Joe Root expected to take centerstage in the semi-final
Hosts England will skirmish South Africa in the first semi-final of ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval on Wednesday to seal a spot in the summit clash.
England will be aspiring to boost up their morale by clinching the trophy before the high-voltage Ashes series, starting next month. On other hand, Proteas will aim to break their tradition of losing in the knock-out stages of the major international events and have set the sights on the trophy as well.
Group A runner-up England sealed the semi-final berth by earning a hard-fought 10-run victory over New Zealand. South Africa were adjudged as the second best of Group B on the grounds of higher net run-rate after they tied their last game against West Indies by D/L method.
England?s strong and confident batting combines with formidable pace attack to make it the frontrunner for the title.
From skipper Alastair Cook to Ravi Bopara, almost all the England batsmen have performed exceptionally in all three games.
Cook has not only proved his worth as a skipper but has also shown that how responsible batsman he is. He smacked a whirlwind 47-ball 64 against New Zealand to lead his side to a competitive total.
Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan, all have performed convincingly in the tournament.
Bopara has emerged as an explosive hitter of ball and a handy part-time bowler since his return to the team in this event following a brief absence from team due to injury.
South Africa, on the other hand, have set the sights on their first major international trophy. However, to proceed further, they will have to do something extra than what they have did so far.
The only victory they could manage to secure in the event was against Pakistan. Inconsistency of batting-line remained a dilemma for them throughout the event. The big guns like David Miler, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and AB de Villiers have failed to fire so far.
Dale Steyn, who missed all the three league matches due to injury, will make comeback into the squad to spearhead the pace attack again. The other members of pace department will be Tonwabo Tsotsobe and Chris Morris, who made an impressive ODI debut against Pakistan.
England (Probable): Alastair Cook (c), Ian Bell, Jonathon Trott, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wk), Tim Bresnan/James Tredwell, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson
South Africa (Probable): Colin Ingram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (c, wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Robin Peterson, Chris Morris, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Dale Steyn.
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