Though the world cup favorite India will be playing their third match of the tournament today, the eyes of the cricket fans must probably be in the scorecard of another match between South Africa and England. This match is very important for England, because they know that the uncertainty level to qualify for the quarterfinal will be higher if they lose it.
Though not quite out of the tournament, England should then be under the mercy of other team's performance other than winning their own.
England know that the match against South Africa will not be a cake walk. The Proteas have won their both matches easily and their confidence level should be high. In this condition, the pressure will be only on the English team, who are desperate to gain more points in order to qualify for the next round. England will be facing the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, the most deadly pace combination the world cricket has at the moment, and also Imran Tahir, who is still a mystery bowler for them. England should also be concerned about their own bowling options, with the one available has proved to be ineffective so far. The Ashes heroes James Anderson and Stuart Broad both went for economy rate above 7 with only couple of wickets taken. Graeme Swann is the only bowler who had some respects from the opponent batsmen, with the economy rate 4.86 and overall 6 wickets in his name. He will be the trump card for the match against South Africa. Sadly, there is no other reliable spin option available for English team.
The pride of Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott will also be on stake as they will have pressure to perform their best against their native country. It would be interesting to see if Pietersen comes out at the crease as an opener once again. Overall, today's match between England and South Africa promises to be the most electrifying one in the tournament. Happy watching cricket.
