Friday is supposed to witness an action packed second match in the bilateral series of England vs South Africa at Manchester. England will try to give their hundred percent to level the series. However, SA will aim to seal it by 2-0. In the first match, SA displayed an extraordinary performance in both the departments against England. As a result of that, SA won it by 62 run leading the series by 1-0.
Seeing pacer Anriche Nortje (4/53) back in form with be one of the biggest gift for SA. In addition to that, contributions from Aiden Markram (77 of 61 & 2/25) as well as Van der Dussen (134 of 117) were vital for SA’s win. In contrary to that, Bairstow, Root amd Jason Roy put a great show, but fell short to push England towards the win.
PITCH REPORT
England will be facing South Africa at the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Old Trafford is generally a balanced pitch. In addition to the shorter boundaries, it has faster outfields. Hence, it helps a batter to score runs pretty quickly once settled.
Apart from that, the extra bounce on the pitch favors the pacers more. The ball also swings here in the initial overs, thus challenges the new batter in. The dryness of the pitch helps the spinners in the middle overs.
The average first innings score in this pitch has been 230. Hence, the team batting first must target to score around 260 to stay comfortable. 28 of 55 matches played here have been won chasing.
ENG vs SA, 2nd ODI PROBABLE PLAYING XI:
England’s batting can bring some wrinkles on Skipper Buttler’s head, though his beast form has been missing too recently. Apart from that, the inability to finish games even by the biggies is a concern too. Ben Stokes’s retirement will definitely clear a spot, that may include Phil Salt. If batting isn’t the only concern, then Reece Topley may be considered in.
In that case, Matty Potts may be dropped. Topley has been phenomenal throughout the India vs England bilateral ODI series. On the other hand, SA is unlikely to bring any change in their playing 11. All they will try is to carry the winning momentum.
ENGLAND PREDICTED PLAYING XI:
Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Phil Salt, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (c and wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Brydon Carse, Reece Topley.
SOUTH AFRICA PREDICTED PLAYING XI:
Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj (c), Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dwaine Pretorius
MATCH DETAILS
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Date and Time: July 22, 2022, 5:30 PM IST
Broadcast: Sony Sports Network and SonyLiv
