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The last few spots are up for grabs in the final qualifying for the sport's fourth and last Major in Scotland
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South Africa wary of Stokes 'X-factor' in key World Cup showdown
Jos Buttler backs England to bounce back following their shock defeat to Afghanistan
England's Ben Stokes during practice. - Reuters
South Africa are expecting a batter's paradise when they face old rivals England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, with both sides needing to bounce back from unexpected defeats in their last Cricket World Cup pool encounters.
In a historically close-fought ODI rivalry, South Africa edge the head-to-head, with 33 wins from 64 completed matches, compared to England's 30.
England lost to Afghanistan by 69 runs and South Africa were toppled by Netherlands to put the brakes on their excellent start to the tournament. Both will be eager to get back into gear on what has traditionally been a fine wicket for batting.
"The guys that have played here before have spoken about how it can be a batter’s paradise. You get value for your shots and the ball seems to travel further," South Africa captain Temba Bavuma told reporters on Friday.
"It can build a lot of confidence. And if it is your day, you can fill your boots."
Both teams have excellent hitters in their top six, with the return of Ben Stokes from injury a big plus for England.
"He is an x-factor player," Bavuma said. "He is a guy that can change the course of the game and is someone we have covered in our preparation. We know we are going to have to be at the top of our game to get him unstuck."
South Africa were poor at the back end of their bowling effort against Netherlands and then started tentatively with the bat as they succumbed to a 38-run loss.
"We've had hard conversations as a team and where things went wrong for us from a batting, bowling and fielding point of view. We've put that behind us," Bavuma said.
Meanwhile, England have moved on from their shock 69-run loss to Afghanistan according to captain Jos Buttler.
It makes the fixture crucial for both teams to recover and get their campaign back on track, with the loser facing a potentially uphill battle to make the final four.
"We have moved on and had some good conversations and the energy and hunger around practice has been very high," Buttler told reporters on Friday.
"They (South Africa) have been playing some really good cricket, their top six is really strong and they have pace with the ball. Both teams like (to face) pace on the ball, so it should really be a fascinating contest."
The way forward for England is to be positive with bat and ball, says Buttler, and play the style of cricket that won them the World Cup on home soil in 2019. The conditions in Mumbai should allow for that.
"It is a fantastic cricket wicket, so it should suit us," he said. "We want to find ways to make a play and put the opposition under pressure. That doesn’t always mean hitting fours and sixes. It means can we push back when the opposition is on top and take the initiative in different ways.
"We know we won’t always win but if we can stick to the way we like to play cricket and get the best version of that, we know that is the best chance we have of getting a positive result."
Likely quads
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), 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.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), 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.
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