ICC World Cup 2019: England vs South Africa: Top 3 players from SA to watch for

Even though England has shown its growth and proved its balanced squad in the last few ODIs, its South Africa that has emerged as successful in the warm-up games.

If we look at the tournament's official warm-up matches, then South Africa had won one of their two matches against the Lankans by a huge margin of 87 runs, whilst the other match against the Windes was called off due to rain. However, the hosts lost their first warm-up game against the Aussies and won their second against Afghanistan.

Let's have a look at these key players who'll play a major role for the Proteas

1. Andile Phehlukwayo- Going by the stats, this South African bowler is a key player for the team. With an economy of just 5.62 in One Day Internationals, Andile will be a major threat to the hosts in their first match. Despite having Imran Tahir and Kagiso Rabada in the team, Andile's role in the team will be unmatched. He has the potential to bat down the line as per the requirement of the team. In the last warm-up game, he managed to score a decent 35 runs which gives him an extra edge over the other bowlers in the team, making him South Africa's key player.

2. Hashim Amla- This South African opener, with his exceptional batting skills, will contribute in setting up a good partnership in the start. In a tournament like the World Cup, it will be essential for the team to have a good opening partnership and they will be highly dependent on their top order. This will help the middle order to contribute more to the innings with their fearless cricket. Hashim Amla has an average of 46.64 and had scored 65 runs off 61 balls in the previous warm up game against the Lankans with a strike rate of 106.55.

3. Kagiso Rabada- With a bowling economy of 4.98 in ODIs, Rabada will be the key to South Africa's triumph in the World Cup. South Africa will rely on this fast bowler throughout the tournament. In his 64 ODI matches, he has managed to pick 102 wickets and will prove to be an effective and reliable bowler for the team.