To put themselves in a comfortable position, they need a big win against red-hot England – so they have a better NRR than Australia

Firdose Moonda05-Nov-2021Big pictureThere are no quarterfinals at this T20 World Cup but South Africa have found themselves in one anyway – in a win-or-go-home match against England. If the latter happens, many will see it as a case of same-old-South-Africa when in fact, they’ve done better than expected so far.Though South Africa came into the T20 World Cup on the back of three successive series wins, two of those were against teams that needed to qualify for the Super 12 and the third was against West Indies. There was also an avalanche of administrative turmoil. Then, they lost their opening match to Australia and risked complete implosion after a Cricket South Africa board directive that instructed the team to take the knee ahead of their remaining games instead of continuing with their three-pronged approach of different gestures. Quinton de Kock initially refused to comply with the instruction and sat out South Africa’s second game but has since u-turned. Instead of derailing South Africa, the issue brought them closer. They’ve gone on to win their last three matches and though de Kock hasn’t contributed many runs, they are finding those elsewhere, albeit slowly. That will have to change against the big-hitters that are England.With a style of play that is uncompromisingly clinical, England have polished off three small targets quickly – their 56-run chase against West Indies inside nine overs is the best example – and defended well on the only occasion they were made to do that, against Sri Lanka. Even with their most successful seamer, Tymal Mills, ruled out of the tournament due to injury, they remain among the favourites to win and this match gives them an opportunity to sample a new bowling combination ahead of the real knockouts next week.England are all but guaranteed a place in the last four but will want to avoid facing Pakistan in the semi-finals by ensuring they finish on top of this group. That gives them a major incentive to push for victory, although losing by a close enough margin to ensure their net run rate doesn’t dip below the second-place finisher will also do.South Africa will also have an eye on net run rate, more so once they know the outcome of Australia’s match against West Indies. An Australian victory will put them on the same number of points as England, so not only will South Africa need to beat England, but they will have to have a better net run rate than Australia. If Australia lose, the equation is simpler for South Africa – just win – but that will not be straightforward. England are in red-hot form and have won their last five T20Is against South Africa.Form guideEngland WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South AfricaWWWLWIn the spotlightChris Jordan is England’s leading T20I wicket-taker and a trusted lieutenant to Eoin Morgan, offering advice to the rest of the bowling attack throughout the innings. He was expensive in South Africa and India last winter but has conceded only 5.25 runs an over during this World Cup and his importance at the back end of an innings will be emphasised by the absence of the injured Mills, England’s other specialist death bowler.Chris Jordan is among the key bowlers for England•Getty ImagesAnrich Nortje has been South Africa’s most successful bowler of the tournament so far, with eight wickets at 8.75, an average only bettered by four other bowlers, all of whom have fewer wickets than him. Nortje’s pace, aggression and accuracy has stood out and he now has the opportunity to make a big statement in South Africa’s biggest match.Team newsMark Wood, who is yet to feature due to an ankle problem, is the likely replacement for Mills if he gets through training on Friday, though Morgan stressed England would be “patient” with his return. David Willey, Tom Curran and Reece Topley are the alternatives if Wood is not risked.England: (possible) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Eoin Morgan (capt), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark WoodSouth Africa will consider the option of three specialist spinners but left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin has not played a match in the tournament so far. It’s more likely South Africa will be unchanged.South Africa: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiPitch and conditionsWhile Sharjah was talked up as being the most difficult batting venue ahead of the tournament, it has proved quite the opposite. Despite its low bounce, in the Super 12s, Sharjah has had the highest scoring rate per over of 7.63 and the most sixes hit. The smaller boundaries have meant that in six Super 12 matches, Sharjah averages 10.5 sixes per game while Dubai and Abu Dhabi are at 8.8 and 7.4 respectively. The match will take place on the same pitch as the New Zealand-Namibia game, and is expected to similarly slow. There’ll also be dew to contend with, as early as midway through the first innings, which will be a first for South Africa, who have had day games to date.Stats and triviaEngland have won their last five T20Is against South Africa.South Africa’s top five have the fourth lowest strike rate in the Super 12s – 107.52 – behind Scotland, Bangladesh and Namibia. England’s top five have the highest – 137.10.Quotes”I certainly don’t think it’s a wicket where you can take a lot of confidence away from batting quite a period of time on it – I don’t think many of the guys felt ‘in’ regardless of how they batted. But being in that fight for the game is going to be extremely important if the wicket stays the same.”
“It has been labeled as a quarterfinal for us. It’s a must-win game. I think that’s the main point. Irrespective of where Australia is within the group, we want to win that game, and we’ll be striving to do so. What’s happening with Australia, West Indies, I guess what helps us is that their game happens before our game, so we’ll kind of get a better sense or understanding as to how we need to approach the England game. If Australia win, then it’s going to come down to net run rate. We’ll have an opportunity, I guess, somewhere along our game to control our net run rate or alter our approach.”