In the highly anticipated Cricket World Cup ODI match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, England won the toss and elected to field, putting the Proteas in to bat.
Both England and the Proteas enter this match following surprising defeats to less-fancied opponents.
Bavuma’s Absence and Markram’s Leadership
Due to illness, Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the match, and Aiden Markram will take on the captaincy in his absence.
Markram also revealed that Reeza Hendricks will step in to open the batting in place of the absent skipper.
The Proteas’ Batting Strategy
Despite being put in to bat, Markram expressed his contentment with the decision, as the Proteas have previously won both matches when they batted first.
He mentioned, “Happy batting first, looks a good wicket, will be a good wicket especially after the powerplay. The loss motivates you a bit. We gotta reach back to the standards we’d set previously.”
England’s Lineup Changes
England made some changes to their lineup, with Chris Woakes being left out while Ben Stokes returned along with David Willey and Gus Atkinson. Jos Buttler expressed his confidence in Woakes, stating, “He’s been a fantastic performer for an incredibly long time for England in all formats and especially in one-day cricket.”
Starting Lineups
South Africa (Playing XI):
- Quinton de Kock (w)
- Reeza Hendricks
- Rassie van der Dussen
- Aiden Markram (c)
- Heinrich Klaasen
- David Miller
- Marco Jansen
- Gerald Coetzee
- Keshav Maharaj
- Kagiso Rabada
- Lungi Ngidi
England (Playing XI):
- Jonny Bairstow
- Dawid Malan
- Joe Root
- Ben Stokes
- Harry Brook
- Jos Buttler (w/c)
- David Willey
- Adil Rashid
- Gus Atkinson
- Mark Wood
- Reece Topley