After sharing honours in the rain-curtailed ODI series, England and South Africa will lock horns with each other in a three-match T20I series. The series will get underway on Wednesday (July 27) at the County Ground in Bristol. Both teams will look to get an early lead as the preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup continues.
While England have excelled in Tests, their white-ball game has come under the scanner. Under new captain Jos Buttler, the English side have suffered five losses in eight completed matches in the two formats this month. He is thus under scrutiny to turn things around. The hosts, however, will miss the service of all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has been rested for the series.
On the other hand, David Miller will captain South Africa in the absence of the injured Temba Bavuma. The veteran southpaw will hope to lead the team from the front given his recent form with the bat. Miller will welcome back Kagiso Rabada from his break for the ODI rubber, along with Rilee Rossouw, the former Kolpakian who is likely to play his first match for South Africa since October 2016.
Match Details
1st T20I – England (ENG) vs South Africa (SA)
Venue – County Ground, Bristol
Date & Time: July 27 at 11:00 PM IST and 6:30 PM Local Time
Pitch Report
The wicket in Bristol is likely to aid batting and plenty of runs are on the cards with short boundaries on offer. A total of 150 would be the par score on this surface.
Predicted Playing XI
England (ENG): Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Philip Salt, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan David Willey, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Richard Gleeson
South Africa (SA): Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen/ Rilee Rossouw, David Miller (c), Dwaine Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
ENG vs SA – Fantasy Team Suggestions
Fantasy Team 1: Quinton de Kock (c), Jonny Bairstow, Rassie Van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Liam Livingstone (vc), Moeen Ali, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Jordan, Anrich Nortje, David Willey
Fantasy Team 2: Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow (c), Rassie Van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Dawid Malan, David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Jordan, Anrich Nortje (vc), Adil Rashid
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