England vs South Africa
2019 Cricket World Cup
Venue: The Oval
Date: Thursday, 30 May, 2019
Start: 10:30am BST
Favourites England begin their bid for World Cup glory on home soil when they meet South Africa at The Oval in the tournament curtain-raiser.
Eoin Morgan’s side are the number one ranked ODI side on the planet, and are under huge pressure to deliver a first World Cup triumph for a team that has been beaten finalists on three occasions, most recently in 1992.
Despite being ranked third in the world, South Africa come into this tournament a little under the radar, but like England, are looking for a maiden World Cup win.
The two sides have not met in this format since 2017, when England enjoyed a 2-1 series win.
England vs South Africa team news
England are hopeful of having captain Eoin Morgan fit, despite him suffering a small fracture in his finger during practice on Friday, with James Vince the likely replacement should he be ruled out.
Mark Wood has been passed fit after giving England an injury scare in the warm-up against Australia, while Adil Rashid is expected to be fit after a shoulder niggle. The big selection decision seems to revolve around which two seamers join Chris Woakes in the pace bowling attack.
South Africa’s build-up has been marred by a series of injuries in their bowling line-up. Anrich Nortje is out of the tournament because of a hand problem, while Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi all saw their IPL stints curtailed by injury, but have recovered to feature in the World Cup squad.
Result prediction: England win
The hosts will be under considerable pressure to get the tournament underway with a win, not only for their hopes of progressing later on but also to kick-start the kind of buzz around the country that they hope will build throughout the summer.
For South Africa, the likes of Quinton De Cock and Rabada have the potential to be among the stars of the tournament, but with England flying after a 4-0 series demolition of Pakistan this month, they will find it hard to stop them getting off to a stormer.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- England 4/9
- South Africa 7/4
Tournament odds
- England to win 15/8
- South Africa to win 10/1
- Jonny Bairstow to be top run scorer 3/1
- Kagiso Rabada to be top wicket taker 5/2
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream coverage
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Cricket and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £8.99.
Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
You can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Tickets
Tickets for this summer's World Cup are limited after a hugely popular public ballot. You can find ticket information for all World Cup matches here.
