After an entertaining opening match of the series in Cape Town on Friday, South Africa and England head to Paarl for the second game on Sunday with the tourists knowing they have the first of two chances to claim the spoils.
England were nothing close to their best in that first game on Friday but won it with enough in hand and a second win here will give then the series with a match to spare. South Africa will be eager to make the final game on Tuesday a decider. To do that they must win here.
South Africa
The fear for South Africa heading into the series was that their side was unbalanced and it took all of about 15 overs for those concerns to come to fruition. The Proteas are missing a couple of big all-rounders and without them you have to say they look very light with the bat and not as strong as we are accustomed to seeing them with the ball either. No team wants to panic after one game but you’ve got to think there has to be a rethink here.
South Africa might have gotten away with it if they had four or five top level batsmen but in truth they only have two with the mysterious absence of David Miller and that isn’t going to help them either. Kagiso Rabada is a gun bowler but even he can’t win matches on his own. He is going to need some support primarily from his batsmen but also his fellow bowlers. South Africa didn’t cover themselves in glory at the death which will be a concern.
England
You don’t need me to say it was a very average performance from England in the first match of the series, their captain Eoin Morgan admitted as much. That is unlike England in white ball cricket as their preparation has often been superb and they come out firing, in stark contrast to how they begin series with the red ball. Apart from the result, there wasn’t a whole lot to like about the performance from England, but sometimes the result is the only thing that matters.
The thing that will have disappointed Morgan most in the opening game was their sloppy bowling display. He knows that is the weakest area of their game so there is always an intensity and a focus on getting that right. England were a little timid with the bat as well and that is very much unlike them. It might just be that a bit of rust had gathered within them since the summer and having blown that off they will be up to full speed here.
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Team News
South Africa might not have wanted to make changes but they are probably left with no choice given how brutally they were beaten in Cape Town. Amrich Nortje is a near certainty to come in for Beuran Hendricks while Reeza Hendricks and JJ Smuts could be useful additions to the batting unit.
England are also expected to make a change. Tom Curran went round the park in a few IPL matches and he did so in the opening game of this series too. He is likely to come out of the side and be replaced by Mark Wood in what may be the only change.
Betting
I’m a little surprised that England are as big as 5/6 to hit the most sixes in this match but I’m happy to take it. England didn’t bat all that well in the opening game but they still won the sixes battle 9-7 and four of the sixes they conceded came from the bowling of Tom Curran who probably won’t play in this match. England are renowned six hitters whereas South Africa as a rule aren’t and while they are trying to find the right batting combination they might not be set up to go well with the big hitting.
The worrying thing for South Africa is that there is plenty more to come in the six hitting department for England in this match. Neither Jason Roy nor Jos Buttler hit a six in that opening match and they rarely go too long without clearing the rope. England have six hitters all the way down and enough pace in their side that they aren’t going to go the distance very often. Just the nature of the game England play they should be shorter than 5/6 here but I’ll happily take it.
Tips
WON – Back England Most 6s for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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