ENGLAND VS SOUTH AFRICA: 1st T20 | TODAY'S CRICKET MATCH PREDICTION AND TOP FANTASY PICKS

South Africa’s tour of England is now midway, with the focus now shifting from the ODIs to the T20s. The honors were shared by both teams in the recently-concluded limited-overs series. 

The hosts, thirsty of a T20I series win following their loss against India earlier in the month, will go into the 3-match series with a hope of coming away with something to show at the end of it. England will have their skipper from the ODI series J. Buttler in-charge. The rest of the England squad looks the same as it was for the 50-over format.  

The visitors, on the other hand, will bank on their good show in the subcontinent against India to do well in the series, which is to be held across three different venues in the space of just 5 days. The Proteas will be led by an in-form D. Miller. 

There are a few changes for the visitors though. G. Coetzee receives his maiden T20 international call-up for South Africa, while W. Parnell is also back. The other players making the cut are T. Stubbs and R. Rossouw. K. Rabada, who was rested for the ODIs in order to manage workload, returns to the T20 squad.
 

Match Details

• Match: England vs South Africa 1st T20
• Venue: County Ground, Bristol
• Date & Time: July 27 2022, at 11 PM IST
• Live Streaming: Sony Six Channel and SonyLIV App

ENGLAND VS SOUTH AFRICA 1st T20 PROBABLE PLAYING XIs

England 

J. Roy, J. Buttler (C & WK), D. Malan, J. Bairstow, L. Livingstone, M. Ali, S. Curran, C. Jordan, A. Rashid, R. Topley, R. Gleeson

South Africa

R. Hendricks, Q. de Kock (WK), R. Rossouw, H. Klaasen, D. Miller, T. Stubbs, A. Phehlukwayo, T. Shamsi, K. Maharaj, K. Rabada, L. Ngidi

England vs South Africa T20 Head-to-head Record

Weather Report

The temperature in Bristol is expected to be around 22°C on Wednesday, with sunny intervals changing to cloudy by late evening. However, the good news is that there is no prediction for rain.

SA vs Eng 1st T20 Pitch Report

The Country Ground has a sporting pitch to offer to the batters. It is a high-scoring ground, with the pitch getting better as the match progresses. Bowlers often become predictable and hence, it is not advisable to miss line and length. Chasing would be a more favorable option here than defending. The average first innings score in this year's T20 Blast is 150 runs at this ground.

Toss

Chasing would be a more favorable option here than defending. A total of 3 T20I matches have been played in this venue so far where the team batting second has won all 3. Also, teams batting second has won 3 of the 5 T20 Blast matches here this season. 

TOP FANTASY PICKS FOR ENG VS SA 1st T20 Match

Team England

• J. Buttler has been struggling for runs in this home season. In the 8 matches played, he has crossed fifty just once, 60 against India in the 3rd ODI. The remaining 7 innings adds up only 87 runs which includes 3 single-digit scores. He is due a big match winning innings here.
• L. Livingstone is one of England’s most explosive T20I batters. He is yet to reach the heights he managed last year, but is just one innings away from hitting top gear. In 20 T20Is, he has 342 runs at an impressive strike rate notching up to 154.8 and taken 12 wickets.
• R. Topley is one of England’s most in-form bowlers currently. The left-handed bowler took 13 wickets in six matches against India in the recently-concluded ODI and T20 series. He was impressive yet again in the 4 overs he bowled against South Africa in the second ODI, taking 2 wickets for 17 runs.

Team South Africa

• Q. de Kock is yet another batter that can hit the ball big. He returned to form in the final ODI, remaining not out on 92 off 76 balls. He has 1863 runs in the T20 format for South Africa at a strike rate of 134.6.
• D. Miller is a T20 specialist and a finisher for his team. Indian fans came to know about his ability in the recent edition of the Indian T20 League. Miller has been a bit quiet since his 64-run knock against India last month. Expect him to excel in this match with the additional responsibility of leading the team.
• K. Rabada will be fresh following the break he was allowed in the ODIs. He bowls with pace and has a good idea about line and length. Batters often find it difficult to put him away. He has taken 51 wickets in 44 T20Is so far.

ENG VS SA 1st T20 SUGGESTED HOWZAT TEAM

• Wicketkeepers: J. Buttler, Q. de Kock
• Batters: D. Miller, D. Malan, J. Bairstow, R. Rossouw
• All-rounder: L. Livingstone
• Bowlers: K. Rabada, R. Topley, C. Jordan, L. Ngidi
•  
• Captain: R. Rossouw/L. Livingstone
• Vice Captain: Q. de Kock/J. Buttler

ENG vs SA 1st T20 – HOWZAT Fantasy Team

NOTE: The Howzat team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own team from today’s fantasy match prediction and play all the fantasy cricket matches of the South Africa Tour of England 2022. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team playing.

Download the Howzat fantasy app and select your own team today!