A lot has happened in a short interval of time heading into the ODI series between England and the Proteas:

Incumbent England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan decided to end his international career, and allrounder Ben Stokes is set to round off his ODI career after the first game at his home ground in Durham.

In addition, England lost a series 2-1 to India, which was Jos Buttler’s first ODI series as full-time white-ball skipper.

Over to South Africa, it’s a stickier situation in the light of the cancellation of a crucial ODI series against Australia. This has adversely impacted the Proteas’ chances at direct qualification for next year’s World Cup. Invariably, each ODI match from this point onwards will be critical.

Proteas limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma has been sidelined from the entire tour, and Keshav Maharaj will have yet another opportunity to take charge.

Potential XI’s

England coach Matthew Mott has confirmed an ODI debut for the young Durham paced Matthew Potts. But otherwise, don’t expect many changes to the England XI.

Roy
Bairstow
Root
Stokes
Buttler (c & wk)
Livingstone
Ali
Willey
Overton
Rashid
Potts

Bavuma’s absence will most likely shift the middle-order batters up by one position. It remains to be seen whether or not the Proteas will play more than one spinner. There is a possibility it may happen, given Tabraiz Shamsi’s variety and consistency.

Malan
De Kock (wk)
Van der Dussen
Markram
Klaasen
Miller
Pretorius/Phehlukwayo
Maharaj (c)
Ngidi
Nortje
Shami

The game starts at 2pm SAST on DSTV.