Proteas ‘ready to hit the ground running’ against England

The Proteas and England will meet in Mumbai on Saturday (10.30am start) in a World Cup heavyweight bout – the kind that Don King would be promoting from the Taj Hotel rooftop.

But both contestants enter the ring having had not just their noses bloodied from wildcard challengers but actually having been knocked to the canvas.

Fortunately for both of them, due to the format of this World Cup, they are able to lift themselves and hold up their gloves for another nine-count. In the case of England, however, another knock-down from the Proteas tomorrow and it might see them surrender their championship belt altogether.

Equally, South Africa do not want to suffer another blow as they might just not have the stamina to actually get up again.

These are the high stakes at the Wankhede Stadium.

The last time these two teams met in the bustling Mumbai metropolis, they delivered an epic T20 World Cup slug-fest back in 2016. Batters on both sides landed heavy blows throughout.

South Africa have three remaining cast members from that night, while England have six.

And it was Joe Root, who is more of featherweight to be fair, who played the major hand with a sublime 83 off only 44 balls to help England chase down a then-record 229/4. Root will be back tomorrow but crucially also the maverick Ben Stokes.

England’s talismanic all-rounder is expected to glove up for the first time at this World Cup.

The Proteas have been on the receiving end of Stokes’ body shots, particularly in Test cricket, on many previous occasions.

🪙TOSS

🇿🇦 Proteas win the toss and have opted to bowl. Gerald Coetzee comes in for Tabraiz Shamsi

📺 SuperSport Grandstand (Ch 201) & SABC 3️⃣ #AUSvSA #CWC23 #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/UgpUd1f7bK

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 17, 2023

In an almost sardonic manner, that has helped them prepare for Stokes’ return.

“He is a big-match player. He has a repertoire of skills and we know what he brings to the party. So, it’s about us sticking to our processes and executing on the day,” South African left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj told the media yesterday.

Stokes’ influence on the England team goes far beyond just the playing field, though.

It’s been reported that despite him not playing in the Afghanistan humiliation, the England Test captain delivered a rousing speech to remind his teammates they are indeed the current double white-ball world champions.

Coach Matthew Mott refers to him as the “spiritual leader” of the group. There is a great feeling that this Proteas team need a ‘Madala’ of similar sort after their defeat to the Netherlands.

Maharaj believes though they’ve had time to digest the Dutch defeat and are primed to take on Jos Buttler’s team tomorrow.

“The boys were hurting. It is hard to put your finger on it, because everyone was up for the challenge. It did hurt a lot,” he said.

“We had won five ODIs on the trot and in any sport, you are bound to have a bad game – and I would like to think that was ours and it’s now out of the way.

“The next day, the guys woke up and were rejuvenated and ready to go again. I think everyone had an opportunity to individually review and assess.

“The last time we lost to the Netherlands, it knocked us out. But now we have an opportunity to rectify it and get back to hopefully winning ways.

It's a massive game on Saturday and the boys are ready to hit the ground running,” he added.

It is unlikely that Proteas coach Rob Walter will tinker too far from the playing XI that fell so horribly short against the Dutch, with possibly only wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi coming back into the equation.

Squads

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (capt), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.

England: Jos Buttler (capt), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.