 England confidence must be flying high after beating Sri Lanka in their first game of Champions Trophy; a win here against South Africa will guarantee their berth in the semi finals, which will please lots of England spectator after the loss of ODI series by 1-6 against Australians at home.
The start they have got in Champions Trophy must be cash on now since they have beaten one of the tournament favorites Sri Lanka by six wickets in their opening game. But even with a morale-boosting win to start with, Andrew Strauss' men have quite a task at hand against the South Africans. On the other hand their opponent South Africa was beaten comprehensively in their first game by Sri Lanka but bounced back strongly to beat New Zealand quite easily in their second game. Today’s game will be do-or-die for South Africans a loss here will certainly put them out of the race for Champions Trophy. However South Africa will start the game as favourite with the batting lineup they poses, likes of Graeme Smith, Jawues Kallis, H.Gibbs, AB Devilliers all are in prime form and any score can be achieved easily if they are on song. Their bowling also looks quite promising with the likes of W.Parnell and D.Styen to start with then two promising spinners J.Botha and Roelof van der Merwe are really tight bowlers and very hard to hit them around the park. England will be disappointed to leave the Wanderers behind for this match after encountering a surface that suited their pace-heavy attack perfectly. However they have to face the music the wickets will be more like sub-continental wicket and any score between 280-310 runs will be good score to defend. Team winning the toss is most likely to field first and restrict the opposition below 270 runs to give themselves a chance of chasing that target. Watch out for Paul Collingwood: A man in needs that what England will be thinking after their last game victory. He can bowl as well as bat. He seems to be in very good touch in the last game and that is very good sign for England. It will be interesting to see what approach Collingwood take in this game attacking or defensive. Wayne Parnell: The young 20 years old made a sensational outing so fat on International arena. He is bowling well and picking up the wickets. In the one-day side he is already a central figure where he has added a new dimension to the attack. In this tournament he was proved too expensive but his captain don’t mid because he also bagged 8 wickets in two games. Pitch & Condition It will be interesting to see whether the wicket which has been use on three occasions will be used or they will use a fresh wicket. However whatever the wicket will be it will provide ample help for both spinners as well as fast bowlers. Teams England is likely to go into the game with same playing XI. G.Swann will love this wicket at centurion which will help the spinners as the game progresses. Herchell Gibs who missed the previous two games due to an injury is likely to be included in the squad that means Hashim Amla have to sit out for this game. Rest of the team will be same as played in last two games. Likely Playing XI for both Teams (Match is Schedule to begin at 18:00 PM India Time) England Squad: Andrew Strauss (Captain), Joe Denly, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (WK), Luke Wright, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Graham Onions. South Africa Squad: Graeme Smith (Captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher (WK), Albie Morkel, Johan Botha, Roelof van der Merwe, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn. Stats & Trivia England poses a very poor record against South Africa at Super Sports Park, Centurion. They have played two games here against the host and loss both of their games here. |
