England opt to bat against South Africa

Karachi, Mar 1 (PTI) England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat against South Africa in their final Champions Trophy group B match here on Saturday.

This marks Buttler’s final appearance as England’s white-ball captain after he stepped down following their early exit from the tournament.

England were eliminated from the tournament after losing their first two group games to Australia and Afghanistan.

A win for South Africa will secure them the top spot in the group, ahead of Australia, who advanced to the semifinals after their match against Afghanistan on Friday was washed out.

England made one change, bringing in Saqib Mahmood for the injured pacer Mark Wood.

South Africa made two changes, with Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs replacing Tony de Zorzi and sipper Temba Bavuma.

Teams:

England: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith(w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood.

South Africa: Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.