England will lock horns with South Africa in the opening game of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. This game will mark the beginning of 48 matches CWC tournament. Ahead of ENG vs SA Match No 1, CWC 2019, let us have a look on Jonny Bairstow, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada and others who will create an impact in the upcoming battle between the English and the Proteas team. England vs South Africa Cricket Score 1st ODI Match.
Both England and South Africa has world-class players with match-winning abilities. England side will be led by Eoin Morgan, while the South African team captain will be Faf du Plessis. England and South Africa have met six times in CWC tournament, where both have won on thrice occasion. Let us have a look at key players to watch out for in the upcoming encounter between England and South Africa. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Schedule in PDF: Ticket Prices, Dates, Venue Details & Timetable Available for Download Online.
Jonny Bairstow
This 29 years old English opener has the capability to single-handedly take away the match from the opposition side. Jonny Bairstow is in tremendous form, he had a wonderful series against Pakistan recently where he scored a fifty and also a half-century. Bairstow has played 63 ODIs and scored 2329 runs with a strike rate of 107.03 and average of 47.53. He will play a vital role in England batting line in their upcoming contest against South Africa.
Jos Butler
The English wicket-keeper is another batsman to watch out for in ENG vs SA CWC 2019 game. He is the vice-captain of the England Cricket team. Butler has quick run-scoring abilities and he plays some fine cricketing shots. He has made 3531 runs with the strike rate of 119.57 from 130 ODIs and does well for England behind the wicket too.
Kagiso Rabada
Rabada ranks number 5 in ICC ODI rankings. He recently had a wonderful Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 tournament while playing for Delhi Capitals, where he bagged 25 wickets from 12 matches with an economy rate of 7.82. The right arm fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has taken 106 wickets from 66 ODIs with the strike rate of 31.83. Rabada can indeed become the threat for England batsman and not allow them to score runs.
Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis is the skipper of the South African team. Du Plessis made his ODI debut against India on Jan 18, 2011. He became the captain of Proteas team across all format in Aug 2017. He has the skill to play big shots and can change the course of the game at any point in time. Du Plessis has made 5120 runs from 134 ODIs with the strike rate of 88.49 and he is the backbone of South African middle order batting line up.
Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes is one of the finest all-rounders of the modern era. He can play quick knocks and can also provide a breakthrough for his team with the bowl. Apart from that, he is an amazing fielder, one can see him with good reflexes on the field. Stokes will indeed play a crucial role for England in their victory in coming games.
South Africa will play their next CWC 2019 game against Bangladesh on June 2, while England will face Pakistan on June 3 in their second game of World Cup 2019. This time the CWC tournament will be played in the Round Robin format, where the top 4 teams will make it to the semis. The final of CWC 2019 will be played on July 14 at Lord's Cricket Ground.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2019 09:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).