ENG vs SA 2025: England vs South Africa, 1st T20I Match Preview

Published - 09 Sept 2025, 23:52 IST | Updated - 10 Sept 2025, 00:16 IST

England (ENG) will be up against South Africa (SA) for the first T20 International of the three-match series on Wednesday, September 10 at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The ODI leg of the tour is already over, where the visitors came good by a 2-1 margin.

The Englishmen will be hoping for nothing but to win the T20I opener on a winning note as it gives them an advantage for taking the revenge of their loss in the 50-over series of the ongoing white-ball tour. The Harry Brook-led side has also named a strong Playing XI, where key inclusions mention Phil Salt and Jos Buttler as openers, whereas Liam Dawson and Jamie Overton have also been picked to feature in the encounter on Wednesday.

The Proteas, on the other hand, will be high on confidence from their superb win in the ODI series. The Temba Bavuma-led side had taken an unassailable lead in the first two matches to seal the series, and it is exactly something that they would want to replicate in the shortest format as well. The surface at the Sophia Gardens is also likely to support the way that the Aiden Markram-led team plays.

The Sophia Gardens in Cardiff has been a very batting-friendly surface, with several high-scoring encounters held at the venue in the past. However, the pitch has a tendency to slow down as the game progresses, which will bring the spinners into play, who can use their variations and skills to deceive batters and stem the flow of runs as well. The captain winning the toss should look to bat first on Wednesday, with a target of posting anything around 200 in the first innings.

Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (Captain), Sam Curran, Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

Aiden Markram(c), Ryan Rickelton(w), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Corbin Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi