*Official* England in South Africa 2019/20

[Dendarii]

Is South Africa likely to have de Kock at 6 or 7? I have a feeling they'll go 5 bats, keeper, all rounder, 3 quicks and a spinner.

Probably. They picked two all-rounders in the squad, so it looks very likely that they'll go that route.

 

[SeamUp]

Keegan gets to his 100. Good on him.

 

[honestbharani]

I am assuming Philander is considered a bowler for the purposes of this side. How good is Pretorius with the bat? Guess he is likely to bat 7?

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Is it just me, or does Charl Langeveldt look slightly younger now than he did towards the end of his playing career?

 

[StephenZA]

I am assuming Philander is considered a bowler for the purposes of this side. How good is Pretorius with the bat? Guess he is likely to bat 7?

He would bat ahead of Philander if he plays. Has an avg just short of 40 at FC that is about right for him. In many ways he is Philander light. Not as good with the ball but better with the bat.

 

[Bijed]

He would bat ahead of Philander if he plays. Has an avg just short of 40 at FC that is about right for him. In many ways he is Philander light. Not as good with the ball but better with the bat.

Most players are lighter than Philander tbh

 

[SeamUp]

Is South Africa likely to have de Kock at 6 or 7? I have a feeling they'll go 5 bats, keeper, all rounder, 3 quicks and a spinner.

Probably. They picked two all-rounders in the squad, so it looks very likely that they'll go that route.

He would bat ahead of Philander if he plays. Has an avg just short of 40 at FC that is about right for him. In many ways he is Philander light. Not as good with the ball but better with the bat.

It almost feels like Quinton de Kock is creating the default to play Pretorius. Yes, they want the extra bowler possibly to get through some overs so that Maharaj isn't relied upon too much first innings but they want de Kock batting 6 is almost as much of a reason for them I think.

 

[Prince EWS]

I do think having four seam bowling options can be really advantageous at times in South Africa, but also not quite consistently advantageous enough to go without a frontline spinner (at least if you have a decent one to pick), so I get the logic behind the allrounder, particularly given de Kock is easily good enough to bat six.

The problem is with the actual options available. I think the fourth seamer/fifth bowler would still ideally be picked primarily based on batting, and both Pretorius and Lucky are bowlers who bat at this point. Mulder would've been great if fit, and the 2016 version of Pretorius might have been a decent pick but his batting has really dropped off in the past few years, so I'd go with six bats ahead of Pretorius2019 or Andile. If it looked really green to the point where four quicks was a requirement I'd probably just leave Maharaj out, harsh as that would be.

 

[wpdavid]

Every now and then Chris Woakes would be an ideal canditate to endorse this company:

https://piecity.co.za/

Cruel but fair.

 

[Dan]

Philander retiring after the series, apparently.

 

[SeamUp]

I'd say it's more likely than not that England play 5 seamers (and no spinner) again this first test as a result of all the illnesses.

Leach dropped previous test and ill, Parkinson got smacked around in the first warmup game.

Which seamers to pick though?

It's going to be hard to pick Archer or Broad if they don't have a bowl in the next couple of days. Anderson is massively lacking in match practice and won't be able to bowl lots of over if selected in the test match. They will probably pick 2 out of Archer, Broad and Anderson.

Woakes is somehow the most likely pick out of all the seamers (bar Stokes) as a result of having played the first warmup, and bowling quite nicely in the last test in NZ.

Looks that way. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/28357814

 

[Pup Clarke]

Decent plan. I don't think he's going to have much of an impact at Centurion, but I'm backing Joe Root to do some damage with the ball in future tests. Very underrated spinner

 

[marc71178]

Decent plan. I don't think he's going to have much of an impact at Centurion, but I'm backing Joe Root to do some damage with the ball in future tests. Very underrated spinner

Problem is his back isn’t it?

I’m guessing they’re doing this to lessen the workload on Stokes but would still prefer a front line spinner over a left arm medium pace bowler who rarely bowls with control and needs assistance to have any real impact.

 

[SeamUp]

Stokes' father has gone down seriously ill and is in a Joburg hospital so Ben won't be at training today. Here is to hoping Stokes senior makes a full recovery.

 

[honestbharani]

Man... Hope all goes well with Stokes Sr.

 

[theegyptian]

Woakes ill now. Wonder if we will have any fit bowlers for the test.

 

[Daemon]

Stokes' father has gone down seriously ill and is in a Joburg hospital so Ben won't be at training today. Here is to hoping Stokes senior makes a full recovery.

Wonder if its related to the illness sweeping through the English camp.

 

[SeamUp]

Pitch preparation first of all had to deal with torrential rain and then searing heat. Just hope it is a good cricket wicket but it does look odd. The bare patches covered by some grass here and there.

 

[SeamUp]

Wonder if its related to the illness sweeping through the English camp.

Must admit, it does seem concerning & too many gone down with something to not think it may be linked.

 

[SeamUp]

Great preview by Wisden's Phil Walker : https://www.wisden.com/series-stori...liarly-compelling-rivalry-of-the-well-matched