Its as simple as this. Win this game and get yourself a box seat for the semi-finals. Both teams have two points each. The winner will get another two making it four and even if that team lose their last game, the chances of them making it to the knockout stages would still be very high. But there is one thing that might make the teams wince and that is the good old Net Run Rate, which might become crucial in the next few games. Besides getting those two points, it’s necessary for the winning team to somehow get a good boost in NRR to make the semis chances even higher.
South Africa has yet to lose a match in this tournament. But it’s not all unbeatable vibes off them. They have reached here scampering and avoiding close calls. Even their win against the USA in Super 8s did not come without a hitch. Although it’s the victories that count at the end of the day, the lack of convincing wins points towards some veiled flaw in the lineup. For a major part of the tournament so far, the blame for this tumultuous form was thrown on the batters. But the top order stepped up (and stepped up pretty decently) in the USA match. Now it’s for the middle order to do the same, especially against England because they would love to exploit this information in their favor, and boy do they have just the right weapons to do that.
They say batters win you matches and bowlers win you tournaments. For England, both have worked together to bring their team out of the dumps. The top order has fired throughout the tournament even when the conditions were not as favorable. The bowlers, especially the pacers, were a little expensive in the recent game versus the co-hosts West Indies and since the English are to face SA on the same ground they would not want to repeat the old mistakes.
Team Overview:
The three-wicket haul against the USA at a pitch that was not exactly a bowler’s paradise must have surged Kagiso Rabada’s spirits, who only had 4 wickets at an average of 21 prior to this game. If he continues this form, it would be a big relief for the Proteas on bouncy pitches in the next matches. Besides bowlers, the captain Aidan Markaram and opener Quinton de Cock finally rose to the occasion and posted decent a score for the USA to achieve. South Africa’s top order (or batting order in general) has been one of the worst in this tourney. Only Bangladesh and Ireland among the full members have had worse top order batting averages. Nevertheless, if the batters keep their form intact in the next few games and somehow induce the guys in the middle to step up as well, the usual choking sting that comes for them by the end of the tournaments might just miss them this once.
Mark Wood was extremely wayward in the first Super Eight game. With Reece Topeley and Jofra Archer doing very well and Chris Jordan warming the bench, Jos Buttler may opt to sit him out for this game. The batters up the order have not got much game time thanks to the openers and upper middle order taking in all on themselves as well as rain influencing the games but with South Africa’s bowling lineup they might need to come out of the hut to flaunt batting skills. Moeen Ali took the number 3 position against West Indies, would be interesting to see if Buttler would like to continue with it.
Head-to-head Matches:
England and South Africa have played quite a lot against each other. In the 25 matches that they encountered each other, both sides have won 12 matches. Their recent outing came in 2022 when South Africa defeated the host England by a whopping 90 runs.
Weather and Pitch Report:
The rain will not play a spoilsport in Saint Lucia on Friday but it’s going to be a thunderous game anyway with the deck offering a lot to the batters. It is not exactly a belter but compared with the American pitches, it’s paradise. Pacers and spinners won’t stay empty-handed. The pitch did quite well for the spinners in the last game played here between WI and England. However, this will be the first daytime game on this ground so the past stats might not be entirely fair. Pacers can hope to sail smoothly during the early overs.
Prediction:
Having played here in their previous game, England have a visible advantage over the Proteas. This paired with the fact that they have almost all boxes checked and have survived a near-death experience makes them hot favourites against South Africa.
Where to Watch:
- India – Star Sports
- Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming) and Tamasha app (Live streaming)
- USA and Canada – Willow TV
- England – Sky Sports Network
- Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
- New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
- Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
