South Africa vs England
South Africa find themselves in a must-win situation for the third test Getty

South Africa host England in the third test of the four-match test series at the Wanderers on 14 January with the visitors leading the series 1-0 after winning the first game. This is a must-win game for the hosts if they have to harbour hopes of staging a comeback in the tournament, having drawn the second test.

Where to watch live

The match is set to start at 8.30am GMT. Live coverage of the fixture will be on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD.

Overview

South Africa will be without Dale Steyn for the fixture yet again after the pacer failed to recover in time from a shoulder injury he picked up in the first test. Lack of match fitness has been attributed for the setback, with Steyn missing the major part of their tour to India with a groin injury. Lack of practice games before being thrown into the deep end at Durban had its repercussions, with the Proteas set to salvage glory without their most potent attacking threat.

It is crunch time for captain AB de Villiers, who has thus far failed to justify his selection as the head of the team in the five-day format. The hosts have an advantage coming into the game, having managed to restrict England in the last test, despite the visitors piling up 639 runs on the board in the first innings, courtesy a brilliant partnership between Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow.

Meanwhile, England will be ruing their luck after spurning a brilliant opportunity to go two games up in the series. Question marks will be raised over England's bowlers, who failed to raise their performance to restrict the hosts in the first innings, despite having put up a mammoth total on the board.

Their 2004-05 win over the Proteas was one of their best away wins in recent history and they have to restrict the hosts yet again if they have to repeat history this time around. Their week has not gone down as well as expected, with a lot of members in the team struggling with a stomach infection while Alex Hales is a doubt for the game with a throat infection.

Betting Odds (bwin)

  • South Africa Win: 8/5
  • Draw: 28/17
  • England Win: 19/10

Team News

South Africa

Possible XI: Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (capt), Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Hardus Viljoen, Morne Morkel

England

Possible XI: Alastair Cook (capt), Alex Hales, Nick Compton, Joe Root, James Taylor, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steven Finn

South Africa England