Match Preview - England vs South Africa, South Africa in England 2022, 1st Test

Big Picture

Amidst the tumult, a return to more familiar rhythms - albeit with the expectation of a modernist twist here and there. For five days this week, it might even be possible to pretend it is Situation Normal in the febrile world of international cricket, where a packed house at Lord's will burble and murmur in that inimitably disinterested fashion as England and South Africa do battle once again in the grandest old format.

It is rare, but hardly unique, for the Lord's Test - the traditional centrepiece of the English summer - to begin this late in the season. Last year's India Test got underway on August 12, an early indicator of the sport's direction of travel given the onset of the maiden season of the Hundred, while in 2017, West Indies became the first visiting team to play a Test at the ground in September.

But with the provisional dates for next summer's Ashes suggesting no August Tests at all for the first time in 139 years - thereby clearing the players' decks for full participation in the ECB's new centrepiece event - the challenge to an inherently insecure format seems especially real this year. Just as the County Championship has been condemned in recent years to the margins of the summer, so it seems the parent format is to be shunted the same way. The forecast week of rain, amid the hottest, driest summer on record, feels like an apt comment on such prioritisation.

All of which seems deeply ironic given the narrative of the summer so far. England's world-beating white-ball team has failed to win a home series for the first time since 2013, and while the Hundred has had its moments (where there's a Will, there's a way, as Messrs Smeed and Jacks can attest) it would take a well-remunerated cheerleading commentator to pretend that the contests we've so far witnessed have been the apogee of sporting endeavour.

No, the most visceral thrills and spills of the English summer so far have been invested in the red-ball game - specifically, four humdinging Tests against New Zealand and India, each of them capped by an eye-popping run-chase from an England side that has shed the reticence that condemned it to one win in 17 Tests in the preceding 18 months, and under the thrilling new management of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, has resolved to play like "rockstars".

Captain and coach aside, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have been the pivotal figures of the renaissance - the former by taking McCullum's "see ball, hit ball" mantra as a personal call to arms, to blaze four centuries and an unbeaten 71 in his last five innings; the latter by embodying the true ethos of "Bazball" (to revert to the phrase that dare not be uttered within earshot of any participant), and seeing the art of Test-match batting as one of possibility and positivity, rather than a game of safety-first reticence.

"The Yorkshireman inside me is still saying 'dig in, play straight and get behind it'," Root said after his matchwinning 142 not out against India. "Then there's the captain on the other shoulder saying 'be a rockstar'. So you're fighting between the two of them, sometimes."

Quite apart from the entertainment that England's new attitude has offered, the imperative for such fireworks is equally plain to see. It's not simply the Hundred that is putting the squeeze on Test cricket - the explosion of franchise tournaments is turning the screw like never before, with Cricket South Africa's IPL satellite event and the oil-rich pickings of the UAE-based International League chief among them, meaning that the five-day game needs to adapt to survive.

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum prepare for the first Test against South Africa•Getty Images

The format needs to be entertaining, both to encourage the best players to keep putting themselves forward to play it, but also to be recognisable to the coming generation that might not have the defensive techniques to dig out for a 180-over draw, but possess the range and power of strokes that might even make a 500-run chase seem attainable.

Such are the genre-busting issues that England's new approach has brought bubbling to the surface. Not that South Africa yet seems fully sold on such nonsense, of course. Dean Elgar, their hard-bitten captain whose nuggetty technique so resembles that of his forebear Graeme Smith, has spoken in withering terms about the "Bazball" phenomenon, and having played an integral part in two hugely impressive, albeit old-school, run-chases against India earlier in the year, he's well within his rights to point out that traditional Test values still have their place.

"I don't see that there's longevity in brave cricket," he told Wisden Cricket Monthly. "I see things evening out over time in Test cricket. Had New Zealand taken their opportunities, England would have come away with egg on their faces."

South Africa have every right to be ebullient. They are top of the World Test Championship table, and are full of confidence after a fine display in the preceding white-ball leg of the summer - not least from Rassie van der Dussen whose matchwinning 134 at Chester-le-Street epitomised the sort of measured aggression that this team are capable of bringing to all formats.

