ENG vs SA Dream11 Prediction 1st Test, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report & Updates

ENG vs SA Team Preview:

England (ENG) will be hosting South Africa (SA) in the 1st Test match at Lord’s in London on Wednesday. South Africa beat England in three-match T20I series by 1-2 and leveled the ODI series to 1-1 last month. Both teams are now set to clash in the three-match Test series after a break of two weeks. England’s red-ball team are flying high after thrashing New Zealand 3-0 and India in the rescheduled fifth Test match. England, under the new management of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, have approached an attacking mindset in Test cricket recently and dominated India and New Zealand.

South Africa are leading the World Test Championship table with five wins and two defeats so far. But they will be facing a different challenge against in-form Three Lions. South Africa beat Bangladesh by 2-0 in their last Test series in March-April but lost the practice match against England Lions by an innings and 56 runs last week. South Africa also lost right-arm pacer Duanne Olivier to a hip injury in the practice match but have enough pace options to put a challenging performance against England at Lord’s. England have won four of their last five Test matches against South Africa and are favorite to win this one as well.

ENG vs SA Match Details:

England vs South Africa, 1st Test

Venue: Lord’s, London

Date & Time: 17-21st August at 03:30 PM IST and 11:00 AM Local Time

Live Streaming: SonyLIV

ENG vs SA, 1st Test, Pitch Report:

The pitch at Lord’s is well balanced for both batters and bowlers in red-ball cricket. Pacers are likely to trouble the batters with the new ball in the early session on day one but after that pitch will favor batters. The average first innings score here is 311 and teams batting first have won more matches compared to teams chasing a target.

Injury News:

Duanne Olivier is ruled out of the Test series due to a grade 2 right hip flexor muscle tear

ENG vs SA, 1st Test Probable Playing XIs:

England

Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, James Anderson.

South Africa

Dean Elgar (c), Sarel Erwee, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.

Top Picks for ENG vs SA Dream11 Match:

Top Picks – Batters

Joe Root:

The 31-year-old batter achieved the 10000 Test runs milestone during the New Zealand series and now ranks first in the ICC Test batters chart. Root scored an 86-run knock in the first ODI match against South Africa last month and has been in phenomenal form in Test format. He scored an unbeaten 142 runs while chasing a record 378-run target in the last Test match against India. He will be a safe captaincy choice for your Dream11 team for this fixture.

Dean Elgar:

South African skipper scored three fifties in four innings against Bangladesh in the last Test series in March-April. He was also in good form against India early this year and remains the highest-ranked batter for his team on ICC Test charts.

Top Picks – All-Rounders

Ben Stokes:

The English skipper has been in sensational form since his appointment to the leadership role in red-ball cricket. He is enjoying 100% success in Test results and is in good form with both ball and bat lately. He recently announced retirement from ODI cricket and has taken a break from The Hundred 2022 tournament to focus on this Test series. He has scored 5280 runs and has taken 182 wickets in 83 Test matches so far.

Top Picks – Bowlers

Kagiso Rabada:

The South African speedster ranks 5th in ICC Test Bowlers’ chart with 243 wickets in just 52 matches at an average of 22.41. He was rested for South Africa’s last Test series against Bangladesh but he was the team’s highest wicket-taker against New Zealand with 10 wickets in three innings.

James Anderson:

The recently turned 40, Anderson took five wickets in the first innings against India in the last Test match. He took 11 wickets against New Zealand in two matches and reached the 650 Test wickets milestone as well. He has taken 657 wickets in 172 Test matches at an average of 26.36 so far.

Top Picks – Wicketkeeper

Jonny Bairstow:

The in-form English batter has transformed himself into a Test specialist batter this year and has been a crucial part of England’s recent domination against New Zealand and India. He is leading the scoring charts in Test cricket for 2022 with 994 runs. He scored two centuries in two innings against India in the last Test match and will be a good captaincy choice for this fixture.

ENG vs SA Must Picks for Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for ENG vs SA Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Team:

Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, Dean Elgar (vc), Rassie van der Dussen, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Keshav Maharaj, James Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for ENG vs SA Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Team:

Jonny Bairstow (c), Dean Elgar, Rassie van der Dussen, Alex Lees, Ben Stokes (vc), Joe Root, Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Jack Leach, Matthew Potts, Marco Jansen.

ENG vs SA Risky Captaincy Choices:

Ollie Pope:

The in-form batter scored one century and fifty against New Zealand but is struggling for consistency lately. He struggled against India in the last match and managed to score only two fifties in the last four innings in County cricket. His batting average in Test has slipped below 30 and he will be a risky captaincy choice for this fixture.

Aiden Markram:

The middle-order batter may not be a guaranteed starter for this fixture but he is in good form in white-ball cricket lately. He has scored 1973 runs in 31 Test matches at an average of 35.23 with the help of five centuries so far. He scored an unbeaten 88 runs in the practice match against England Lions.

Player you should avoid:

Zak Crawley:

The English opening batter has made runs at an average of 26.71 in Test cricket despite playing 25 matches so far. His highest score in the last five Test innings is 46 and in the last six County innings is only 35.

Note: Updated Fantasy teams and Playing XIs of every match will be provided in our Telegram channel if the information is available.

Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.