Follow UsWith the series on the line, England will take on South Africa in the third and final Test at the Kennington Oval. What South Africa did to England at Lord’s, Ben Stokes and Co. did the same to them at Old Trafford. The visitors won the opening Test by an innings and 12 runs but the hosts returned the favour by winning the second encounter by an innings and 85 runs. England have played some exceptional cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum and a win here would be a perfect end to what has been an extremely successful home Test season.
Ground details
The Kennington Oval has hosted three Tests since 2018 and the batters here have scored runs at an average of 31, while a wicket has fallen every 57.9 deliveries. The seamers here have operated at an average of 31.3 and a strike rate of 61.7, while the corresponding numbers for spinners are 28.4 and 55.6 respectively. Hence, it would be ideal to have at least one spinner in your team. However, both teams have some quality fast bowlers and you could easily pick three to four of them.
Suggested team
While you could go for the above team, you can also choose your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain and vice-captain suggestions
For small leagues: Ben Stokes (c), Kagiso Rabada (vc)
For grand leagues: Joe Root (c), Anrich Nortje (vc)
Stats that matter
In Tests since 2021, England’s top-three has the worst batting average (23.6) and third-worst balls/dismissal (55.6).
Ben Stokes has a superb record against South Africa. The England skipper has smashed 1171 runs in 25 innings at an average of 46.84 and has also claimed 36 wickets at a strike rate of 52.3. In the second Test, Stokes slammed a stunning century and also took four wickets.
In four innings this series, only once a South African batter has managed to go past the 50-run mark. In fact, South Africa have the second-worst batting average (26.7) and third-worst balls/dismissal (52.5) in Test cricket since 2021.
Kagiso Rabada has taken 55 wickets in his last 11 Tests at a stunning average of 20.2 and a strike rate of 39.9.
Grand league punts
In Tests since 2021, Joe Root has amassed 2658 runs in 26 Tests at an average of 57.78, studded with 11 hundreds and five fifties.
Ben Foakes, who crafted his second Test ton in the last game, averages 45.2 with the bat in eight home Tests. The wicketkeeper could also fetch you points from behind the stumps.
Anrich Nortje is quick and knows how to take wickets. The right-armer has 56 wickets in 14 Tests at a strike rate of 43.25. In this series as well, Nortje has claimed nine wickets at an average of 21.33.
Possible XIs
England - Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson/Matty Potts, Jack Leach, James Anderson.
South Africa - Dean Elgar (c), Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Aiden Markram/Khaya Zondo, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Simon Harmer/Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.