England v South Africa – Twenty20 International Match 1

Friday, November 13
Johannesburg
4pm GMT

England have been bolstered by the news that three of their front line bowlers have recovered from injuries ahead of the first of two Twenty20 International matches against South Africa, which takes place on Friday in Johannesburg. James Anderson, Graham Onions and spinner Graeme Swann have all be declared fit enough to play, which will be something of a relief to Twenty20 skipper Paul Collingwood. England lost badly to South Africa A in a Twenty20 warm up in the week, in which England could field the only 11 fit players they had with them. Only Swann took part in that match, in which he picked up his injury, but has been given the all clear to resume action.

England will however, be without two names still. Stuart Broad has not managed to regain his full fitness after injuring himself in the first One Day warm up of the tour, and Kevin Pietersen, who joined up with the squad, is not ready for action just yet. Pietersen, England’s most powerful and potent batsman, may not make an appearance in the Twenty20 games, but the South African born player, has been training hard to keep his fitness levels up while recuperating from his Achilles problem. Pietersen has not played for three months or so, dropping out of the summer Ashes series against Australia halfway through. Seeing him back will be a welcome sight for One Day and Test Match skipper Andrew Strauss, and also the travelling Barmy Army who will no doubt be making their vocal presence on the tour.

Alistair Cook, one of England’s opening batsmen, is struggling to be fit, after coming down with a sore throat, which may keep him out of the first Twenty20 match. That could give South African born England player Jonathan Trott another great chance to prove himself, after making a fine 88 in England’s first One Day warm up game. Trott, who has been a nice fringe element to the England squad, is possibly, like Pietersen and Strauss (who is also South African born), one of the players who could actually break into a very strong South African batting line-up. Trott knocked off a century in his first full appearance for England in the fifth and deciding Ashes match, after being called up as a late change to boot a poor Ravi Bopara out of the line up. Trott can be taken at 11/2 with Betfred to finish as England’s top batsman for the first Twenty20 match.

As a unit in South Africa, the England batsmen will need to be on their top games in order to compete against the Proteas in all formats. The Twenty20 contents represents a chance to gather some momentum and to get a feel for the opposition. England defeated South Africa in a one day game during the Champions Trophy earlier this year, but taking on and defeating South Africa in their own backyard over a series of games is going to be a tall order. England though, do have things to work with. They were not great in the Summer in beating Australia in the Test Matches, but they got the job done, being a far better Test Match side than in either of the shorter format of games. That was emphasised in the drubbing Australia handed them in ODI series following the Ashes series. The post-Ashes euphoria is not quite there this time around, like it was in 2005, when England went into a sharp slump from hitting that triumphant pinnacle, struggling to hit any form in Pakistan. This time there is more pragmatism, a view to avoiding past mistakes.

On their day and fully fit, England have the power to put up a good contest. Andrew Strauss is in great form though doesn’t partake in the Twenty20 games, Alistair Cook can produce important innings, Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior can all chip in with great scores, Kevin Pietersen will score, and the tail end is probably a lot stronger than it has been for years. If the likes of Jonathan Trott and Joe Denly can build on experience, England will be heading in a good direction for batting. It is to the bowling department which there is probably the most criticism aimed at, due to lack of potent wicket takers. Jimmy Anderson on his day, is one of the best swing bowlers in the world, but England lack a powerful force without Freddie Flintoff charging in down the wicket. Stuart Broad is supposed to fill that role, but, while a good player in his own right, has not filled the massive boots left behind by Freddie. Swann has proven very useful in his role, but England are lacking a fast bowler in the great Australian Glen McGrath’s role, who can metronomically take wickets on any surface and in any condidition.

South Africa v England First Twenty20 International
South Africa to win: 8/15 at SkyBet
England to win: 7/4 at William Hill

Twenty20 Series (Two games)
Drawn Series: 5/4 at Bet365
South Africa to win: 11/8 at Ladbrokes
England to win: 5/1 at Bet365

Betting Advice: England have won just 8 out of 21 Twenty20 Internationals, so it doesn’t bode well for them. That is compared to South Africa’s 66% record of having won 18 out of 24. That, combined with England’s poor showing in the warm up, and with South Africa’s guns blazing well in their one day format warm ups, South Africa should breeze through these two Twenty20 Internationals. If these were the Test Matches, there would have been a little more confidence in England.