The Proteas have won the toss and have opted to bowl first in their decider against England in Cardiff.
A Chris Morris- and Andile Phehlukwayo-inspired fight from the Proteas in Taunton on Friday has left this series fascinatingly poised. While the resolve of South Africa’s bowlers was impressive at the death, England’s capitulation was disastrous, with the side needing just 50 off 39 balls, with nine wickets still in hand.
Now it’s the Proteas who have their tails up and will have the confidence going into this match. It won’t be easy however, for the English take a lot of pride in their T20 cricke, and Morgan won’t be happy with the way his charges crumbled when there wasn’t all that much pressure, apart from the final over. With the Test series fast approaching, this will be a last chance to gather some psychological speed.
England have brought Alex Hales back to the top of the order to partner the in-form Jason Roy while Jonny Bairstow is rested, which allows Paarl Boys’-educated Dawid Malan to make his debut. Eoin Morgan has rested himself, with Jos Buttler stepping in as captain. The only change for the Proteas sees Imran Tahir return to add some spark in the spin department.
ENGLAND: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Tom Curran, Mason Crane
PROTEAS: JJ Smuts, Reeza Hendricks, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Mangaliso Mosehle, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Morne Morkel, Dane Paterson, Imran Tahir
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Photo: Cricinfo/Getty Images
