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Stokes fit as England aim to wrap up series

CricketStokes fit as England aim to wrap up series

England head in to the second game of the three match series against South Africa on Saturday (May 27) in good spirits after a commanding 72-run victory in Leeds. It was about as good a start as the captain, Eoin Morgan, could have wished for but he will realise the challenge for his team is to maintain their excellent recent form – they have now won their last seven ODIs – for the more important tests to come. They do not want to peak too early. If they can wrap up the three-match series in Southampton, a series victory over the ICC ranked No. 1 ODI side in the world would be quite a statement ahead of the Champions Trophy.Stokes

Ben Stokes has been passed fit to play in Southampton after feeling soreness in his left knee in Leeds and will be available to fulfil his bowling duties. England may have given thought to resting Stokes anyway as a precaution – for reasons of ability, competitiveness and the balance he offers to the side, England’s most important player – but have decided against it which means Morgan’s men will likely be unchanged. Jason Roy, who has just one half-century in his last 11 innings, could do with some runs in the next two games so that he heads in to the Champions Trophy in good shape and Mark Wood, whose six overs cost 49 runs in the first match, could do with a better showing too. Otherwise, England are in prime form.

South Africa, conversely, looked ring rusty at Headingley, particularly in their bowling performance which gifted England 18 extras. It is unlikely that the brilliant Kasigo Rabada will have a second poor game in a row but the attack looked short of a cutting edge, particularly as England seemed to be picking leg-spinner Imran Tahir, South Africa’s key wicket-taking option in the middle overs. With the home side’s long batting line-up – ten of their eleven in Leeds have first-class hundreds – it is vital that teams continue to take wickets against them throughout the innings. Even if this England side is five down, they are capable of taking games away from their opponents as evidenced by the 117-run partnership between Morgan and Moeen Ali in just 13.3 overs in the first match. AB de Villiers may need to consider whether a bowling attack including both Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo has enough wicket-taking ability.

There are less worries over South Africa’s batting, equally as strong as England’s if not quite as deep, which showed glimpses of its class during the first game – Hashim Amla’s silky attack on Wood’s opening spell, which brought him five boundaries off his first two overs, was a case in point – and will likely be better for the hit out in Leeds. Importantly, Quinton de Kock, so vital to South Africa’s hopes of getting off to a flier in the opening overs, will have to combat England’s plan to bowl full and starve him of his favoured back foot shots of which he is so strong while de Villiers will also hope his team can avoid the soft dismissals that saw JP Duminy, David Miller and Chris Morris all fall to poor shots in the series opener when South Africa were still well in the game. Not that South Africa were the only ones guilty of some soft dismissals in Leeds; there were a number in the England innings too.

The Rose Bowl in Southampton has not been England’s happiest hunting ground in recent ODIs. Their rain-affected victory over Pakistan there last year was their first win in seven games at Hampshire’s home and overall they have lost as many ODIs as they have won at the venue. Morgan will be hoping England can begin to put that record straight with a victory while de Villiers will be hoping for a victory to put the underwhelming performance his side showed at Headingley behind them. At this stage, he is unlikely to be unduly worried by that defeat. His side have won their last seven bilateral ODI series and remain a formidable one-day team which one bad performance does not change. Should they suffer another heavy defeat in Southampton however, things may become a little more troublesome.

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