South Africa captain Faf du Plessis won the toss of World Cup 2019 and opted to bowl against England at The Oval on Thursday.
Team news: Mark Wood misses out, Jofra Archer in the playing XI for England. For South Africa, Shamsi, Miller, Morris, Steyn not playing.
Pitch report: Nasser Hussain and Sourav Ganguly assess it as a perfect batting track. There is a bit of grass and there would be help for the pacers early on. Overall a batting surface for the opener at The Oval.
Weather: It is bright and sunny — perfect conditions for the opener of the 12th edition of World Cup.
Quotes:
Faf du Plessis: Going to have a bowl. Early start at the Oval, if there's anything in the wicket, it's now. Shamsi, Miller, Morris, Steyn not playing. Steyn's around 80 percent. Ngidi and KG (Rabada) have been exceptional over the last couple of years. Good to see Amla scoring runs in the warm up.
Eoin Morgan: I would've looked to do the same. Wicket looks really good. It's set fair all day, shouldn't change much. Yes, Wood was available for selection. But unfortunately he's missed out. Archer's a guy who's come in and impressed. He's very calm when he plays. He's a very exciting prospect.
Playing XIs:
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
