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Faced with a stronger opposition, South Africa’s seemingly strong batting order dwindled in their last match against New Zealand. England will look forward to exploit this susceptibility in the Proteas’ batting when they face them in the Super 8s today.

English bowlers especially Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann will again spearhead England’s bowling and will look into the weak links in the Proteas’ batting ranks. If AB de Villiers fails to deliver, South Africa always finds themselves in precarious positions as was witnessed in the game against New Zealand.

But if de Villiers gets going, he scores briskly and doesn’t miss much scoring opportunities. According to Castrol Index, de Villiers scores off 86% of the deliveries he faces. If he gets the support from Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith and Jean Paul Duminy, England might be in for some tough time.

However, South Africa’s high powered performance in bowling, backed by their exemplary fielding, should worry the English side most. A Bowling Efficiency (BE) of 257 is envious for any team, and the Proteas line-up of Dale Styne, Roelof van der Merwe, Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel have been successful in defending low totals like 128, against New Zealand in the last match. Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara – the mainstay of English batting – indeed have quiet a task at hand.