England, who defeated South Africa in the four-match Test series 2-1, will have their eyes set on winning the five-match ODI series, which starts on Wednesday. South Africa, who are a strong team at home, will be eager to turn the tables in coloured clothing and clinch the one-day series.
South Africa should be a confident unit when they host England for the ODI series, after their impressive performances against India last year in the fifty-over format, which saw the Proteas emerge triumphant 3-2.
They have all the ammunitions in their squad to defeat England. The home team has some big players, including AB de Villiers, David Miller, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir and Morne Morkel.
However South Africa are going to miss the services of their big bowlers -- Dale Steyn and Veron Philander -- who are currently injured. Hence, Kasigo Rabada and Morne Morkel will have to shoulder the responsibility in the bowling department. Marchant de Lange has also been added to strengthen the squad.
Even if some big names are missing from their bowling line-up, South Africa, as was witnessed in the recently concluded ODI series against India, have enough quality batsmen to take them home.
De Villiers and du Plessis were the highest run-scorer in the series against India, scoring 358 and 323 runs respectively.
In Duminy, Miller, du Plessis and de Villers, they have one of the strongest batting lineups in the world, capable of smashing any bowler.
England, on the other hand, may not possess batsmen of the calibre of de Villiers and du Plessis, but they have plenty of firepower in the form of Ben Stokes and skipper Eoin Morgan, who can win games single-handedly.
England have a decent bowling lineup as well, which comprises of Reece Topley, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid. The leg-spinner will need to be on the top of his game as the Proteas are not completely comfortable against wrist-spinners.
Like South Africa, England also played some good cricket to defeat Pakistan in their last ODI series, which makes it for an interesting rubber with both teams oozing in confidence.
Squads: South Africa: AB de Villiers (C), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Merchant de Lange.
England: Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, James Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Alex Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, James Vince.
Complete schedule for South Africa vs England ODI series
South Africa vs England 1st ODI
Date: February 3
Venue: Chevrolet Park, Bloemfontein
Time: 1:30 local time (5pm IST, 11:30am GMT)
South Africa vs England 2nd ODI
Date: February 6
Venue: St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Time: 10am local time (1:30pm IST, 8am GMT)
South Africa vs England 3rd ODI
Date: February 9
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
Time: 1:30 local time (5pm IST, 11:30am GMT)
South Africa vs England 4th ODI
Date: February 12
Venue: Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Time: 1:30 local time (5pm IST, 11:30am GMT)
South Africa vs England 5th ODI
Date: February 14
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Time: 10am local time (1:30pmIST, 8am GMT)
TV listings: India: Ten Cricket. UK: Sky Sports. South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: Supersport. USA: Willow TV.
