Having arrived in South Africa for the upcoming T20I and ODI series, the England cricket team boasts a variety of dangerous players. ANDRE HUISAMEN highlights three players the Proteas should be wary off.

Ben Stokes

He might only be playing in the T20I series against the Proteas, but Stokes will undoubtedly be itching to make his presence felt in South Africa. It’s also possible that Stokes will bat higher up the order, as he did for the Rajasthan Royals in the recent IPL, and open with countryman Jos Buttler – he then hammered a spectacular century on one occasion. Stokes’ capabilities need no embellishment – he can take the game away from opponents in the blink of an eye, with both bat and ball.

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Dawid Malan

Over the past 12 months Malan has developed into a handy top- and middle-order batsman for the England T20I outfit, scoring three half-centuries and one brilliant ton in that period against the likes of New Zealand, Pakistan and Australia. Malan only featured in the final T20I against the Proteas earlier this year, but could be an integral part of Eoin Morgan’s team this time around. The left-hander has adopted a valuable aggressive style of play and that makes him a dangerous customer for the Proteas bowlers to watch in the three T20I matches.

Jason Roy

Roy is one of the most destructive limited-overs batsmen in the modern game and holds the key for England at the top of the order – both in the T20Is and ODIs. The right-hander, though, has been drastically short of runs in the ODI format this year, struggling for form against Ireland and Australia during the English summer season a few months ago. While this could be an area for the Proteas bowlers to target, Roy’s ability to start with a bang is well documented and he can easily put the opposition attack under pressure in a flash. Roy managed some decent runs for Surrey in the Vitality Blast, though, which would have given him a great deal of confidence heading into the South African tour.