England - South Africa Predictions & Betting tips - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

Prediction published on 19/10/2023, 14:20  by Devesh Jaganath

Match 20 of 48 at the 2023 Cricket World Cup will see heavyweights England and South Africa face off at the Wakhede Stadium on Saturday. The Three Lions are fifth in the table with two points, while the Proteas have taken four points, leaving them in third place in the current standings. Undoubtedly, there are concerns around the England camp at the moment. The defending champions come into this one fresh off a 69-run loss to Afghanistan last weekend. That followed their only win in the competition against Bangladesh and a nine-wicket loss to New Zealand back in week one. England’s batting, which has been praised of late, has been struggling in this tournament, particularly against spinners. However, their greater issue arguably lies with the ball in hand, where none of the bowlers have been able to dominate opposing batting lineups. That could prove a problem here against the South African batsmen, who were devastating earlier in the competition. 

Meanwhile, South Africa will be looking to bounce back from a shock defeat against the Netherlands in their last match. After a lengthy rain delay, the match was reduced to 43 overs, and the plucky Dutch side made excellent use of the conditions to bowl the Proteas out 38 runs short of their target. However, with better weather expected for this match, South Africa will be looking to get back to the form they showed in their first two games. The Proteas beat Sri Lanka, posting a record score in World Cup competition in their first game. They then followed up with a 134-run victory over the five-time champions Australia. The key strength of the Proteas has been their batting, with Quinton de Kock, Aidan Markram, and Rassie van der Dussen all registering centuries already in the competition. South Africa won the last ODI series between these sides 2-1 at the start of the year, but the bookmakers make them the underdogs in this one.