And yet, they come into this game off the back of a full-frontal Bazballing against England Lions at Canterbury - defeat by an innings after conceding 672 at close to a run a ball. As the Lions skipper Sam Billings put it afterwards: "You'd be pretty stupid to ignore that, if I'm honest. If that's not a wake-up call…. because we're not even the best XI."

Still, you'd back South Africa to take that indignity on the chin and process it - much as England themselves did in a similarly comprehensive A-team battering on their victorious 2004-05 tour, which the then-captain Michael Vaughan succinctly described as a "kick up the arse". That is what practice matches are for, after all. Dress rehearsals for the real thing. And, irrespective of the hype and drama flying around elsewhere in the world game, things don't get much more real than a Lord's Test at the height of the summer.

Dean Elgar trains with his South Africa team at Lord's•Getty Images

Form guide

England: WWWWL (last five completed matches; most recent first)
South Africa: WLWWL

In the spotlight

Forty and still fabulous, James Anderson will once again lead the line for England, as he takes the Test field for the 173rd time, including an incredible 27 matches at Lord's, which is more games on a single ground than many mighty players managed in their entire careers. Speaking on the eve of the match, Anderson struck a mildly lugubrious note as he reflected on the reality that he is the last of a breed - with the growth of T20 leagues, no-one else "will be stupid enough" to play until they are 40, he said (although he admitted his similarly one-formatted team-mate Stuart Broad would have a shot at it). But, having set up England's fourth victory of the summer with his 32nd Test five-for against India at Edgbaston last month, Anderson remains unchallenged as the kingpin of the attack, and moreover, he has bought into the new team ethos with unflinching enthusiasm. Incredibly, it is 20 seasons since his first Test encounter with South Africa.

Of all of the returnees to South Africa's Test fold post-Kolpak, none comes back with a reputation more enhanced than Simon Harmer's, at least in the eyes of his English opponents. Harmer's arrival at Essex in 2017 coincided with an exponential run of success for the then-newly promoted county - he has harvested a total of 354 wickets at 20.65 in the past six seasons, 28 five-fors, nine ten-wicket hauls, two County Championships titles and the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020. Oh, and he hit the winning runs in the T20 Blast final too. South Africa does not have a great reputation for spin bowling, but Harmer's attributes include height, aggression, a fierce ability to tweak the ball on any surface and a competitive edge that captains adore. His first-class record at Lord's, as it happens, is some way shy of his overall impact in England - just eight wickets at 40.12 in two visits. But he'll be itching to improve on that this week.

Team news

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Alex Lees, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt.), 7 Ben Foakes, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Matthew Potts, 11 James Anderson

England's solitary change from the Edgbaston Test is the return of Ben Foakes behind the stumps, in place of Sam Billings, the Lions captain, who had initially stepped into the wicketkeeper's role as a Covid substitute during the New Zealand series before keeping his place during Foakes' recuperation. "Everyone in the starting XI, the shirt is theirs at the moment," Stokes explained while announcing the team.

South Africa (probable): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Sarel Erwee, 3 Keegan Petersen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 Kyle Verreynne, 7 Keshav Maharaj, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Anrich Nortje

Kagiso Rabada underwent a fitness test on Tuesday and is due another check-up after straining the medial ligament on his right ankle. With Duanne Olivier already ruled out of the series with a torn hip flexor muscle, South Africa will be particularly keen for their attack leader to come through fit and firing, and signs were promising on match eve. Beyond that assessment, the main decision could come down to the selection of an extra batter if they choose to overlook the up-and-coming allrounder Marco Jansen. Ryan Rickelton has been in fine form in the Championship for Northamptonshire, although there's the outside chance that Khaya Zondo could be called up for his second cap, having not batted on debut against Bangladesh in April.

Pitch and conditions

Rain is in the offing after weeks of drought in London, with the contest set to traverse the downpours over the coming five days. That may, in turn, play a part in the conditions, with Lord's traditionally a venue where you look up, not down, at the toss. To date, the pitch looks fairly green, although a lot of that grass is likely to be removed before the first ball is bowled.

