South Africa has made a habit of snatching the number one rank from England on this tour. After taking the top spot in Tests, the Proteas have done the same in ODIs with a thumping 80 run-victory in the last game at Southampton.

Cook and de Villiers
Cook will be keen to level the series at The Oval Reuters

Overview:

England have to come out of the shock of Andrew Strauss' retirement quickly and will have to be at their very best to register a win in the third ODI at The Oval so that they can stop the visitors from taking an unassailable 2-0 lead, with just two matches remaining, after the first game at Cardiff was washed out. If the hosts win this game, they can reclaim the number one rank.

The Proteas have inflicted several wounds on the hosts this summer. England's bowlers, who have been key to the team's success at home, have had no answers to South Africa's batters, especially Hashim Amla. The 29-year-old topped the run-scoring charts in the Test series and hit a match-winning 150 from 124 balls at The Rose Bowl to propel his side to 287. Dismissing Amla early will surely be pivotal to England's chances in this game.

Hashim Amla
Amla has been unstoppable in this tour Reuters

Conditions

The match at The Oval is another day-nighter and the weather seems to be perfect on 31 August.

Team news:

England: Graeme Swann's withdrawal from the rest of the series offers a chance for James Tredwell, while Chris Woakes or Jade Dernbach could replace Tim Bresnan, after the Yorkshire star came up with expensive figures in the previous game.

South Africa: Both Albie Morkel and Dale Steyn remain sidelined for this clash.

Probable Line-up:

England: A Cook (c), I Bell, J Trott, R Bopara, E Morgan, C Kieswetter (wk), S Patel, C Woakes, J Tredwell, J Anderson, S Finn

South Africa: G Smith, H Amla, JP Duminy, D Elgar, AB de Villiers (c, wk), F du Plessis, W Parnell, R McLaren, R Peterson, M Morkel, L Tsotsobe

Where to Watch Live:

Watch the game live on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD from 12:30pm BST

South Africa