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Chennai: England skipper Andrew Strauss won the toss and decided to bat first against South Africa in a must-win Group B game at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
England included Ravi Bopara in the playing eleven replacing Paul Collingwood while South Africa kept an unchanged side which beat Netherlands on Thursday
Smarting under the shock defeat at the hands of Ireland, England take on traditional foes South Africa in a do-or-die battle to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive in the World Cup.
Andrew Strauss-led England, who have just three points from as many matches, having tied their encounter against India after the hard-fought win over the Netherlands, need an outright win to seal the issue as otherwise their qualification for the knockout stage will depend on the outcome of other remaining two matches and other group matches.
England campaign has moved from disappointment to regaining confidence to now in a crisis. If they stutter, they may well have to pack their bags.
Going by the current form, Proteas batsmen and bowlers are much better placed than the English, whose bowling and fielding are below par.
Moreover Graeme Smith's side is placed at the top of the group table at the moment with two confident wins over the West Indies and the Netherlands.
Their batting has also come good with AB de Villers among the leading run scorers and JP Duminy in form, besides Smith and Hashim Amla being there at the top to provide a solid platform.
England can draw some comfort from the form of their batsmen with Strauss himself amongst the top run getters in this tournament with an aggregate of 280 from three matches.
