The first ODI between SA and ENG proved to be a cracker of a contest where the current 50-over world champions crumbled in sensational style towards the end of their chase to lose the match by 27 runs on Friday. The Hosts have taken a 1-0 lead but the 2019 World Champion will be raring to bounce back harder in the other two games.
The Proteas have started the ODI series in style against the most fancied limited-overs team in the world. Batting first, SA posted 298-7, with Rassie van der Dussen (111 off 117 balls) leading and David Miller (53 off 56 balls) providing the finishing touches to Proteas.
At one point, it looked like the Visitors would comfortably chase the target down when they were 222-4 in the 34th over. However, the SA bowlers bowled brilliantly in the last half of the innings and England’s long batting unit crumbled under pressure, falling 27 runs short.
The fast gun bowler Anrich Nortje’s spell of 4 for 62 proved to be too hot to handle for England and he will again be the main bowler to watch out for. Sisanda Magala (3-46) was great with his line and lengths while Kagiso Rabada (2-46) kept things tight throughout in the first match for Proteas.
This bowling lineup will again be a force to reckon with on the Bloemfontein pitch, which has some juice for the seam bowlers. The Hosts, however, would want a little more from their openers De Kock and Bavuma.
The Visitors were in the game for the majority of the first ODI and yet ended up on the losing side. Chasing a target of 299, English openers put on 146 for the first wicket in 19.2 overs. The right-handed opener Jason Roy, whose form had been on the wane for a while, made a superb comeback with a sparkling 113 off 91 balls. The left-handed batter Dawid Malan (59 off 55 balls) was the ideal partner for him. However, a stunning lower-order collapse meant that ENG was eventually bowled out for 271. Roy-Malan’s stand of 146 is now the 7th highest by any pair in an unsuccessful ODI chase.
The English side will take heart from Roy’s performance who had averaged just 16.9 in his previous 14 white-ball innings for the country. With him in form, the ODI World Champion’s batting unit looks even more formidable.
The middle-order batter Harry Brook was dismissed for 0 in the first ODI, but he’s a dangerous batter and we expect him to make some sort of an impact in the remaining two matches against the Proteas. Skipper Buttler looked good for his 36 off 42 balls in the first match. Buttler’s another batter to watch out for.
The left-handed all-rounder Sam Curran was the most impressive bowler for the Visitors, taking 3-35 in 9 overs. The leg-spinner Adil Rashid (1-55) did a fine job on a pitch that didn’t have much for the spinners. Jofra Archer’s return for England didn’t exactly live up to the hype as the fast bowler went for 81 runs in his 10 overs while taking just 1 wicket. However, he’s coming after a long layoff and is expected to take a few games to get back into full rhythm.
Match Details
Match: SA vs ENG, 2nd ODI, England tour of South Africa, 2023
Date: Sunday, January 29, 2023
Time: 01:30 PM
Venue: Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein
Pitch and Weather Report
As we saw in the first match between the two sides, the pitch here at tends to become a little harder to bat on as the ball becomes softer. It’s still a superb batting strip, but there will be some spice in it for the fast bowlers throughout. Spinners will find the goings tough. But the batters are likely to try and attack them more, which presents them with the opportunity to grab some wickets.
The average score batting first at the Mangaung Oval is 250-260 runs. The highest total posted at the venue is 399-9 against SA in 2016. Scores over 250 have been achieved 18 times here in 30 ODIs. The team batting first in this match will be looking to set a target of around 290-300 runs.
The weather forecast for the matchday on 29th January 2023 at the Mangaung Oval is expected to be a bright and shiny day with a high of 32 degrees Celsius and with 32% chance of humidity, with a strong wind of 24 km/h.
SA vs ENG Squads
SA: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen
ENG: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes
SA vs ENG Probable Playing XIs
SA: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Sisanda Magala, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
ENG: Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Olly Stone
Match Prediction
Despite that stunning collapse, the Visitors won’t be too bothered after their first match defeat against the Proteas. England is still one of the best ODI sides in the world today and has an explosive batting unit. We expect their batters to come out all guns blazing again on Sunday.
The Hosts have the bowling attack to challenge ENG’s powerful batting lineup. If their batters deliver again, then the home side might well make it 2-0. However, The English side will come hard after that loss and don’t be surprised if South Africa crumbles under their assault. We say South Africa to make it 2-0 on Sunday.