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.
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 fina
ls.
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!"