ABOUT THE MATCH

England will take on the hosts South Africa in their 1st test which will be played at SuperSport Park, Centurion on December 26.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS

The pitch at SuperSport Park will be good for a batsman in the early days and it will favor bowlers in the latter days.

And the conditions for the match days look gloomy. Heavy rain is expected to shower on Friday and little showers on Saturday and it would go good on later days.

MATCH PREVIEW

South Africa

  • Temba Bavuma has recently caught with a hip strain, so he will not be a part of the squad.
  • And the proteas key bowler Lungi Ngidi had a severe hamstring tear, so he will not be a part of the boxing day test.
  • The batting department of South Africa is mainly depended on the openers Dean Elgar and Markram along with the captain Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock.
  • They have some serious pace depth with Kagiso Rabad and Vernon Philander and can some serious damage to the opponents.

PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF South Africa

Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Zubayr Hamza, Pieter Malan, Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Vernon Philander, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje

England

  • England will surely miss the services of their key bowlers Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach for this game.
  • Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, and Jos Buttler will be expected to score the bulk of the runs.
  • England skipper Joe Root will be the main key player for the team.
  • And their bowling department is well equipped with some serious pace which includes: James Anderson, Sam Curran, and Ben Stokes.

PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF England

Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Joe Denly, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes/Mark Wood, James Anderson

CRICKET PREDICTION FOR South Africa vs England 1st Test MATCH ARE GIVEN BELOW:

  1. Dean Elgar (C)
  2. Ben Stokes (VC)
  3. Jonny Bairstow
  4. Kagiso Rabada
  5. Faf du Plessis
  6. Dwaine Pretorius
  7. Anrich Nortje
  8. Rory Burns
  9. Vernon Philander
  10. James Anderson
  11. Joe Root

Click here for Match Prediction

*Disclaimer: A team here is picked based on the perception, analysis, and gut feeling of the author. When you select your team, analyze the points mentioned to arrive at your own decision.*