England and South Africa will conclude their Champions Trophy preparations on Monday when the two sides meet in the third and final ODI at Lord’s. In terms of the series we know England have already won that but with the Champions Trophy just three days away both sides will still be keen to win this one.
England
England have won both matches in the series so far and both of them have been different types of victory. Their win in the first match was an easy win with them well in control throughout but the second win was the one they will take the most out of as it was the one where they had to hold their nerve and really battle.
The interesting thing about both wins were that they came batting first. A couple of years ago and maybe even more recently than that England were unable to defend any par looking score because their bowlers went the distance but that is no longer the case. That will be a huge boost heading into the Champions Trophy.
South Africa
You only had to see the look on AB de Villiers’ face after the second ODI to know he felt that his side should have won at the Ageas Bowl. This third match becomes important for the Proteas as heading into a major tournament off the back of three successive wins isn’t what anyone wants and that is the possibility facing them.
What might concern South Africa the most is that in both matches so far they have won the toss and chosen to chase as that is their preferred method and they’ve lost both times. I don’t want to use the ‘c’ word for their failure in the last game but it didn’t bode well for them that is for sure. A win is needed here.
Team News
England have announced that Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes have been ruled out of this match. Liam Dawson, Steven Finn and Toby Roland-Jones have been called up as cover but you would think those in the Champions Trophy squad will feature so expect Jonny Bairstow and David Willey to play.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers confirmed that Morne Morkel will definitely play in this match. I suspect the tourists will go in with something of their strongest side for this one.
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Betting
The way the series has gone so far I think this is a much bigger match for South Africa than it is for England. That isn’t to say England won’t want to win it. They will as it would mean a major rival for the Champions Trophy will be devoid of confidence heading into the tournament but it is big for South Africa.
As such I’m going to take the tourists. England will have to change their structure with Ben Stokes not being risked in this match and that is never an easy thing to do. South Africa should really have won the previous match against a stronger looking England side than the one battling here so I’ll side with them to get it right this time.
Tips
WON – Back South Africa to win 3rd ODI for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Ladbrokes
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