England vs South Africa – 3rd T20 International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is England vs South Africa taking place? Sunday, July 31st, 2022 – 14:30 (UK)
Where is England vs South Africa taking place? The Ageas Bowl, Southampton
What is the expected weather for England vs South Africa? 23c, cloudy but dry with sunny intervals as play goes on and a moderate breeze throughout.
What channel is England vs South Africa on? The match will be televised in the UK live on Sky Sports
Where can I stream England vs South Africa? Subscribers of Sky Sports based in the UK will be able to stream this match live on the Sky Go app.
LAST MEETING
South Africa beat England by 58 runs.
THE TEAM NEWS
ENGLAND
- England’s inconsistency this summer in white ball cricket struck once again as they were hammered by South Africa at Sophia Gardens less than 24 hours after winning in Bristol, leaving the series level heading into the final game.
- Jason Roy’s position as opener was once again under scrutiny after scoring 20 at slower than a run a ball with his side needing to chase a target of over 200 and once again, captain Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott may need to consider whether to take Roy out of the firing line and give Phil Salt a chance.
- After being bowled out for just 149 chasing 208 to beat South Africa on Thursday, England may look to bring David Willey into the side to add some extra batting down the order combined with his skiddy left-arm pace.
SOUTH AFRICA
- South Africa named an unchanged team for the second T20i and reaped the rewards, racking up 207/3 batting first, before bowling England out of the game, consistently taking wickets and not allowing the hosts any sort of momentum.
- Batter Rilee Rossouw showed why he’s been dominating county bowling attacks in the T20 Blast this season, smashing an unbeaten 96 from 55 balls, whilst Reeza Hendricks proved his credentials as a long-term opening partner for Quinton de Kock even when Temba Bavuma returns to full fitness, after scoring 53 from 32 deliveries.
- It would be no surprise if the Proteas decide to field the same side for a third straight T20i, with right-arm pacer Anrich Nortje once again given a rest ahead of their three-match Test series beginning in August.
THE PREDICTION
Matches involving England this summer in T20 cricket have been difficult to predict due to their ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ nature of play. We’ve seen them fire on all cylinders, but also collapse in a heap and South Africa will be hoping for the latter in this series decider at the Ageas Bowl. Whilst the boundaries are bigger on this ground than in Cardiff or Bristol, the expectation is that this will still prove a high-scoring contest with India racking up 198 runs batting first in the last T20i to take place at the Ageas earlier in the month. When taking into account that in three of the four innings we’ve seen so far across this series, a batter has racked up an individual score of 72 or more, the smart play here would be to back a highest individual score of over 71.5 runs in this third T20i, regardless of which nation ends up winning.
