England vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Today Match Prediction 30 May 2019

eng vs n/a Match Prediction & Analysis

Host England will be looking to start their campaign on a good note when they take on South Africa in the opening game of 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in London on Thursday.

Eoin Morgan led unit will be looking to put in clinical performance with the bat and ball in order to set the tone for this year’s World Cup. The side has shown exceptional form in limited-overs cricket and would be keen to produce their best cricket against South Africa.

On the other hand, South Africa will be determined to spoil England’s party in the opening game. Faf du Plessis will be looking to field his best playing XI in order put up a strong fight against England.

In their previous six meetings in a Cricket World Cup, England, and South Africa have managed to win three games apiece.

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

The home side will keen to produce a pitch-perfect performance with bat and ball in the opening game of the Cricket World Cup. The big news is that Eoin Morgan has been declared fit and will lead the side for this World Cup opener.

In the batting department, the home side will be relying on the likes of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root to do the bulk of the scoring. The opening duo of Roy and Bairstow showed excellent form in the recently concluded one-day series against Pakistan. Roy was the star performer for England in the previous game played against Afghanistan.

Joe Root will be looking to spend time at the crease in order to get back to his best. All this summer he has looked impatient at times and failed to capitalize on his good starts. England Captain Eoin Morgan has been consistently producing decent scores for the side so far this season. He will be keen to continue his rich vein of form with the bat in this opening game.

All-rounder Ben Stokes, wicket-keeper Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali are players that can pile on the runs at a brisk rate in the later stages of the innings. Jos Buttler is certainly the most dangerous player in white-ball cricket at the back end of the innings. In the past, Buttler has wreaked havoc on the opposition bowlers to see England post mammoth scores on the board.

In the bowling department, the side will be depending on the likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett to make early inroads with the new-ball. Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will be a prominent spin option for England for this opening game.

England Predicted Playing XI:

Eoin Morgan (captain), Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.

England Actual Playing XI:

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy, AU Rashid, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Jofra Chioke Archer, Ben Stokes, CR Woakes

South Africa Preview

The side produced a decent performance with the bat and ball in the warm-up game played against Sri Lanka at Cardiff.  The big positive for the side was opening Hashim Amla scoring runs against Sri Lanka. He looked in decent touch with the bat and scored 65 off 61 balls with the help of nine boundaries.

In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis to do the bulk of the scoring.  Wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock has been in excellent form in white-ball cricket and will be looking to get South Africa off to a flying start in the initial Powerplay overs.

Skipper Faf du Plessis looked in a fabulous form in the warm-up game and scored 88 off 69 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes. He will be looking to continue his good form in the opening game of Cricket World Cup against England.

Middle-order batsman Rassie van Der Dussen might be included in the playing XI due to consistently good performances for South Africa in the past three months. He has only played nine matches for South Africa and scored 353 runs at an average of 88.25.

David Miller, JP Duminy and Andile Phehlukwayo are players that will need to score quick runs for South Africa in the last 20 overs of the innings. South Africa might play Chris Morris or Andile Phehlukwayo to perform the role of the third seamer for this game.

In the bowling department, the side will be relying on the new-ball pair of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada to make early inroads in the initial Powerplay overs. Imran Tahir will be lone spinner included in the playing XI for this game.

South Africa Predicted Playing XI:

Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius/Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada.

South Africa Actual Playing XI:

Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Andile Phehlukwayo, Hashim Amla, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir

Weather Conditions

The freshly prepared wicket for the opening game of the World Cup might offer something for quick bowlers with the new-ball. It will generally get easier to bat in the second half of the game. The weather forecast for the game will be cloudy skies throughout the day.

Venue

Kennington Oval in London is all set to host the opening game of 2019 Cricket World Cup between England and South Africa. England has managed to win their last two games at this venue. England has an excellent head to head record against South Africa at this venue.

Toss: To Bowl

Both the sides will be looking to win the all-important toss and bowl first on a freshly prepared wicket. The new-ball might offer lateral movement for the quick bowlers. Batting second will be the way to go here at this venue.