England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat first in their third league match against South Africa at National Stadium in Karachi. South Africa are featuring without their regular skipper Temba Bavuma as Aiden Markram came for the toss against England. This is a must-win game for South Africa to seal their berth for the semifinal of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. South Africa have won their first clash against Afghanistan and their second group stage match against Australia has been abandoned due to rain. If South Africa lost this game, then they will qualify for the semifinal with their net run rate.
On the other hand, England are already out of the semifinal contention of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy as they lost their two league matches against Australia and Afghanistan respectively. England will now look to register a win against South Africa to register at least a win before ending their Champions Trophy campaign.
ALSO READ: Former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter with 11 centuries and 41.64 average passes away
South Africa vs England head to head
England and South Africa have played 70 ODIs against each other. Of these 70 games, England won 30 whereas South Africa came out victorious on 34 occasions. 5 matches ended without a result. 1 match ended in a tie.
Captains at the toss
England captain Jos Buttler: We are gonna bat first today, looks like a decent wicket, a few cracks there. I felt like it was time, so I didn't want to take more time to take that decision. It was an easy decision and I will do it for one last time, hopefully we can do well. A bit of sadness as well, it's an honour to captain your country, it's something you
South Africa stand in captain Aiden Markram: We are actually happy to chase, haven't chased in this comp yet. Two guys have had illness around the camp, Tony and Temba miss out. Unfortunate that they miss out but hopefully they will recover.
England vs South Africa playing XIs
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
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