In a much-anticipated clash of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, England won the toss and elected to bat first against South Africa at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This iconic venue holds memories of the 2011 World Cup final when India emerged victorious against Sri Lanka.
Why is Chris Woakes not playing today
Woakes’ performance in England’s initial three matches at this World Cup has been far from impressive. In each of these encounters, he squandered one of the two new balls by delivering half-volleys to opposing openers, such as Devon Conway, Litton Das, and most recently, Rahmanullah Gurbaz on Sunday. When you combine his figures from these three new-ball spells, they reflect 11 overs, 95 runs conceded, and just one wicket taken. Hence, he had to make way for young fast bowling prospect Gus Atkinson.
Atkinson, a 25-year-old cricketer, has made appearances in just 14 First-Class matches since his debut in 2020 for Surrey in the County Championships. However, his performance in these matches has been quite impressive, as he has managed to claim 45 wickets at an average of 26.45. Notably, his strike rate of 45 is comparable to that of Archer, who has taken 181 wickets in 43 red-ball games with an average of 24.9.
In the shorter formats of the game, Atkinson has demonstrated his ability to take quick wickets and serve as a potential game-changer with the ball. During The Hundred, Atkinson made a significant impact by taking his first nine wickets in just 74 balls while representing the Oval Invincibles. At that point, he ranked third on the list of most wickets in the tournament, trailing only Tymal Mills (11 wickets) and Reece Topley (10 wickets), despite having bowled 26 and 16 fewer balls than them, respectively. However, he added only one more wicket to his tally after bowling an additional 40 balls, which affected his overall statistics.
Both England and South Africa entered this contest seeking redemption following humiliating defeats in their previous outings. England secured their only win of the tournament against Bangladesh and aimed to bounce back from a disappointing 69-run loss to Afghanistan. The Three Lions were determined to put the shadow of that defeat behind them.
Meanwhile, South Africa aimed to regain their dominant form after a heartbreaking 38-run loss to the Netherlands. The Proteas’ batsmen had shown promise, but their inability to chase down a target of 246 runs raised questions about their ability to chase big scores.
England sat at the sixth position in the points table with just 2 points and a net run rate of -0.84. Reigning champions had won two out of three matches. South Africa remained in the top four with two solid wins against Sri Lanka and Australia. They held the third position with a net run rate of +1.385.
England and South Africa Playing XI squad:
Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(w/c), David Willey, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Reece Topley
South Africa Playing XI- Quinton de Kock(w/k), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
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