England vs. South Africa First T20 - prediction and team news

After a rain-affected One Day International series ended in a tie, the two sides will be looking to make a statement in the upcoming T20 matches.

Match preview

It has not been the start to life as England's white-ball captain for Jos Buttler that many expected.

After slumping to back-to-back T20 and ODI series defeats to India, Buttler's England once again showed signs of weakness against South Africa.

Bowled out by the tourists in the first ODI held at Durham's Riverside Ground, it marked another white-ball defeat for Buttler, having won just two of his six matches as skipper before that.

A similar situation looked as if it was to unfold in the second ODI, when England posted just over 200 in the shortened fixture at Old Trafford.

While a day of rain in Manchester had seen the match reduced to 29 overs per team, there was a feeling England's total was somewhat below par.

In the end, it was not to matter, as a stellar bowling performance from the hosts saw South Africa skittled for 83 runs.

With the series poised at 1-1, all eyes switched to Headingly, but a similarly dismal weather forecast meant play was abandoned before the end of the first innings.

Frustrating maybe, yet it was not for the lack of cricket, with the abandoned final ODI just one of 12 white-ball matches scheduled for England in the space of 24 days.

Such a jam-packed calendar has led to criticisms of the English Cricket Board, with prominent cricketers criticising the amount of matches they are being asked to play.

The second match in the South Africa ODI series marked the last 50-over game for Ben Stokes, who retired from the format to focus on his role as Test captain.

Citing the schedule as part of his reasoning, Stokes's retirement offers an insight into how much these cricketers are being pushed, with no signs of the schedule easing up.

Match 10 of the bumper 12 in 24 days takes place in Gloucester this week, when the first T20 fixture between South Africa takes place.

This series will be the final on home soil before England head to autumn's T20 World Cup, with only a three-match contest against host nation Australia to come between now and the tournament's start date.

Rescuing the form that had many tipping England as favourites for the World Cup will be crucial for Buttler and co. in this series against South Africa.

With one of the strongest white-ball squads in World Cricket, as the prospect of failing to deliver a first T20 World Cup triumph since 2010 looms large.

For South Africa, they are yet to lift the T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007, but a dominative side, led by stand-in captain David Miller, will fancy their chances of a successful 2022.

History suggests when these two sides meet, it is often a tight affair, with South Africa having won 10 of the 22 T20 internationals they have played, whereas England just have their noses out in front with 11 victories.

However, when the pair last faced each other in a T20 series, it was England who stormed to a whitewash 3-0 win, toppling the hosts in South Africa back in December 2020.

Hoping to avoid a repeat, Miller's side will be confident of piling the misery on Buttler when they reconvene on Wednesday afternoon.

Team News

One of the few positives England have taken from their white-ball matches so far this summer has been the performances of bowler Reece Topley.

Having taken 13 wickets from seven international matches so far this summer, Topley has put himself in contention to make England's World Cup later in the year.

Topley will be joined by fellow bowlers Chris Jordan and Adil Rashid, whose experience has been crucial for England following former captain Eoin Morgan's resignation.

Minutes could be on the way for Harry Brook, who impressed with his knocks against India in the recent T20 series.

Big-hitting Liam Livingstone will provide muscle in the middle, with an indifferent top-order partnership of Buttler and Jason Roy looking for a much-needed big score.

In the absence of usual skipper Temba Bavuma, Miller will lead a side aiming for victory in the upcoming series.

Quinton de Kock impressed in the abandoned final ODI, notching up a standout 92 runs off just 76 balls.

The wicket-keeper batsman will feature alongside Janneman Malan and Rassie van der Dussen at the top of the South Africa order.

Dwaine Pretorius was the pick of the South Africa bowlers in the second ODI, taking 4/36 off six overs, but the all-rounder is not involved in the T20 set-up.

England squad: Jos Buttler (c, wk), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Richard Gleeson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey

South Africa squad: David Miller (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen

We say: England to win

England have the potential to blow any side out of the water on their day, yet those days have been few and far between for Buttler's side this summer.

Finding form will be crucial ahead of the autumn's World Cup in Australia, so expect England to come out firing in the opening T20 international against South Africa.