South Africa v England – First ODI

South Africa v England
First One Day International
Friday, November 20th

Whether or not Friday’s First ODI goes ahead against South Africa, for England, it could either mean a chance to get their underdog one day game going, or if not, get a few extra day’s rest so that some of their players can recuperate and get fit. The mighty Kevin Pietersen returned to action as England geared up for the first encounter against the Proteas on Friday. There are a couple of late fitness tests though to go, for Paul Collingwood (who will set a new England record for ODI appearances) and James Anderson. Graeme Swann is definitely out of the first two ODI’s as he has strained his side, which leaves only youngster Adil Rashid as a spinning option. There has been much argument over how England have employed Rashid, limiting him to just one over of bowling in England’s hammering in the second Twenty20 international. Rashid is touted as one of the most prominent young talents in English cricket, but the England management have been very cautious over using him.

Therefore, news of Swann’s injury, the number one spinner in the setup, has prompted England to call up Kent’s James Tredwell as cover, and could, depending on the conditions, be thrown straight into action less than a day after stepping off the plane in South Africa. He could be a useful weapon in turning the ball away from South Africa’s prominent left-handed batsmen. James Anderson’s knee is giving concern, and with Stuart Broad already sidelined for the first couple of ODI’s too, Liam Plunkett has found his way back into the England fold as cover. Other injury concerns have been with bowler Graham Onions and opening batsman Alastair Cook. A washed out first ODI would not be too bad a thing for the England set-up, although it would detract from some of the excitement of the five-game series, because the first game is likely to be quite aggressive, with the South African’s looking to stamp their authority over the visitors, knowing that they clearly have the better team. Training has been held indoors though because of rain on Thursday, and the day-nighter is in some kind of doubt.

The only balance that England could focus on between the two teams, would be to take the game to the South African bowlers. South Africa clearly have the batting advantage, but they have a bowling attack which can be eaten away at as long as the England batsmen do not get bogged down in the crease. It is vitally important that the England batting order punish everything that is thrown at them, for the England bowlers will have a mighty task on their hands, trying to bowl out the South African batsmen, or trying to keep them to a relatively low total. It will be down to the batsmen to make a contest of this. They need to break the shackles of conservatism and recognise that failing by playing an aggressive game, is better than failing by prodding the ball tentatively around the park looking for singles and hoping for a late flourish.

The scared-to-lose tactics of England, has meant that they have barely registered a mark on their ODI games this year, and everything points to South Africa dominating the series. England’s tried and untrusted line-up will have their hands full, and it will be somewhat of a surprise if they take anything from this series, a look at the odds will give a fair reflection of just how vast the difference in form is right now.

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Tim Bresnan, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Joe Denly, Sajid Mahmood, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Liam Plunkett, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk),  Adil Rashid,  James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright.
 
South Africa v England First ODI
South Africa – 2/5 at SkyBet
England – 9/4 at William Hill

South Africa v England ODI Series
South Africa – 3/8 at Totesport
England – 5/2 at Ladbrokes
Drawn Series – 41/10 at Betfair