstone misses out for Stokes. Their batting line-up isn’t as deep as usual with David Willey at No. 7 and Adil Rashid at No. 8.
Markram says Temba has pulled up ill, unfortunate to lose him but it’s an opportunity for Hendricks. He’s been knocking on the door for a while but the openers have been incredible. Happy batting first, looks a good wicket, will be a good wicket especially after the powerplay. The loss motivates you a bit. We gotta reach back to the standards we’d set previously.
Buttler says it’s generally a good ground for chasing. Says they haven’t batted as well as they’ve liked but they want to look ahead and be at their best. Three changes: Stokes returns, Willey and Atkinson come in for Woakes and Curran. This wicket favours the pace.
1:32pm Aiden Markram and Jos Buttler are out for the toss. Buttler has the coin, tails is the call. Buttler wins it. England will bowl
Captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of match against England due to illness. Aiden Markram will captain the side in his absence. Will it be Reeza Hendricks coming in for him or will there be a surprise?
Coetzee, Ngidi, Jansen marking runs too, notes Matt
1:20pm Despite a slip-up, South Africa continue to be a well-balanced side with a left-right combination at the top, Markram, Klaasen and Miller in the middle and Rabada, Ngidi, Jansen among the quicks, and Shamsi and Maharaj as spin options. They’ve also found some encouragement from Siya Kolisi, the Springbok captain on Super Saffaday.
Matt Roller notes that David Willey and Gus Atkinson marking run-ups
1:10pm England will be buoyed by the return of Ben Stokes, who’s returning from hip injury. As Andrew Miller wrote in the preview, ‘Harry Brook was the man who benefited from Stokes’ hip injury, but as one of the few successes of a dismal display against Afghanistan, jettisoning him now would seem counterproductive.’ Woakes and Curran aren’t at their best and there is a possibility that Gus Atkinson will make a World Cup debut in place of Woakes and David Willey coming in for Curran.
Mustafa Moudi : “Fun Fact: Both these sides are coming fresh from their respective upsets and against teams that remained winless in their respective last World Cups. Interestingly, both winning sides’ Head Coach had had root to the sides they defeated – Trott (Afghanistan) played for England while ten Doeschate was born in South Africa !!”
Neal: “Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for England’s team selection meeting but David Willey deserves his chance. Yet how he fits in is anyone’s guess with Woakes, Curran and Livingstone all underwhelming so far. “
Match preview Both teams on the ropes ahead of heavyweight contest
In the USA, the England vs South Africa match is LIVE on ESPN+
1pm After living for a while, you kinda figure out a method to rise after facing downfall. But in a professional-cricket setting, things seem much more organized. Both England and South Africa are coming off losses against Afghanistan and Netherlands respectively and they have gone through the acceptance phase, work-through phase to get towards the revival phase. They’ll be playing in hot and sunny Mumbai where the runs should be aplenty and the decibel levels high. Let’s hope it’s a cracker.
Opening credits: Comms – Ekanth and Vithushan Ehantharajah; Live Blog: Andrew Miller; Report: Valkerie Baynes; Scoring: Sudeep Poojari and Thilak Ram