Stats and Trivia

Jonny Bairstow needs just six more runs to reach 1000 in Tests for the calendar year, having already scored six centuries in his haul of 994 at 76.46 in eight matches since the start of 2022.

Joe Root isn't far behind that tally himself. He has 927 at 61.80 in nine matches so far this year, including five centuries. With six Tests to come this year, against South Africa and Pakistan, he could yet surpass the six hundreds he made in 2021, although matching his England-record tally of 1708 could be a long-shot.

Dean Elgar needs 136 runs to become the eighth South African to reach 5000 in Tests.

Elgar is the only specialist batter in South Africa's ranks to have played a Test at Lord's, while Rabada and Keshav Maharaj are the only other survivors from their last appearance at the ground in 2017.

Tickets for the fifth day of the Test will be available for a donation of £5, via the Lord's website from 2pm on Wednesday. Proceeds will be split between two charities, the MCC Foundation and the Ruth Strauss Foundation.

The second day of the Test will once again be "Red for Ruth Day", when the ground will turn red in memory of Ruth Strauss, the wife of the former England captain, Andrew, who died of a rare form of lung cancer in 2018.

Quotes

"The opposition seem to be doing a lot of talking about it. We don't really speak about it that much. They've got a style of play, we've got a style of play." Stokes on Elgar's criticism of the term "Bazball"

"With all due respect, I am really not going to entertain that anymore. We've chatted about it long and hard. I just want to crack on with the cricket. I think the game deserves that respect. Mudslinging is a thing of the past for me and we are not going to go back and forth on that." Elgar's last word on the B-word

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/match-preview-england-vs-south-africa-south-africa-in-england-2022-1st-test/?feed_id=11917&_unique_id=62fc532f747f4

SA likely to renew $3b deposit to help Pakistan: report

Saudi Arabia is planning to renew the kingdom's $3 billion deposit with Pakistan, Bloomberg reported Saturday, as the cash-strapped country desperately seeks financial assistance.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the publication said that apart from renewing the deposits with the State Bank of Pakistan as soon as this week (SBP), Saudi Arabia is also considering providing further financial help.

"The kingdom also plans to provide $100 million a month for 10 months in petroleum products that will be granted as additional support," the publication quoted the people.

The announcement is expected within two days, it added.

Once the plan becomes official, Pakistan's $4 billion funding gap — a pre-condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — will be fulfilled, paving way for the revival of the lender's programme.

The IMF had set a condition that the cash-strapped nation needed to fulfil its $4 billion financing gap for the loans to be disbursed under the combined seventh and eighth reviews.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail has confirmed that the IMF Executive Board is expected to meet on August 29 for taking up Pakistan’s request to approve the seventh and eighth reviews and release a tranche of $1.17 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

“We have received the Letter of Intent (LoI) copy, and we will send it back to the IMF’s executive board on Monday," the finance minister told The News.

Pakistan received the much-awaited LoI from the IMF Friday, which would be sent back to the Fund’s executive board with the request to revive the stalled programme under the EFF.

The development comes as the country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP continued to decline on a weekly basis, and fell below $8 billion — the lowest level since October 11, 2019.

On August 5, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7,830.3 million, down $555 million compared with $8,385.4 on July 29, data released by the SBP on Thursday showed, which can cover fewer than 1.12 months.

During this week's close, the Pakistani rupee maintained its uptrend for the ninth successive working day, as it further gained Rs3.38 to close at Rs215.50 against the US dollar in the interbank market.

Ministry of Finance's former adviser Dr Khaqan Najeeb said that the continuation of the IMF programme was “indeed necessary” for a country like Pakistan.

Explaining the need for the IMF programme, Najeeb said that the nation is facing a balance of payment challenge and critically low reserves of $7.8 billion.

“However, this breather must be used wisely,” he added.

Dr Najeeb explained that the current programme with the IMF could help ride over the liquidity crunch by ensuring external fund flows in the fiscal year 2022-23.

