South Africa v England: first ODI cricket predictions, free betting tips & TV

Free cricket tips, best bets and analysis for South Africa v England in the first ODI on Sunday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 8am Sunday

Best bets

Adil Rashid top England wicket-taker
1pt 13-5 bet365

Team news

South Africa
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada (groin) is injured and Faf du Plessis has been rested for this series.

England
Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran have been rested for the ODIs. Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood should come in after playing no part in the Twenty20 series.

Match preview

England's one-day-international series with South Africa was one hour away from starting on Friday when news filtered through that a Proteas player had tested positive for Covid-19.

As a result the first ODI at Newlands was postponed with the opening match of the series now taking place at Boland Park in Paarl on Sunday to allow time for further testing.

Cape Town's Newlands Cricket Ground will instead host the second and third ODIs on Monday and Wednesday.

The three-match tussle will follow a comprehensive 3-0 win for England in the Twenty20 series and Eoin Morgan's men are unsurprisingly favourites to come out on top.

Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes are being rested for the one-dayers but England have plenty of depth to call on with Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood fresh and ready to deploy after not featuring in the T20s.

World Cup winners last year, England drew their ODI series with South Africa earlier in 2020 before beating Ireland and pushing Australia close in a 2-1 defeat.

And they should have too much for South Africa, who will be without key players in both disciplines - paceman Kagiso Rabada is injured and top-order batsman Faf du Plessis is being rested.

That only increases the pressure on Quinton de Kock to deliver in a fairly weak Proteas batting line-up and they could crumble against England's attack.

Of the bowlers on display for the tourists, Adil Rashid has perhaps been the most consistent with no player taking more ODI wickets than the spinner since the 2015 World Cup.

He has taken 13 wickets in his last seven ODIs, including three in South Africa back in February, and could be a solid bet to be England's top wicket-taker.

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