England v South Africa: Kolpak Absentees Put Proteas on the Back Foot

England’s limited overs cricketers have been warming up for this month’s ODI series with South Africa in two very distinct ways. While the likes of Alex Hales, Jake Ball and David Willey have endured a chilly start to the UK summer in the County Championship and Royal London One Day Cup, a number of their teammates including Ben Stokes, Sam Billings and Jos Buttler have been enjoying the red-hot atmosphere of the IPL. They will all reunite for the ICC Champions Trophy in June but before that, England face a tough warm-up series against the South Africans.

The Schedule
The first of three One Day Internationals between the two sides takes place at Headingley on May 24. From there, the teams make the long trip south to the Ageas Bowl three days later while the series concludes at Lord’s on May 29.  Stokes, Buttler and Chris Woakes will miss the earlier, two-match series with Ireland as they play out the late stages of the IPL and this has been a long tournament; one that has taken its toll on the body of Stokes in particular.

The Squad

Alex Hales was overlooked once again when the IPL auction came around, leaving the Nottinghamshire man to focus on domestic cricket. It’s not been the most positive of starts, with Hales making just 23 runs in two matches for the Outlaws with a highest score of 13, but he’s rarely out of form for long. It’s been a mixed twelve months for the 28-year-old on the international stage as he lost his test place but having made England’s record ODI score of 167 against Pakistan last summer, he is a guaranteed starter for the South African series. Hales now holds England’s highest individual score in both Limited Overs formats and following a brief injury absence, he returned with 110 against the West Indies in March. It’s been an equally frustrating time for Eoin Morgan. A regular at the IPL, the Captain is with his fourth franchise but his record with Kings XI in 2017 is similar to that of Jason Roy’s with 61 runs from three games.

England are as short as 1/8 odds with online bookmaker Betway to beat Ireland in their first match at Bristol on May 5 and they should start as favourites for the subsequent South Africa series. The same bookmaker has Eoin Morgan’s men at 3/1 for the Champions Trophy but the tournament hosts will need the skipper, plus Hales and Jason Roy to find their touch.

Elsewhere, things are more positive. Stokes and Buttler have been in good touch over in the IPL but there could be concern over Pune’s Stokes who had already missed some action due to a shoulder injury before he limped through the final stages of his brilliant ton against the Lions.

Preferred Pairing

Mark Wood and David Willey could share the new ball against Ireland and South Africa – and it’s hoped that both have recovered fully after injury. Wood’s express pace and Willey’s left arm swing will complement each other perfectly and while Jake Ball and Liam Plunkett will compete for the third seamer’s slot, this has to be England’s preferred opening pairing. Chris Woakes has enjoyed a productive IPL with KKR and has 11 wickets at a healthy average of 28.09 while Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and possibly new test skipper Joe Root will share the spinners’ duties.

Key Contests

It’s been a difficult few months for South Africa who have been without AB De Villiers and Dale Steyn due to injury while a number of dissatisfied players have taken the Kolpak route and turned their back on international cricket. Kagiso Rabada should find English surfaces to his liking, if he can get the white ball to swing, while Morne Morkel will also be key to the Proteas, if he can generate enough pace and bounce from these early season pitches. For England, the key wickets are those of Amla and De Villiers and while there is danger down the order from David Miller, the left hander needs a platform on which to build. Tahir and Rabada are the threat amongst the bowlers but as a unit, they are missing Steyn and Abbott and like the batting, it relies a little too much on one or two individuals.

As we’ve seen, there are form issues for the home side but England’s two internationals against Ireland at the start of the month give Hales, Roy and Morgan the chance to address that and while South Africa will provide a tougher test, the hosts should have the advantage.