South Africa v England: Strauss and company looking to raise their game with the ball
Two giants of group ‘B’ will be up against each other as England will take on South Africa at Chennai in a crunch match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 on Sunday.
The Proteas and English are considered as one of the better teams in international cricket but both of them have failed to be crowned as the World Champions in 50-over cricket. South Africa is considered as the hot favorite of the event and intends to change
history this time round, whereas the English team is struggling for survival after their defeat against Ireland.
The Proteas seem to be at the top of their game at the moment and without doubt a very strong contender of the elite trophy. The current South African team is more balanced as compared to any other Proteas side in the last two decades and it is a great opportunity
for them to get rid of the tag of ‘chokers’.
South Africa has a nice blend of aggressors and class batsmen in their lineup as the likes of Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis have the ability to take on any bowling attack of the world as they proved against Netherlands with some
extra-ordinary stroke-play. Apart from these stroke-players, South Africa has a couple of class acts in shape of Hashim Amla and Jaquess Kallis who are equally effective in all the formats of the game and possess the ability to bat through the innings while
the others can play around them.
In past, Proteas have been heavily criticized because of their one dimensional bowling attack. However this is not the case anymore as the South Africans have wicket-takers with the new ball as well as the old ball. The induction of Pakistan born leg spinner
Imran Tahir has bolstered the Proteas bowling attack as he is a genuine match winner and takes wickets at the crucial junctures of the game.
England on the other hand has a lot of questions to answer especially after their defeat against Ireland. English batting has been of the highest standard in the tournament as they scored heavily in all the three matches so far but their performance with
the bowl and in the field is the real concern for Andy Flower. If a bowling attack is not even able to restrict the batting lineups of the Netherlands and Ireland then there is something seriously wrong.
Apart from Graeme Swann, no English bowler has been able to make an impact in this World Cup till date. Stuart Broad looked impressive in the warm up games but he is struggling with his fitness. The English spearhead James Anderson is the real worry for
the English support staff as he has been extremely disappointing in the World Cup so far and fails to get it right in the depth overs.
England just has three points after as many games and they will have to beat South Africa, otherwise they might struggle to reach the quarter-final stage. Proteas will start the match as clear favorites but Strauss and company can upset South Africa if they
raise their game with the bowl.
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