South Africa host England at Newlands in Cape Town on Friday (4pm GMT) in the first of three T20 matches.
The sides last met each other in February in the build-up to the T20 World Cup in Australia, England winning the series 2-1. However, with the World Cup being postponed until October 2021, and now being held in India due to the coronavirus pandemic, there’s a sense of deja-vu.
Friday’s game begins a potential 14-game build-up to next year’s tournament for England. Captain Eoin Morgan has said that he still doesn’t know his best XI.
‘There are probably seven or eight guys who are pretty strong candidates to be in our strongest XI,’ said Morgan.
‘Winning this series would be great, but it is more important we get players’ roles right and they feel comfortable.’
This will be England’s first trip away since the outbreak of coronavirus, having been at the forefront of the cricketing world over the summer as they hosted multiple teams in bio-secure bubbles.
Morgan will be delighted with the abundance of quality running through his squad. The big question on his and the selectors’ minds is sure to be who will open the batting alongside Jason Roy.
Jos Butler would be the favourite, but Ben Stokes impressed for the Rajasthan Royals at the top of the order in last month’s IPL (Indian Premier League).
Jonny Bairstow, Morgan and the top ranked T20 batsman Dawid Malan all have a viable claim to open.
‘We have a group of players that both are very good at batting in the top three, but also want to bat in the top three,’ said Morgan.
‘We need a really strong top seven to be able to win or compete at a World Cup.’
Despite this frighteningly good line-up, they will all have to be at their best as the Proteas will have the IPL’s top wicket-taker Kagiso Rabada at his disposal as well as fast-bowler Anrich Nortje.
Quinton de Kock’s side haven’t played competitively since February and are also having to deal with a Covid-19 outbreak within their squad. The two players, who haven’t been named, tested positive causing the cancellation of their intra-squad friendly. The rest of the squad have returned negative tests in the last 48 hours.
England will be optimistic going into this series and looking at their squad they have every right to be. Players from both sides will be fighting for a place in next year’s World Cup squads so this opener in Cape Town is sure to be an exciting affair.
By Jon Bazley