England will look to bounce back from the disappointment of losing the first Test match against South Africa on Friday, when the second game gets underway at the iconic and picturesque Newlands in Cape Town.
With two matches to go, South Africa head into the Cape Town Test match knowing that they can secure a share of the series if they come out on top here. I don’t think they needed any extra motivation but if they did that would be it.
South Africa
You couldn’t argue that it was a perfect display by South Africa in the opening Test match, but when you consider the mess they were in off the pitch last month, to come up with a display as good as the one they did was a credit to everyone involved. There are some big names involved in the South African side all of a sudden, and if their players are not inspired by them then they are unlikely to be inspired by anyone it has to be said.
You would think South Africa will improve as the series goes on, but the one area where they don’t need much more is with the ball, having thoroughly dominated for the most part in both innings in Centurion. There is improvement to come with the bat, but when you factor in how unsettled they have been in that department with high profile retirements in recent times, it probably isn’t the biggest surprise that they struggled initially.
England
You don’t want to be too harsh on England at the present time, but if we are being honest they look a right mess at the present time. They offer up absolutely no confident or convincing play with the bat and their bowlers are actually doing an amazing job when you factor in they have a captain who is proving himself to be more and more incompetent by the day. Quite often England build their way into overseas series and they are going to have to do that again here.
If things were not bad enough for England at the minute, they are losing players left right and centre to illness on this tour and now injuries are beginning to hit them as well. It remains to be seen how strong a team the tourists can field here, but they are going to be up against it whoever takes to the field for them. Getting out of here without losing and keeping their chance of winning the series alive later in the piece would be an acceptable effort.
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Team News
South Africa are forced into a change with Aiden Markram suffering a finger injury which will keep him out of the remainder of the series. Pieter Malan will come in for him. Rassie van der Dussen remains in the side despite Temba Bavuma being fit again.
England will be without Rory Burns for this match as he has been ruled out of the rest of the tour after injuring himself playing football in training. There is a strong doubt over Jofra Archer as well while Jack Leach remains sidelined through illness. Zak Crawley will come in for Burns while Ollie Pope is expected to replace Jonny Bairstow. Dom Bess could slot in for Archer.
Newlands
There have been 57 previous Test matches at this famous ground and both teams have a winning record at this venue. South Africa have 26 wins to 20 defeats with 11 draws to their name but nine of those losses have come at the hands of England, who have also had five losses and six draws from their 20 outings on this ground. That suggests both teams are suited to the conditions here.
Ben Stokes enjoyed himself when England last played Test cricket here. He ran up a monster double century in what was a boring draw on a placid pitch four years ago. Since then there has only been one score of 400 which suggests the bowlers might be in the game, but all the early signs are that another batting wicket has been produced to take advantage of the huge number of England fans in the area for the game.
Betting
I’ll go with just the one bet for this match. I was hoping to get stuck into the series a little more but we don’t really know how either side will react to the injuries they have picked up since the first game so I don’t really want to get too deep on this contest, at least from the outset anyway. My gut feel is that South Africa will win the match but a side market punt offers up a better option in my eyes.
I took the performance of Kagiso Rabada in the first Test and he covered his total there by running up 178 points and so I’m a little surprised that he has a target of just 112.5pts in this second game. I’m even more surprised the line is so low when you consider that since that match against England four years ago on a dead pitch, in which he still took four wickets, he has finished with totals of 208, 131, 152 and 141pts. This is clearly a ground that he likes playing on and with England having two rookie openers and a couple of other weaknesses in the batting line up, I expect Rabada to total way more than 112.5pts here.
Tips
Back K.Rabada’s Performance – Over 112.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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