ENG-C vs SA-C Preview | England Champions seek first win in WCL 2025 as they take on South Africa Champions

Today at 12:27 PM

The hosts England Champions will face table leaders South Africa Champions in the eighth game of the ongoing World Championship of Legends 2025. It will be a must-win game for England Champions to stay alive in the tournament as they have been through a miserable run of form in WCL 2025.

After losing by 10 runs against West Indies Champions, the almost ‘down and out’ England Champions will face an in-form South Africa Champions in their next WCL 2025 game. The game will be played at Grace Road in Leicester on July 24. It is going to be a must-win clash for the England Champs to keep their hopes alive for the tournament’s playoff stage.

On the other hand, South Africa Champions will aim to continue their dominance in the tournament with their third consecutive win. In their last game, the Proteas defeated the holders, India Champions, by a massive margin of 88 runs to secure their second straight win.

Form Guide

Eoin Morgan’s England Champs lost to Pakistan Champions by 5 runs in the tournament opener, before their game against Australia Champions ended without any result. Furthermore, they lost West Indies Champions by 10 runs and faced their second defeat in the tournament. Morgan’s men are currently placed at the fourth spot in the tournament standings.

The Proteas have been enjoying an amazing run of form in the tournament, with two consecutive wins in their two games. They started their WCL 2025 campaign with a thrilling bowl-out win against West Indies Champs. Later, they outplayed Yuvraj Singh’s India Champions by 88 runs to move to the top spot.

ENG-C: L NR L

SA-C: W W

ENG-C vs SA-C Head-to-Head

England Champions and South Africa Champions faced each other in the last WCL edition in 2024. The Englishmen defeated the Proteas by a huge margin of nine wickets in that game, in what remains their only head-to-head contest so far.

Pitch and Weather

The surface at Grace Road in Leicester is a balanced one, with help for both the pace bowlers and the spinners in the first half of the game. It is expected to become easier for the batters as the game progresses. So, the toss-winning skipper might opt to bowl first and chase the target under batting-friendly conditions.

The weather in Leicester will be quite clear, with some cloud cover around the starting time of the game. The minimum temperature will be 13 degrees Celsius with a maximum temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. Slightly overcast conditions in the initial phase of the game might help the pacers.

Team News

England might bring in James Vince to replace Ian Bell in the top order. If Vince makes it to the playing XI, he is expected to open the innings with Alastair Cook.

South Africa Champions will look forward to going in with an unchanged playing XI, considering the winning combination of the last two games they are coming off.

ENG-C: Alastair Cook, James Vince, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (C), Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Tim Ambrose (WK), Chris Tremlett, Liam Plunkett, Ajmal Shahzad, and Stuart Meaker.

SA-C: Hashim Amla, Jacques Rudolph, Sarel Erwee, AB de Villiers (C), Jean-Paul Duminy, Wayne Parnell, JJ Smuts, Morne van Wyk (WK), Hardus Vijoen, Duanne Olivier, Aaron Phangiso, and Imran Tahir.

Broadcasting Platforms

WCL 2025’s eighth game between England Champions and South Africa Champions will be streamed live on FanCode app and website. For TV viewers, the game will be telecasted live on the Star Sports Network.