England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to
field first against South Africa in a block-buster clash of the World Cup 2023
at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
Stand-in skipper Aiden Markram will lead South Africa
in the absence of regular captain Temba Bavuma. Bavuma is not playing due to
illness. Ben Stokes is back for England, Gus Atkinson and David Willey also
came into the playing XI.
Speaking at the time of toss, Jos Buttler said the
ground is good for chasing totals. “We are going to bowl first. Generally a
good ground for chasing, that’s the reason behind it. It’s not about looking
back, need to look forward.
Need to be at our best. Stokes comes in, Willey and
Atkinson come in for Woakes and Curran. This wicket favours pace, so we are
focussing on that. Everyone is eager to get going. Need to be true to
ourselves. We need to play our brand of cricket.”
South Africa stand-in skipper Aiden Markram said they
will try to match the standards set in their first few games.
“Bavuma is ill, so Reeza comes in. Nice opportunity
for him. There might be a little bit in it (pitch) during the powerplay. Sort
of motivates you a bit. Not focussing too much on it. It’s about reaching those
standards set by us. Reeza has been knocking on the door for a while, he comes
in. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him.”
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben
Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(w/c), David Willey, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson,
Mark Wood, Reece Topley.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks,
Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen,
Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
ANI
