(Cricket news) South Africa will face England in ICC T20 World Cup for a place in the semifinals. The Group 1 matches will conclude today as there are two matches to go, South Africa is currently on a three match winning streak while England are unbeaten in the Super 12. South Africa are currently placed third in the group as they must win in order to have a chance at qualifying and will hope Australia fall in the final hurdle against West Indies.
South Africa has the top bowling attack with pacers Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and second ranked ICC T20 spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. The trio has picked up 15 wickets in four matches. Speedster Anrich Nortje has been the leading wicket taker with 8 victims in 4 matches. Nortje has been picking up wickets in every match with his ruthless pace which can go upto 156 km/hour. Dwaine Pretorius has also been a consistent performer this year and has struck at regular intervals while being economical.
The batters have underperformed in the 4 matches so far as Aiden Markram is leading the run charts with 110 runs. Quinton de Kock has scored 35 runs in three matches as the opener has not been able to give the team a flying start, David Miller was the matchwinner as his death over heroics gave the proteas two valuable points.
England has been the top side of the tournament alongside Pakistan as both are yet to lose a match in the tournament. Adil Rashid and Tymal Mills are the leading wicket takers for the team with seven wickets each as Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan have picked up 6. Chris Woakes has been striking in every match and will look to do the same against South Africa. Their bowling line up will certainly give a heads up to the proteas and is the main reason the team has been winning.
The batters need to perform well as the matches will get more heated up soon. Jos Buttler has been the flag bearer this time with 214 runs in 4 matches and scored a century in the last match. He will be eager to take on the pace attack as well as the spinners from South Africa. Jason Roy played an attacking innings against Bangladesh in a low scoring contest but hasn’t come back in form since then. Jonny Bairstow has scored 33 runs in 4 matches and Dawid Malan has scored 42 in 3 matches as the middle order has not spent much time in the crease. Eoin Morgan had to come to bat only twice in 4 matches and it will be a contest to watch between the stable England batters versus the attacking bowling combination of South Africa. England is the favourite to win but the tables can turn in no time when it comes to T20s.
Also read: T20 World Cup: New Zealand on the brink of semi-finals after 52 run win over Namibia
