South Africa will aim to assert its dominance and secure the top spot in Group B when it faces a struggling England in a Champions Trophy clash on Saturday.
While India and New Zealand sailed through with ease into the knockouts from Group A, Australia qualified for the semifinals from Group B after its match against Afghanistan in Lahore on Friday was abandoned due to rain.
Though Afghanistan is still mathematically in the fray for a semifinal spot, South Africa has the edge owing to a superior Net Run Rate. England will have to beat South Africa by at least 207 runs on Saturday if Afghanistan is to pip the Proteas for the remaining semifinal berth in Group B.
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Meanwhile, a crushing loss by eight runs to Afghanistan not only sent England out of contention for the semifinals, but also forced its skipper Jos Buttler to step down from captaincy on Friday.
A favourable result should not be too difficult for South Africa, which has all its bases covered, and more importantly, has its key players in form, compared to a misfiring England, which is overly dependent on Joe Root.
In its only completed contest so far — South Africa split points with Australia after a washout in Rawalpindi — the Proteas had crushed Afghanistan by a massive 107 runs.
Ryan Rickelton struck a century while skipper Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram hit a half-century each to power South Africa to a formidable 315 for six batting first, following which the bowlers produced a unified show to bundle out Afghanistan for a mere 208.
While on paper, South Africa is a formidable unit and has been the team to beat in recent ICC events, its overall form over the past year doesn’t inspire confidence as it has lost eight of its last 12 ODIs and won only four since January 2024.
South Africa had also failed to make the final of the tri-series in Pakistan, which involved New Zealand, prior to the Champions Trophy, and Bavuma’s side will need to find consistency against a hurting England, which will be determined to sign off on a high.
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Barring Root, England does not inspire much confidence as it is in the middle of a losing streak, which began with a 0-3 hammering by India before this tournament.
Root’s 120 was the only bright spot for England against Afghanistan as he was the only one who converted his start and showed the promise to do the job for his side.
England, which had begun the tournament with a defeat against Australia, will hope that Buttler is keen to rally his troops around for one final laugh.
THE SQUADS
England: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Corbin Bosch.