England may have played some good cricket to beat Ireland in the ODI series, leading to the Champions Trophy, but they have a huge task ahead in the upcoming series against South Africa. England face South Africa in a three-match ODI series, with the first match starting on Wednesday.
England are a strong team that will undergo some changes, with IPL stars back in their ranks. Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler will also be available, which will make the team incredibly strong for the series.
They are an aggressive ODI side, their entertaining brand of cricket is even more interesting. With Alex Hales and Jason Roy, they have some dangerous players who will be eager to gain form and carry that into the Champions Trophy.
With the Champions Trophy starting on June 1, England, to be led by Eoin Morgan, will try to use different combinations to head into the competition well settled. They are one of the favourite teams, and a strong performance against South Africa will only give them more confidence.
But this South African team have played some outstanding cricket in the last 12 months or so. They are one of the best sides in world cricket as shown by their number one ranking in the ODI format.
South Africa have defeated teams like Australia and Sri Lanka with some ease, and such records will give them the self-belief to crush opponents, including England in this series. In AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du PLessis, Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada, they have match-winners to stifle England.
South Africa and England could benefit immensely from the series, just a few days ahead of the ICC event. England will know their weakness and strengths while South Africa will get some serious match practice and get more time to settle in England as compared to other teams.
Where to watch
The first ODI is schedule for 2 pm local time (6:30 pm IST). TV and live streaming options are given below.
India – TV: Star Sports 1/HD. Live streaming: Hotstar
UK - TV: Sky Sports 2/HD. Live streaming: Sky Go
South Africa - TV: SuperSport. Live streaming: SuperSport Video
