South Africa were without their captain Temba Bavuma in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against England on March 1. In his absence, Aiden Markram walked out for coin toss at National Stadium, Karachi. Markram revealed that Bavuma and opener Tony de Zorzi have fallen ill and will miss the last group stage clash. Meanwhile, a fit-again Heinrich Klaasen walked back into the playing XI.
"We are actually happy to chase, haven't chased in this comp yet, we are looking forward to have a good game against a strong English side. Two guys have had illness around the camp, Tony and Temba miss out. Unfortunate that they miss out but hopefully they will recover. Our last game got rained out, we had a few training sessions, we are ready for this game," Markram said after losing the toss.
Both Bavuma and De Zorzi are expected to recover ahead of the semifinals next week. Bavuma registered a score of 58 against Afghanistan whereas De Zorzi was dismissed early by veteran off-spinner Mohammad Nabi.
In De Zorzi's absence, Tristan Stubbs has walked in to the side. It will be interesting to see whether Markram promotes himself as opener or Stubbs walks out to open alongside Ryan Rickelton in the run chase.
Who will South Africa face in semifinal?
As South Africa's second match against Australia was washed out due to rain, they have three points. Until and unless, they lose to Jos Buttler's England by a massive margin, they are into the semifinals.
If South Africa beat England, they will become table toppers and face New Zealand in the semifinal on March 5 in Lahore. If England bow out of the tournament with a loss, then the Proteas will lock horns with Rohit Sharma's India in the semifinal in Dubai on March 4.
South Africa playing XI:
Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
England playing XI:
Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith(w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood