Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey

ENG vs SA 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report | ENG vs SA 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction Today | England vs South Africa 1st ODI Key Players | Durham Pitch Report

The cricket schedule is pretty crazy, right? Just a couple of days after England completed their series against India, they are onto another campaign: South Africa. Surely such a crammed schedule might be too much for all-format players, so much so that they may give up one of them? How much can you extract out of these players before it gets too much?

Well, we have an answer. Ben Stokes, one of the household names in English cricket over the past decade, announced his shock retirement from ODI cricket, citing the difficulty in maintaining performance across all three formats. Today will be his final ODI, fittingly played at his home ground in Durham, as England’s unforgiving schedule continues to roll on.

Onto the cricket itself. Jos Buttler’s team are coming off a disappointing white-ball campaign against India, where they underperformed with the bat in five of six matches across the T20Is and ODIs. There is no doubt that their all guns blazing approach will continue, but they need to string together more significant partnerships after a number of starts across the ODIs in particular.

For the Proteas, this is a critical series in their World Cup qualification journey. They are stuck down in 11th spot in the Super League table, and given they will forfeit points in January 2023 against Australia, they must make up ground in this series if they wish to qualify directly for the World Cup.

ENG vs SA 1st ODI Possible Playing 11

Reece Topley, England’s bowling star from the India series, will miss this game owing to workload management. Matthew Potts is set to take his place. Also, Adil Rashid is set to return.

England: 1. Jason Roy, 2. Jonny Bairstow, 3. Joe Root, 4. Ben Stokes, 5. Jos Buttler (c & wk), 6. Liam Livingstone, 7. Moeen Ali, 8. David Willey, 9. Craig Overton/Sam Curran, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Matthew Potts

Kagiso Rabada has been rested for this series. South Africa could play Marco Jansen as a seam option, but Tabraiz Shamsi could also get the nod.

South Africa: 1. Quinton de Kock (wk), 2. Janneman Malan, 3. Rassie van der Dussen, 4. Aiden Markram, 5. Heinrich Klaasen, 6. David Miller, 7. Andile Phehlukwayo/Dwaine Pretorius, 8. Keshav Maharaj (c), 9. Anrich Nortje, 10. Lungi Ngidi, 11. Tabraiz Shamsi/Marco Jansen

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

England:

• Jonny Bairstow had a poor ODI series against India, but this could be where he bounces back. He has scored two fifties and a century in four ODIs at Chester-le-Street, with a total of 311 runs at an average of 103.66 and strike rate of 126.42.
• Joe Root also had a poor series. Against South Africa, Root has struck 594 runs in 13 ODIs at an average of 49.50, including two fifties and two hundreds.
• Will Ben Stokes go out on a high? He has scored 356 runs in eight ODIs against South Africa (avg. 44.50, SR 117.49) with three fifties and a century.
• Jos Buttler strikes at 129.16 against the Proteas in ODIs. He has scored 248 runs in nine innings against them at an average of 35.42. Importantly, he is coming off a half-century in the third ODI against India.
• David Willey has taken nine wickets in three ODIs on this ground (avg. 15.22). Moeen Ali has taken 10 wickets in nine matches vs South Africa, striking every 48 balls on average.

South Africa:

• Quinton de Kock has the most runs of any current player in ENG-SA ODIs. The keeper-batsman has a magnificent 718 runs in 12 matches at an average of 65.27 and strike rate of 96.37. This includes six 50+ scores (three 50s, three 100s).
• Janneman Malan has struck three fifties and three centuries in 17 ODIs so far. Given batting has been difficult in the white-ball matches recently, Malan’s ability to get through the initial periods can work wonders for the Proteas.
• Rassie van der Dussen averages 73 in ODIs since the start of 2021, which the second-highest for any player with at least 500 runs in this period.
• David Miller has batted just three times in ODIs against England. He has scored 138 runs at a strike rate of 123.21, with just one dismissal.
• Lungi Ngidi has conceded 6.57 runs per over in his three ODIs against England, but he has wicket-taking potential. Overall, he has six wickets against them.
• Anrich Nortje will be vital with his pace up top and also at the death.

Other Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 61, England 28, South Africa 30, 1 tie, 4 N/R.
• South Africa lost their last ODI series: 2-1 against Bangladesh at home back in March.
• Bairstow has a good record vs Ngidi in ODIs (31 runs off 16 balls, no dismissals) in addition to 43 off 19 balls without dismissal in T20Is.
• Quinton de Kock vs England in England: 4 ODIs, 205 runs, avg. 51.25, SR 89.51.
• England had just one half-century in the ODI series defeat to India: Jos Buttler in the third ODI.
• Ben Stokes needs 81 to reach 3,000 runs in ODIs.

Riverside Ground Chester-le-Street Durham Pitch Report and Weather

The players will have to deal with very hot conditions. A top of about 35 degrees is forecast, which could bring spinners into the game in the second innings.

Chester-le-Street has favoured seamers in the past, but it has become a decent batting ground. Sri Lanka scored 338 here against West Indies in the 2019 World Cup.

ENG vs SA 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction 19 July 2022

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

Base Team:

• Wicket-Keepers: Quinton de Kock, Jos Buttler
• Batsmen: Rassie van der Dussen, Joe Root
• All-rounders: Ben Stokes
• Bowlers: Anrich Nortje, David Willey

ENG vs SA 1st ODI Match Prediction: Who will win?

England remain a terrific ODI unit despite recent defeats. However, the very short turnaround is a worry. There is the desire to send Ben Stokes out a winner, but South Africa’s better preparation should get the visitors the win.