2019 ICC World Cup in England & Wales May 30 to July 14,2019 - Match 01 England Vs South Africa @ The Oval Thursday May 30,2019

 

England have hosted the World Cup more than any other team, 4 times in total, including the first 3 World Cups in 1975;1979 and 1983 and now the 2019 CWC

England have appeared in every edition of the CWC to date. 

England  have never won the competition, but their best performances were losing finalists in 1979;1987 and 1992

England have also been eliminated in the Group stage of the competitions on 3 occasions:1999;2003 and 2015 

South Africa missed the opening 4 CWC's  - 1975;1979;1983 and 19877 due to their apartheid ban from international cricket and made their first appearance at the 1992

 

1992 World Cup, Australia & New Zealand

This was the first time South Africa featured in a World Cup, after being reinstated as a Test playing nation in 1991 (South Africa were banned from international cricket, 1970 onwards due to apartheid). Having started playing One Day Cricket in 1991, no one expected much from the South African team. But they surprised everyone by qualifying for the Semi-Finals, by winning 5 of their 8 matches in the Round Robin stage.

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In the Semi-Final against England, with 22 runs needed from 13 balls, they looked on course for a victory. But a 10-minute delay due to the rain saw the target controversially revised to 21 runs of 1 ball. England went on to win the match. They lost to the eventual winners Pakistan in the finals.

South Africa at the CWC

1996 World Cup, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

The 1996 World Cup saw a strong start from the South Africans, winning all 5 matches and topping the group comprising of South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, UAE & Netherlands. Their dominant performance led many to believe that this was South Africa’s year. But that was not to be as they were eliminated in the Quarter Finals by West Indies.

1999 World Cup, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales & Netherlands

The South Africans again had a strong start and again topped the Group (comprising of South Africa, India, Zimbabwe, England, Sri Lanka & Kenya), winning 4 of their 5 matches. They qualified for the Semi-Finals, by coming third in the Super Six Stage, winning 3 of their 5 matches. The Semi-Final against Australia was a tie with both teams scoring 213. But Australia since they had defeated South Africa in the Super Six Stage, qualified for the Finals. The match is also well remembered for the last over miscommunication between Lance Klusener & Allan Donald, which saw Donald staying at his crease while Klusener attempted a run. If that run was taken South Africa would have reached the finals.

2003 World Cup, South Africa, Zimbabwe & Kenya

This was the worst performance by a South African team, where they were eliminated in the Group Stages after winning 3 out their 6 matches.

2007 World Cup, West Indies

South Africa qualified for the Super Eight Stage by winning 2 of its 3 matches and coming second in the Group Stage. They narrowly made it to the Semi-Finals by coming fourth in the Super Eight Stage. The Semi-Final saw them again lose to Australia. Batting first South Africa were all out for 149 runs, with Australia reaching the target in 31.3 overs.

2011 World Cup, India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh

2011 again saw the South Africans topping the Group Stage, winning 5 of their 6 matches. South Africa was the only team to beat the eventual winners India in the tournament. In the Quarter-Finals, they restricted New Zealand to 221 runs from 50 Overs. This time it looked like that South Africa was going through to the next round. But again the Curse of Big Matches struck as they were bundled off for 172 runs.

2015 World Cup, Australia & New Zealand

The Proteas again had a good start, coming second in the Group stage by winning 4 of their 6 matches. They defeated Sri Lanka in the Quarter Finals, chasing down their total of 133 in 18 overs. As had happened in the past, South Africa failed to clear the Semi-Final hurdle for the fourth time when they lost to New Zealand.

Hosts England enter the 2019 ICC World Cup as favourites and No 1 Ranked ODI Team

Since they last reached the final in 1992, England have lost exactly half of their 38 World Cup matches and only 7 of their 18 victories have come against Test-playing teams. Not one of those has been in a knockout match

South Africa, on the other hand, are not in the favourites list this year, which is rare. They do have a solid team though, and their strength lies in the bowling - with the likes of Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi all being capable of destroying any lineup.

Squads

England: Eoin Morgan (C), Jason Roy, Johny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson, James Vince, Tom Curran, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

 

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (C), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (WK), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, JP Duminy, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dwaine Pretorius, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir.

England Team News

Captain Eoin Morgan, who had suffered a finger fracture ahead of the first warm-up game against Australia, has been declared fit for this tournament opener against South Africa

Adil Rashid and Mark Wood have also recovered from their respective shoulder and leg injuries.

Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow are likely to open the England innings

Joe Root and Eoin Morgan to bat at numbers three and four respectively

Jofra Archer and either Liam Plunkett or Mark Wood will probably join Chris Woakes in the pace bowling department. However, it remains to be seen whether the hosts decide to play two spinners in Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid or bring in an extra seamer.

England Recent Form

England have been in impressive ODI form, winning seven out of the nine completed matches this year and their last four in a row. They demolished Pakistan 4-0 in a five-match series before going into the pre-World Cup

SA Team News

Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, who collectively bowled 13 overs in the warm-up game against Sri Lanka, seem to have regained complete fitness from their respective injuries.

