South Africa, England set to play first ODI in Paarl amidst off-field concerns

Overview
South Africa vs England, 1st ODI
Boland Park, Paarl
Sunday, 6 December, 10.00am local time, 08.00am GMT

Amidst concerns about the bio-secure environment, South Africa and England prepare for the first ODI after another player from the South African camp tested positive for COVID-19 resulting in the postponement of the fixture.

The release by CSA stated the following: "In the interests of the safety and well-being of both teams, match officials and all involved in the match, the acting CEO of CSA, Kugandrie Govender as well as the CEO of the ECB, Tom Harrison, have agreed to postpone the first fixture to Sunday.”

The latest case is the third from the South African camp since the series was announced. It leaves them with fewer options for the first game against the current ODI world champions as they play their first ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League game. Faf du Plessis was released from the squad ahead of the ODIs after playing each of the three T20Is.

David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo are unavailable for selection while Reeza Hendricks and Pite van Biljon were also released from the squad. One option for the hosts would be to open with Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan with Temba Bavuma filling in for Du Plessis at No.3.

The bowling attack is expected to be similar to the line-up they fielded in the T20Is, although Kagiso Rabada is ruled out with a groin strain. Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje will likely be joined by Lutho Sipamla, with Junior Dala and Glenton Stuurman both available as seam options. Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi will vie for a spot in the spin department. Dwaine Pretorius could come back into the side as the all-rounder at No.7 while George Linde’s impressive showing in the T20Is could see him being retained there.

England, meanwhile, are second in the Super League table with three wins and three losses and will be banking on their big-hitting batsmen yet again. They are without key personnel too with Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran rested for the ODI leg of the tour. Lewis Gregory could be a handed an ODI debut in the absence of Stokes while Moeen Ali, who didn’t play the T20Is, could come in as the second spinner while also strengthening the batting.

Remember the last time

These sides met in an ODI series earlier this year in South Africa with the spoils shared after one game in the three-match series was washed out. South Africa won the first ODI after a century from Quinton de Kock and 98 from Temba Bavuma took them to a seven-wicket win. The second game was washed out while England won the third courtesy of a three-wicket haul from Adil Rashid and a half-century from Joe Denly, who was not included in the squad for this tour.

What they said:

Eoin Morgan (England captain): "Captains are different. You get captains that really enjoy the title, the power and the accolades that go with it, and then you have other captains that continue to be pushed and want to learn for the benefit of the team."

Charl Langeveldt (South Africa bowling coach): "For a young bowler, it's a great opportunity to test the mental aspect of the game. England are going to come hard at you. That's the nature of the way they play T20 cricket and 50-over cricket. So mentally you need to be strong. When you are under pressure, you need to be able to execute and they will learn from this. We've got work to do with our bowlers."