Cricket World Cup: England v South Africa predictions and cricket betting tips

Where to watch England v South Africa

Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 9.30am Saturday

Best bets for England v South Africa

South Africa
1pt 11-10 general

Q de Kock over 46.5 performance points
2pts 5-6 bet365

England v South Africa predictions

England won the 2019 Cricket World Cup in the most dramatic of circumstances but Jos Buttler's team are at risk of surrendering their title in decidedly meeker fashion after two defeats in their opening three matches of the round-robin group stage.

All hope is not lost - England suffered three losses and still qualified in third place four years ago - although Sunday's shock result against Afghanistan leaves little margin for error and they face a difficult test against South Africa at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

The Proteas are also reeling following an even more surprising reverse to the Netherlands on Tuesday but Temba Bavuma's men had previously impressed in dominant 102 and 134-run wins over Sri Lanka and Australia.

England are set to be boosted by the return of Ben Stokes, who will play for the first time in the tournament after recovering from a hip injury, and Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott will hope that his presence can inspire a better all-round performance.

However, the bowling attack has struggled and it remains to be seen whether England will persist with Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. One of that trio could make way for Stokes in an effort to shore up the batting while seamers Gus Atkinson and David Willey are angling for a place in the team.

South Africa's batsmen were stifled by the conditions in Dharamshala but they will relish the chance to get after England's ailing attack and they've fared well in recent meetings with the reigning champions, winning 2-1 on home turf in a three-match series earlier this year.

No South African batsman has done more damage in this tournament than Quinton de Kock, who has scored 229 runs at 76.33, including two centuries from three innings, and he could lead the way again for the Proteas.

However, the best way to support De Kock could be to back him to score in excess of 46.5 performance points with bet365, who award one point per run scored, ten per catch and 25 per stumping.

The wicketkeeper-batsman fell for just 20 against the Dutch but he knows how to score at the Wankhede, where he spent three seasons opening the batting for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

He's also been as reliable as ever with the gloves in his World Cup outings, claiming two catches against Australia and snaffling two more as well as a stumping against Netherlands, and he should again be at the heart of the action. 

Click for more free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.