Along with an uptick in domestic revenues through higher taxes, he said it will help tame the quasi-fiscal losses in the energy sector through hurtful but necessary price pass-throughs.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/sa-likely-to-renew-3b-deposit-to-help-pakistan-report/?feed_id=10566&_unique_id=62f8521ea529a

Match Preview - England vs South Africa, South Africa in England 2022, 1st T20I

Big picture

Right, we are on to the stuff that matters. After an ODI series that not even the weather wanted to be completed, we are entering the T20I season with all eyes on the World Cup. England have a whopping 13 fixtures before the tournament; South Africa have only eight matches, the bulk of which are in the next ten days, and without regular captain Temba Bavuma.

You may think that puts England in a more stable place to prepare from, but they are at the tail-end of 12 white-ball matches in 24 days and will have to be careful to avoid flagging at the end, especially as they have only just entered a new white-ball era. These T20Is are Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler's final opportunity to win a white-ball series at home after they lost both rubbers against India, and shared the spoils in the ODIs against South Africa.

South Africa were on a similar hot streak and had won three T20I series in succession before the World Cup in 2021, but have since been rocked by the unavailability of key personnel. Anrich Nortje spent six months recovering from a hip and back issue after that but has made a strong return, and now Bavuma is out until at least September with an elbow injury.

David Miller will lead in his absence after a stunning run at the IPL, where he won the trophy with Gujarat Titans. But with a glut of top-order batters, one can't help but feel there could be a bottleneck once Bavuma returns.

At the same time, South Africa have chosen not to continue with Keshav Maharaj in charge, though he has done the job even in T20Is when Bavuma was previously injured, which suggests they want to keep their options of playing only one specialist spinner in Tabraiz Shamsi open.

Meanwhile, Miller is their most experienced batter, as is his counterpart Buttler, as both will want to show their value by leading from the front.

Form guide

(Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)

England WLLLW
South Africa LLWWW

It is a much-anticipated return to South Africa colours for Rilee Rossouw•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Dawid Malan has had a slightly tougher time than usual in this format recently, and broke a year-long drought without a half-century in T20Is with 77 in the final T20I against India. He was the leading run-scorer when England toured South Africa late in 2020, and was England's best batter recently against India too.

Malan's first fifty in 11 innings since mid-2021 meant he had slipped from No.1 to No.4 on the T20I batting rankings, and will be keen to regain some ground as he faces South Africa, against whom he averages 59.

Whether he plays immediately or not, there will be plenty of interest in Rilee Rossouw, who makes his return to the South African squad after a Kolpak hiatus which he used to make his name in T20 leagues. Rossouw has enjoyed success at PSL and BPL, and finished as the second-highest run-scorer in this year's T20 Blast. And before his success there, he was back in South Africa, where he was the leading run-scorer in the provincial T20 cup.

But it remains to be seen whether all has been forgiven and forgotten after the way he left. Of all those who chose to cut their international careers short, Rossouw's was the most puzzling, not least because South Africa's selectors had stuck with him after he was dismissed for four ducks in his first six ODI innings and there was talk of him being promoted to the Test side.

Jonny Bairstow is expected to continue at No. 4, as he has been doing in this format over last 18 months•ECB/Getty Images

Team news

Jonny Bairstow had some ice on his knee for what seemed to be a swelling, although he played a full part in practice before the game. Fit to play which he should, he is expected to continue at No. 4, as he has been doing in this format over the last 18 months, albeit with mixed results. England are likely to stick with the extra batter as they did for the third T20I against India, and may rotate their seamers to minimise risk of injury.

England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Phil Salt/Harry Brook, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran/David Willey, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley

Rossouw could edge out Reeza Hendricks at the top of the order. Also, Aiden Markram's return after he missed the India series with Covid-19 may mean there is room only for either an allrounder or a second spinner.

South Africa will have to chose between Dwaine Pretorius, who also operates as a pinch hitter; Andile Phehlukwayo, who is coming back from a mild concussion and will be assessed ahead of the game; and Wayne Parnell in the allrounders' role. In the pace attack, Kagiso Rabada is back after being rested from the ODIs.

