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England vs South Africa 1st ODI Predictions - Root to score big against Proteas

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 02 Sep 2025

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Ralph Staniforth 02 Sep 2025

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England are strong at home & recently won 3-0 vs West Indies.
Joe Root is in excellent form, backed to top score for England.
South Africa recently beat Australia, Breetzke is their player to watch.

Expired

Joe Root to continue his brilliant ODI form (Getty images)

England vs South Africa Predictions

England are very strong in this format on home soil and Joe Root’s recent form has been nothing short of spectacular in the ODI format. I am backing Root to score big as my best bet.

England vs South Africa Predictions
Head to Head
England Form
England Team News
South Africa Form
South Africa Team News

England have won their last 3 ODI matches.
England’s Joe Root has scored 57, 166 & 44 in his last 3 ODIs.
South Africa have won 2 of their last 3 ODI matches.
South Africa have won 4 of their last 5 ODI matches against England.
South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke has scored 50+ in 2 of his last 3 ODIs.

Head to Head

South Africa have won four of their last five ODIs against England. They last met earlier this year during the Champions Trophy – a match the Proteas won by seven wickets.

England Form

England’s last ODI series took place in May and early June this year. They beat the West Indies 3-0 at home.

Joe Root was in magnificent form in that series which included a score of 166 off 139 balls in the second ODI as England chased down 308 to win the game.

Positives from that series was aplenty for the English as their batsmen flourished in home conditions. They will certainly look forward to what promises to be more flat pitches in this series.

England Team News

Harry Brook will captain England in this series as they start looking towards the future of the ODI setup. However, England have a settled squad with plenty of quality and experience.

South Africa Form

South Africa come into this England ODI series high on confidence after recently beating Australia 2-1 away from home.

The Proteas were excellent in the first two matches, although they were blown away in the third fixture where the Aussies scored 400+ batting first. South Africa were bowled out for 155 inside 25 overs.

However, the batsmen and bowlers did well in the two previous games, scoring 296 and 277 runs batting first. On both occasions Australia were all out for under 200 runs. Matthew Breetzke scored 50+ runs in both of the first two games for South Africa.

South Africa Team News

South Africa are still in a rebuilding phase despite their series win in Australia recently. This will be another test for their young side, particularly the bowlers who are going to encounter flatter pitches and smaller grounds in England.

Verdict

England v South Africa 1st ODI

Joe Root is backed to score over 25.5 runs and top score for England.

For South Africa, Matthew Breetzke has flown under the radar but has consistently score. I'm backing him to make a big impact with the bat.

Root Over 25.5 Runs

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Joe Root

Best England Batsman

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Matthew Breetzke

Best South Africa Batsman

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