ENG vs SA: England's (ENG) Predicted Playing XI Against South Africa (SA) - ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Match 39

England would be pretty pleased with the way they have performed in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 so far. England came into the tournament as the favorites to lift the title and they certainly have played like one.

Eoin Morgan and Co. have won four out of four matches played in the tournament and have already qualified for the semi-finals. They are set to play their last game of the Super 12 stage on Saturday against South Africa and would be keen to continue the winning momentum. In this article, we look at our predicted playing XI of England against South Africa

ENG vs SA: England’s (ENG) Predicted Playing XI Against South Africa (SA) – ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Match 39

Openers: Jason Roy and Jos Buttler

Jason Buttler has had a dream run in the tournament so far. He has opened the batting in 4 games and has remained unbeaten on three occasions. Buttler is coming into the game on the back of an outstanding century against Bangladesh. He is currently the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament, having managed 214 runs in 4 matches at an average of 214.

His partner, Jason Roy has shown flashes of brilliance. He scored 61 off 38 against Bangladesh, followed by poor returns in the next two games. Roy would look to make a valuable contribution at the top of the order for England on Saturday.

Middle-Order: Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan

Dawid Malan’s poor form is a concern for the team. England might be tempted to replace him in the playing XI. But with the team winning, Morgan is unlikely to make a change in the batting unit.

In the four games Bairstow has batted, he has remained unbeaten on two occasions. He has shown his brutal hitting on a couple of occasions and would be desperate to make an impact with the bat once again on Saturday.

Eoin Morgan played a valuable 40-run knock in the last game against Bangladesh. Morgan’s return to form should give a lot of confidence to both Morgan and the team.

All-rounders: Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes

All three all-rounders i.e., Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, and Liam Livingstone haven’t got much opportunity with the bat but they are doing a decent job with the ball.

All three are amongst the wickets and should retain their place in the side for the game on Saturday. The last game against Bangladesh saw Moeen Ali take two wickets, while Woakes and Livingstone picked one apiece.

Bowlers: Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood

Tymal Mills has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. He is likely to be replaced by Mark Wood on Saturday. In case the latter doesn’t recover fully from his injury as well, then Morgan might have to look for another option. Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan should complete the playing XI.