South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rilee Rossouw, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller (capt), 7 Dwaine Pretorius 8 Keshav Maharaj/Tabraiz Shamsi, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi

Pitch and conditions

In this year's T20 Blast, the average first innings score in Bristol was 171, while in Cardiff - the venue for the second T20I just a day after - it sits at 147. That could mean bowlers who have worked on their variations will have a big role to play in taking pace off the ball and getting movement off the seam.

Also, the good news is that the rain that affected the ODIs is not likely to interrupt the T20Is. Wednesday is due to be cloudy and cool, with temperatures of around 22 degrees.

Stats and trivia

England and South Africa are neck-and-neck in T20Is against each other. They have played 22, with England winning 11 and South Africa ten, with one no result. However, England have won the last three series between the two sides, including a 3-0 sweep in November 2020.

Quotes

"Why would we change it? We have been doing well with it over the past few years, so I think we will continue doing what we have been doing."
England will keep going in guns blazing, according to Adil Rashid, who does not see any need to alter their approach

"Things do get a little bit crazy and frantic out there, but it's just about having your clear plans and staying as calm as possible."
David Miller is preparing for his second stint as stand-in captain

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

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Match Preview - England vs South Africa, South Africa in England 2022, 3rd ODI

Big picture

Determining who will come out on top in Sunday's third ODI is a tough call to make. And by the end of this page, you probably won't be any closer to knowing.

That's probably a bad way to start a match preview for this winner-takes-all affair. But over the last few days, England and South Africa have played twice and produced two wildly different results. Such have been the margins of victory - the Proteas by 62 runs in the first ODI, the hosts by 118 in the second - it's hard to gauge just how good these two teams really are. At the very least, the events at Headingley will give us the confidence to say one team is better, even if purely based on the scoreline from a short series.

Perhaps England are slight favourites? The quick turnaround from Friday's ODI in Manchester was expected to work against Matthew Mott's troops. But the rain-reduced 29-over match, which was essentially won nine overs into the Proteas chase, has created a modicum of room in the schedule. Enough for an earlier night and a well-deserved lie-in on Saturday ahead of Sunday's 11am start.

It's worth remembering it was only last Sunday that England failed in the third ODI against India, which had just as much on the line. They were short of a competitive total (259), Siraj-ed early and then Rishabh-ed in the case to lose by five wickets with almost eight overs spare. Did they ch… actually, let's not use that word in present company. But arguably, they did, even if India were superior in almost every department for all but that second ODI at Lord's.

As we get to the three-quarter stage of an absurd 12 white-ball games in 24 days, it is only natural for enthusiasm to wane. But the manner of the equalising victory at Emirates Old Trafford - Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran's rescue act to get England to 201, then an exemplary left-arm-seam-bowling performance to remove five of the top six for just 27 - has created a sense of returning to the old, best-in-the-world days. That kind of domination, particularly from off the ropes (England were 62 for 4) was a staple of the 2015-19 vintage. At the very least, the familiarity of who England once were will be a shot of adrenaline that'll get them through the weekend.

There are plenty of improvements still to be made, particularly on the batting front, but it was noteworthy that Sam Curran - player of the match with a quickfire 38 and the wicket of David Miller - spoke of reassessing in-play to go big and using those learnings to take apart South Africa's attack in the first six overs: "The situation I came in at (101 for 6 in the 18th over), me and Livi had a conversation about match-ups. You saw the way Livi exploded, we know what he can do, it was fun to be out there with him. Obviously, the message from Jonny was that the powerplay was a big part and the guys had them 6 for 4."

The flip side to Friday was South Africa were so blown out of the water that they could pop on the blinkers and view this as an anomaly, as most professional outfits do. Any self-flagellation off the back of recording their joint-second-worst ODI total should be meek given they smoked a cool 333 for 5 a few days earlier in the baking Chester-le-Heat.

Dwaine Pretorius' nibbly seamers proved more than useful with a career-best 4 for 36 in helpful conditions both overhead and underfoot that are likely to be replicated on Sunday. The forecast suggests we will definitely get rain and be in line for another reduced encounter, which will provide an interesting contrast at a venue that has been one of the fastest-scoring T20 grounds in the world in recent years. Whether 50 overs apiece or otherwise, expect an engaging contest.

Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj could play a key role in the middle overs•Getty Images

Form guide

England WLLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LWLWL

In the spotlight

Liam Livingstone's 38 was as brutal as it was overdue in the second ODI. The characteristic six-hitting lifted those in the stands at Manchester who braved the rain, at their loudest when he swung his third consecutive six off Anrich Nortje. The South African isn't usually the type to be put under that kind of duress, and there was a moment after the fourth ball of that over scuttled away for four over the wicketkeeper that it felt like he was being mocked. Livingstone has a knack of making the very best look very apologetic, and the knock reinforced what we have come to know of him. But the overriding sense is there is so much more he can give in the 50-over format. Without wishing to be a cynic, or even a tad ungrateful, the 28-year-old's habit of clearing the fences more or less on command can sometimes feel like a party trick. His ODI career is only 11 matches old, but the fact he has just a single half-century in 10 innings feels like a waste of a cricketer who could have it all.

When Joe Root said he has preferred facing the red rather than the white ball this summer, he wasn't lying. A subdued Dukes has been countered by a white Kookaburra singing thanks to relatively un-English limited overs pitches. In turn, expansive opener batters who have gotten used to occupying the prime short-format batting spots have been tamed accordingly. Quinton de Kock is the latest to find himself hindered, with scores of 19 off 27 and 5 off 17 in his first two knocks. It's not so much he needs a score - at the time of writing, he is averaging 46.71 with a strike rate of 103.15 this year, exceeding the career numbers in those metrics - but there is a sense he can only be kept quiet for so long. He'll have three T20Is to come against England and two against Ireland, followed by a stint with Southern Brave in the Hundred to take something of worth from this English summer. Provided he can find a way to make it beyond the opening quicks, the first of his 2022 souvenirs could come on Sunday.

Team news

Jos Buttler is likely to put out the same XI as much by design as circumstance. A top three of Roy-Bairstow-Salt is exactly the amount of sustained firepower England would like in theory before Root, replicating a previous top trio of Roy-Bairstow-Hales, bearing more teeth than Cerberus. Then again, changes are hard to make when there are no spare batters (Harry Brook left to play Championship cricket for Yorkshire) and Brydon Carse has been ruled out after bruising his big toe in the first ODI. Matthew Potts, who sat out the second, will warm the bench again.

England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Phil Salt, 4 Joe Root, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.

Keshav Maharaj was phlegmatic following defeat in the second ODI and the messaging within the South Africa squad - primarily among the coaches - was there is no need to panic. As such, expect the same starting XI barring any late injury concerns.

South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Keshav Maharaj (capt), 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi.

Pitch and conditions

As discussed earlier, the heatwave has well and truly passed and normal service will be resuming up in Leeds. This was supposed to be the ground that would be a change from the bowler-friendly limited-overs tracks served up throughout the last month. England have no excuse not to pool all their knowledge and experience accrued over the previous five ODIs into the last one of the season.

Should South Africa win, this would be England's second ODI series defeat this summer - the same number of home series they lost between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.

Aiden Markram needs 24 more runs for 1,000 in ODIs. Rassie van der Dussen is one away from 1,500 in the format.

Quotes

"I just want us to continue on that path that we're on and play that positive brand of cricket - but we can do it better. We haven't fired with the bat in our whole white-ball summer and we know how dangerous we'll be when we do that."
Jos Buttler hopes his batters close out the ODI summer with a much-needed bang on Sunday

"I don't think we need to change a lot. We need to keep up our confidence and believe in our cricket. We believe in our game and the brand of cricket we play and we've got to stick to it as much as possible."
Panto-villain of the moment for his sightscreen antics, Henrich Klassen urges his teammates to stick to their normal gameplan

Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor for ESPNcricinfo

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/match-preview-england-vs-south-africa-south-africa-in-england-2022-3rd-odi/?feed_id=1046&_unique_id=62dc8034488be