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South Africa host England, the #2 team in One Day International (ODI) cricket, in a three-game series beginning on January 27 in Bloemfontein.
The teams shared a 1-1 series draw in England last July, the same as the scoreline during their last meeting in South Africa back in February 2020. South Africa have won six of their last 12 ODIs, while England have won just two in their last nine in the format.
The Proteas boast two of the top three ranked batters in ODI cricket in the form of Rassie van der Dussen and Quenton de Kock.
Van der Dussen missed the South Africans' most recent series in India, but prior to that he was in stunning form. The middle-order batter boasts two centuries and two 50s in his past nine innings with a trio of Top South African Batter accolades. At 14/1 to take the match's Top Batter honour, he deserves serious consideration.
De Kock, meanwhile, has three half centuries and solitary ton in his past 11 batting performances, including three Top Batter scores. Both de Kock and van der Dussen recorded a Top Batter performance in last summer's three-game series against England, showcasing form against the opposition. De Kock is 5/1 to be the game's Top Batter and 7/4 to score 50.
Dawid Malan has been a star bat for the English recording two centuries in his past six innings, but missed the entirety of last summer's ODI schedule before returning to the XI for the 3-0 defeat in Australia during the winter. He is the bookies' favourite at 9/2 to be the Top Batter.
Captain Jos Buttler (5/1) has the firepower to dominate a series, but he has reached 50 just once in the last three series he has played. Opener Jason Roy (8/1) has also lacked form in the format failing to score 50 in eight consecutive innings. Another intriguing player to watch is Harry Brook (15/2) who averages 80 in Test cricket and should enjoy the longer white ball format.
With the ball, it's hard to look past the returning Jofra Archer (5/1 to be the game's Top Bowler) for England who has the express pace that can cause batsman nightmares. Reece Topley (5/1) also returns to the squad – he has 11 wickets in his past four games including a 6-24 performance against India last summer – he's 5/6 to take O1.5 wickets, a mark he has achieved in three of his last four ODIs.
Spinner Adil Rashid (11/2) will also be a threat with the ball, he has taken the Top England Bowler market in his past three performances, taking seven wickets in the process.
The usual suspects will be in contention for South Africa. Kagiso Rabada (6/1) has eight wickets in his last four matches including a 5-39 performance against Bangladesh in Johannesburg. Anrich Nortje (5/1) took six wickets in two games against England last summer and Lungi Ngidi (8/1) has four wickets in his last two.
South Africa are priced at 7/4 to win the series with England 4/9 favourites in the contest. South African to win the series 2-1 is 12/5, which deserves some consideration given England lack form as of late.