Dale Steyn, however, has failed to fully recover from his shoulder injury and has therefore been ruled out of the tournament opener against England.

The fast bowler is also unlikely to feature in South Africa’s next match against Bangladesh which will be played at the same venue

Dale Steyn is likely to be replaced by either Dwaine Pretorius or Chris Morris

Andile Phehlukwayo has also strengthened his case for a place in the playing eleven after his four-wicket haul against Sri Lanka, but the all-rounder may not get his opportunity just yet.

SA Recent Form

South Africa have 8 wins from the 10 ODI's they have played since the start of this year which shows how tough they have been to beat lately in this format of the game. After beating Pakistan 3-2 at home in January, the Proteas dominated Sri Lanka 5-0 in another home series

England Vs South Africa Head to Head in ODI's

England and South Africa have played 56 completed ODI's against each other. The former have won 26 of those and the latter 29 while one of those encounters had resulted in a tie.

The two countries have faced each other six times at the Kennington Oval in the game's 50-over format with the scoreline 4-2 in favor of the hosts. England registered a comfortable seven-wicket win in their most recent clash against the Proteas at this venue - in the semi-final of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

England won 2-1 in their previous ODI series against South Africa at home in May 2017. The hosts clinched the three-match series by winning the first two games before the visitors won the final game and prevented a clean sweep.

Matches Played	ENG Won	SA Won	Tie	No Result
59	26	29	1	3

England beat South Africa by 104 Runs

Scorecard
England 311 / 8 in 50 Overs
Jason Roy 54(53 Balls 4x8)
Joe Root 51(59 Balls 4x5)
Eoin Morgan 57(60 Balls 4x4 and 6x3)
Ben Stokes 89(79 Balls 4x9)

South Africa207/10 in 39.5 Overs
Quinton de Kock 68(74 Balls 4x6 and 6x2)
Rassie van der Dussen 50(64 Balls 4x4 and 6x1)
Match Result - England won by 104 Runs
MOM - Ben Stokes(England )for his 89(79 Balls 4x9)

Match Highlights

# South Africa's Imran Tahir became the first-ever spinner to bowl the first over during an opening match of the ICC World Cup. Faf Du Plessis' decision to send Tahir to bowl first after winning the toss proved to be fruitful as the spinner gave the breakthrough to his side as early as in the very second delivery of the match by removing England opener Jonny Bairstow for a golden duck.

# England opener Jason Roy became the first batsman to score a half-century in the 2019 edition of the mega event. He achieved the mark off just 51 balls and notched eight boundaries in his 54-run knock.

#Jason Roy and Joe Root became the first pair to notch up the fifties in the 2019 ICC World Cup. Root reached the half-century mark off just 56 balls besides also sharing a huge 106-run knock with Roy for the second wicket.

# England skipper Eoin Morgan became the 17th fastest cricketer to reach 7,000-run mark in one-day internationals. He reached the milestone in his 208th innings and finished with 60-ball 57 runs, laced with four boundaries and three sixes.

# England all-rounder Ben Stokes bagged one of the greatest catches of all time during South Africa's chase of 312 runs. Andile Phehlukwayo was batting at 24 when he slapped the first delivery of the 35th over from Adil Rashid towards the boundary, only to see Stokes ran back before jumping into the air to pull off an incredible one-handed catch.

# Paceman Jofra Archer took England's first wicket at the ongoing cricket's showpiece event after Aiden Markram (11) was caught by Joe Root off the former's fourth delivery in the eighth over


# Roy and Joe Root became the first pair to notch up the fifties in the 2019 ICC World Cup. Root reached the half-century mark off just 56 balls besides also sharing a huge 106-run knock with Roy for the second wicket.

# England skipper Eoin Morgan became the 17th fastest cricketer to reach 7,000-run mark in one-day internationals. He reached the milestone in his 208th innings and finished with 60-ball 57 runs, laced with four boundaries and three sixes.

# Paceman Jofra Archer took England's first wicket at the ongoing cricket's showpiece event after Aiden Markram (11) was caught by Joe Root off the former's fourth delivery in the eighth over

Ben Stokes insists that the catch doesn't rank as the best of his career

Ben Stokes insists his astonishing catch in England's World Cup rout of South Africa on Thursday doesn't rank as the best of his career.

Stokes capped a man-of-the-match display in England's 104-run victory at the Oval with one of the greatest catches in World Cup history.

Diving backwards to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo with a one-handed take on the boundary off Adil Rashid, Stokes' sensational effort was immediately labelled "the catch of the century" by former England spinner Phil Tufnell on the BBC.

It was the culmination of a remarkable day for Stokes, who also top-scored for England with 89 in 79 balls and took the last two wickets in successive balls to finish off the South Africans

But Stokes claimed he preferred his stunning one-handed grab of an Adam Voges edge in the gully during a 2015 Ashes Test against Australia at Trent Bridge.

Asked if it was the greatest catch of his life, Stokes told reporters: "Nah, that one was against the Aussies, so that one ranks higher!"