England and South Africa will face off in the first of the three T20Is at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on September 10, 2025.
South Africa is coming off a historic ODI series win over England, their first since 1998 in the UK. However, they would need to regroup after the morale-crushing 342-run record loss in the third ODI. But South Africa will be boosted by the arrival of some brilliant T20 players in the mix.
Here is the predicted South Africa XI for the 1st T20I:
Top Order:
Captain Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton will open the innings, with Lhuan-dre Pretorius probably batting at no. 3. Markram has scored 1398 runs at a strike rate of 143.82 while Ryan Rickelton has impressed with 361 runs at a strike rate of 132.32 in 16 games. Lhuan-dre Pretorius has played eight games, scoring 131 runs so far.
Middle Order:
Donovan Ferreira has scored 79 runs in six games thus far. Stubbs has been impressive with 763 runs at a strike rate of 134.09 in 38 T20Is while Dewald Brevis has made quite an impact in T20Is with 318 runs at a strike rate of 191.56 in 10 games with one century.
Lower Order:
David Miller has scored 2550 runs at a strike rate of 141.19 in 127 T20Is while Marco Jansen has 16 wickets in 17 T20Is for South Africa with a best of 3/16. He has also scored 166 runs with one fifty.
Bowlers:
Lungi Ngidi has an impressive 70 wickets in 50 T20Is with a best of 5/39 and an economy of 8.92. Keshav Maharaj has 38 wickets in 39 T20Is with a best of 3/27 and is a big weapon in middle overs for South Africa. Corbin Bosch has eight wickets in seven games thus far.
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