During the third ODI of the ongoing England’s tour of South Africa in Kimberley, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has won the toss and chose to bowl primarily due to the comparatively shorter straight boundaries.
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“We are bowling first. It’s a hard ground to defend with short boundaries straight, the ball also comes onto the bat nicely under lights. It’s important to keep challenging ourselves,” Bavuma told SuperSport at the toss.
Also wanting to chase a total at the Diamond Oval tonight, England captain Jos Buttler was a bit dejected at being asked to bat first. “We would have chased as well. Disappointed to have lost the series but there’s a lot to play for today. It’s just about doing the right things properly, about the way we want to play our cricket,” Buttler told SuperSport at the toss.
Why is Quinton de Kock not playing today vs England?
Having gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in a three-match series, South Africa have made three changes to their Playing XI. As a result, opening batter Reeza Hendricks, pacer Sisanda Magala and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi have been included into the Playing XI for this match.
Playing his first match of the series, Hendricks is playing an international match for the first time since South Africa’s tour of India right before ICC T20 World Cup last year. Magala and Shamsi, on the other hand, had both played the first ODI in Bloemfontein.
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A forced change for the hosts, wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock wasn’t considered for selection today. In what is a precautionary measure, it has been done keeping in mind that de Kock had injured his right thumb while keeping wickets in the second ODI.
A solitary change for the visitors has come in the form of fast bowler Jofra Archer getting a go as a like-for-like replacement for Olly Stone.
