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England: Salt, Buttler (c,wk), Bairstow, Brook, Ali, Livingstone, Curran, Archer, Rashid, Wood, Topley.
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Aiden Markram would have bowled first as well. Just one change for them. Wrist spinner Shamsi is out, seamer Baartman is in.
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South Africa: De Kock (wk), Hendricks, Markrakm (c), Klaasen, Miller, Stubbs, Jansen, Maharaj, Rabada, Nortje, Baartman.
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Funny ol’ game this, eh? Six days ago, England were a few more rain drops from an early exit. But after beating Namibia in a truncated game, and thanks to Australia’s squeaky win over Scotland, Jos Buttler’s team reached the Super 8 where they kicked off in style, hammering the West Indies by eight wickets on Wednesday. Now, in a flash, the reigning champions will be confident of defending their crown.
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A victory over South Africa will effectively guarantee their passage to the semi-finals. Sure, they’d need to beat the USA, who proved they’re no mugs in their narrow loss to the Proteas, as well as but you’d expect a side with in-form opening batters and a blistering pace attack would be too much for the lowest ranked team left in the tournament.
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South Africa have been the toughest bunch to analyse. They swatted aside Sri Lanka in their opening game but were lucky in their wins over Bangladesh and Nepal. In truth, they should have lost both and were made to sweat by an expat in American clothing – Andries Gous from Welkom – who clobbered an unbeaten 80 off 47 balls.
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Aiden Markram’s team is fallible but is littered with superstars. It’s just a case of enough of them firing at once.
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This should be a cracking game. Both sets of players appear to be peaking at the right time. A win here could propel them to greater heights.
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If you want to get in touch (and promise not to stick the knife in if things go sideways for South Africa) please drop me a mail.
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Toss and teams to come. First ball at 3:30p,BST/10:30am in St Lucia.
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Important Events
Joss wins the toss and decides to bowl first.
Jos Buttler is dreaming of chasing. He expects the ball to swing early and is backing the same format and team that got the job done against West Indies.
England: Salt, Buttler (c, wk), Bairstow, Brook, Ali, Livingstone, Curran, Archer, Rashid, Wood, Topley.
Aiden Markram was also meant to bowl first, and there was just one change – wrist spinner Shamsi out, seamer Bartman in.
South Africa: De Kock (wk), Hendricks, Marklach (c), Klaassen, Miller, Stubbs, Janssen, Maharaj, Rabada, Nortje, Baartman.
Rampus says:
Is there such a thing as too much T20 cricket?
Yes. I say it again and again. I know it. You know it. But somehow, the people who run the sport know it too.
That may seem overly negative to say during a T20 World Cup match between two top teams, but if they organise the tournament and nobody turns up, we need to ask the tough questions at a tough moment.
How do you feel about this World Cup? Has it captured your imagination? Are you boiling over with T20 fever?
A small crowd is expected for today’s match at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia’s first match of the T20 World Cup, which has seen four matches played in the past six days.
At 9:20am local time, a DJ played Fred Again for the first time, but there weren’t many fans in attendance.
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) June 21, 2024
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A small crowd is expected for today’s match at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia’s first match of the T20 World Cup, which has seen four matches played in the past six days.
At 9:20am local time, a DJ played Fred Again for the first time, but there weren’t many fans in attendance.
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) June 21, 2024
Ali Martin has named two key players for England in the match against South Africa.
One of them is Jofra Archer, who is yet to reach his peak but has been devastating at times.
The other is Phil Salt, England’s leading run-scorer who proved his potential with an unbeaten 87 runs against the West Indies.
Besides their importance, Salt and Archer also have something in common. Want to know what it is? Find out more:
Coming back to cricket, the tournament’s other top players are looking pretty good.
Australia attacked Bangladesh and India gave Afghanistan its business.
England will undoubtedly have to survive the tougher of the two Super 8 groups, but their dominant performance against the Windies means a win here will almost guarantee them a place in the quarter-finals.
Before we get into the frivolous stuff, it’s important to address some terrible news.
David Lawrence, the first British-born black player to play for England, has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
There is nothing else to say other than this is a terrible situation and everyone in the cricket world wishes David and his family the best as they get through all of this and remain strong and positive.
Premable
Daniel Gallant
This is a fun old game, isn’t it? Six days ago, England were in danger of an early exit if only the rain had stopped short. But a shortened defeat of Namibia and Australia’s tough win over Scotland saw Jos Buttler’s team reach the Super 8s and get off to a spectacular start with a thumping eight-wicket victory over the West Indies on Wednesday. Now the reigning champions are instantly confident of defending their crown.
A win over South Africa would ensure a place in the semi-finals, and of course they would have to beat the USA, who proved no weakling in their narrow defeat to the Proteas, but with a strong opening batting line-up and a ferocious pace attack they would be a formidable opponent to the lowest-ranked team remaining in the tournament.
South Africa are the toughest team to analyse. They blasted Sri Lanka in the opening match but got lucky in their matches against Bangladesh and Nepal. In fact, they should have lost both games. Andries Guth, dressed in American clothes from Welkom, smashed a non-runaway 80 off 47 balls to make them sweat.
Aiden Markram’s team will make mistakes but they have superstars – they just need enough of them to perform at once.
This should be a great match. Both teams’ players seem to be peaking at the right time, and a win here will propel them to even greater heights.
If you’d like to get in touch (and promise not to go under the knife if things get worse in South Africa), send me an email.
The toss and teams will be announced later. The first ball will be bowled at 3:30pm BST/10:30am in St Lucia.
