11am: Hello everyone. A lovely day in prospect now, after that dramatic deluge. We’re all set for a full day’s action.
10.55am: The sun is shining again above Hedge End, there’s a tractor running a rope round the outfield – quite of lot of rain came down in a short space of time, so presumably they just want to make sure the surface isn’t too greasy for the start. Still 20 minutes until we get going, so time to pop the kettle on; meanwhile, I’ll tea things up for Andrew Miller
10.47am: The rain has stopped, but there’s a bit of mopping up to do: play will begin at 11.15am. The stands are filling up again, says Matt. South Africa’s quicks will be champing at the bit, although the weather is expected to clear up pretty quickly
“If Jacks and Bethell concede 100+ again today I might just lose it. Surely they’d at least consider bowling Root?” You’d think so, Tim. But if I know anything about Bazball England, prepare to be disappointed
10.40am: I spoke too soon about the weather: it is suddenly lashing it down! The covers on are in the middle, and we may have a slight delay to the start – although, as I type, it looks like the rain is easing and the sun is starting to reemerge. The forecast is for a clear, warm day from here on (so keep ’em crossed…)
“England need to reconsider their notion of Bethell and Jacks bowling 10 overs of spin between them. 20 overs including Rashid won’t work in SA when the World Cup comes.” I can see you’ve definitely been reading Matt’s piece, Abhimanyu
Here’s Kaig : “SA would be my dark horses for the WC, convincingly beating both Australia and England away without their premier fast bowlers! Amazing for SA! Hope it continues!” From chokers to champs? That WTC win has changed everything
“My mind is blown by England selection,” warbles Avi. “Why not rest Ben Duckett from last dead rubber and play Will Jacks as an opener and play Sam Curran at 7 in ODI?” Well, Curran’s not in the squad – he was only added for the T20Is. But they could certainly have given Duckett a break and played Ton Banton (if they are wedded to the idea of Jacks at No. 7)
10.32am: South Africa win the toss and bowl, Temba Bavuma is hoping for “something in the wicket, try to make use of it”. Two changes for South Africa, Wiaan Mulder and the aforementioned Yusuf come in, the latter for his ODI debut. Senuran Muthusamy and Lungi Ngidi miss out. Harry Brook says he would have bowled too; rotation among the seamers the reason for Overton coming in
England: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid
South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), Matthew Breetzke, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Wiann Mulder, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Codi Yusuf, 11 Nandre Burger
10.25am: Matt Roller is in the house Utilita: “Have finally reached the Bowl. Full cloud cover but dry for now and forecast is alright. McCullum addressing the players in a huddle.” He notes that England have won eight of their last nine ODIs in Southampton – their only defeat coming against Ireland during Covid. That run includes a nail-biting two-run win over South Africa, when Mark Wood – remember him? – defended seven off the final over
10.20am: It’s shaping up to be a beautiful balmy day on the south coast, with some welcome September sunshine after a wet and windy start to (meteorological) autumn here in the UK. England have already named their team in advance, with Jamie Overton coming in for Saqib Mahmood; we await word on the South Africa XI, but they have been buoyed by the news that Prenelan Subrayen has had his action cleared as legal, after questions were raised on the tour of Australia
Neal is first out of the postbag today: “Hi Alan, not so long ago, Sam Curran was an all-format England player who ‘would make things happen’. His recall is overdue, what do you say?” I’d say that if Matt Roller has written it, I most certainly agree
“Any news on Rabada? Is he fit for today?” Might be wrong, but I don’t think he’s being considered for this series, Tee. Codi Yusuf was added to the squad as cover at the start of the tour
10.05am: Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Crash! Bang! Wallop! What a Cricket Team! Harry Brook’s players know the plan: come out and smash it, then take poles (or vice versa). Sounds easy, eh? It hasn’t served them too well in the series to date, although they did get a bit closer in Thursday’s rollicking five-run defeat at Lord’s. England have lost seven out of their last 10 ODIs against South Africa, including four on the bounce going back to the 2023 World Cup. Can they stop the rot in Southampton and nab a consolation victory ahead of the T20Is? Let’s find out
