Cricket
Today at T20 World Cup, ENG vs SA: Preview, Prediction, Head-to-Head, St Lucia Pitch Report and Who Will Win?
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Defending champions England finally played like themselves for the first time in their Super 8 fixture against West Indies. In the match, England chased down 181 runs in just 17.3 overs, courtesy of a terrific effort from Phil Salt (87* off 47 balls). Another good sign for England is Jonny Bairstow coming back into form with back-to-back knocks against Scotland and West Indies. Jos Buttler’s side will face South Africa in their second fixture against South Africa on Friday, 21 June.
The match will be played at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. This is expected to be a high-scoring game and will be played in hot and humid weather. England have traditionally not done well against South Africa. However, this could be very different as the Proteas have not grabbed a single convincing win in the tournament so far.
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The Aiden Markram-led side struggled with the bat in New York. It was expected, given the Nassau County pitch was a nightmare for the batters. South Africa had its bowling team do well in all of its matches. However, that faltered against the USA, as Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi were smashed all around the park by USA’s Andries Gous and Harmeet Singh. A sensational penultimate over from Kagiso Rabada saved the match for the Rainbow Nation and they would really need to buckle up if they want to get further ahead in the tournament.
Both teams have one win each so far in the Super 8 stages. However, this match could essentially decide if England will make it to the semi-final stage of the tournament or not. A win for England will also bring them straight back as one of the teams who are potential favourites to win the tournament.
Funny, how perception changes in a matter of just one week.
ENG VS SA: HEAD TO HEAD
England and South Africa have played 25 matches between themselves with both teams winning 12 matches each. One of the matches bore no results. In the men’s T20 World Cup, the two teams have faced each other 6 times. South Africa have dominated the contest in ICC tournaments, winning 4 out of those 6 matches.
ENG VS SA: TEAM NEWS
There are a lot of questions about South Africa’s top order. Some of those were allayed in their previous match against USA, when Quinton de Kock came out all guns blazing to hit a terrific knock of 74 runs. However, in that game, South Africa almost bottled a chance to win the game due to Tabraiz Shami’s spell of 4-0-50-1. Anrich Nortje was at the receiving end as well, however, they managed to come out unscathed in the final over of the match, helping SA win by 18 runs.
It is expected that South Africa will make at least one change based on their previous match. the playing XI might see Ottneil Baartman return in place of Tabraiz Shamsi.
On the other hand, England just about managed to reach the Super 8 stages and after they managed to qualify, they flipped a switch. England hammered co-hosts West Indies in their first Super 8 fixture and will hope to continue their form. They might make one change, bringing in Mark Wood in place of Chris Jordan.
ENG VS SA: ST LUCIA WEATHER AND PITCH REPORT
The weather could play a significant role in this electrifying contest. The forecast for the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia indicates a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, with the humidity making it feel like 36 degrees. The day is expected to be cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms in the morning, followed by a few thunderstorms in the afternoon. These weather conditions could potentially interrupt the match, leading to halts or pauses, which might affect the flow of the game.
The pitch is expected to have some runs on it. West Indies slammed 218 against Afghanistan in St Lucia and then were hammered by England on the same ground.
ENG VS SA: PREDICTED PLAYING XIs
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt, wk), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone
Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley
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