Series level but South Africa have momentum

Match facts

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The scoreline says the series is all-square, but after such a convincing 112-run victory at Cape Town South Africa are now the side with the momentum. It shows how quickly situations can change in one-day cricket and, following their crushing win in the second Twenty20 international, Friday's performance was the second time the home side have responded to defeat in powerful style.

After a fairly insipid display at Centurion, the Newlands version of South Africa was much closer to living up to their pre-series billing. The batting, led by AB de Villiers' awesome striking, fired as a unit and the bowling attack packed much more punch with the inclusion of Wayne Parnell and Morne Morkel. Parnell continued his impressive knack of bagging large hauls with a career-best 5 for 48 to follow the five-for he took against New Zealand at the Champions Trophy. If he stays fit Parnell is set to be a key figure throughout this tour.

Watching England in any format should come with a health warning, but their one-day performances are most likely to send supporters lurching from delight to despair. As Andrew Strauss said after the defeat at Newlands the one-day squad is a work in progress, so humbling reversals are to be expected. It follows the pattern of the Champions Trophy when memorable victories against Sri Lanka and South Africa were followed by heavy defeats against New Zealand and Australia.

It is a quick turnaround between the weekend matches. Both teams had early-morning alarm calls to catch flights to Port Elizabeth and England's players were offered an optional training session. A key feature of the Strauss-Andy Flower regime has been level-headedness and the vibes coming out of the camp are 'don't panic'. Going straight into the next match means they have little time to stew over the previous performance which could work in their favour. South Africa, though, really mean business.

Form guide

South Africa - WLWWL
England - LWLLW

Team news

Alviro Petersen has slotted well into the middle order and Hashim Amla is churning out the runs as Jacques Kallis' understudy so South Africa's batting is solid. The one concern for them is Dale Steyn who bowled six overs at Newlands before leaving the field with a hamstring strain. If he is ruled out Charl Langeveldt could be recalled, while Johan Botha may be considered for the struggling Roelof van der Merwe.

South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Alviro Petersen, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Charl Langeveldt

With Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett released from the squad and Alastair Cook still in Pretoria, England appear intent on showing faith in a core group of players. James Anderson hasn't been at his best so far and although the England camp have played down concerns over his knee problem he may need to be managed ahead of the Test series. Should Anderson be rested Graham Onions could play his first international of the tour.

England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Jonathan Trott, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Tim Bresnan, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Graham Onions

Watch out for

Andrew Strauss has hit the ball sweetly throughout the tour but despite showing impressive form at the beginning of the one-day series the starts haven't been converted. There is no need to read too much into it yet - he got a decent ball at Centurion and was trying to attack a tough asking rate at Newlands - but a contribution from the captain is always timely early in a long tour. Fortunately, though, England now appear less reliant on Strauss than they were during the home season with most players having scored runs at the start of the trip. However, a captain's job is easier if he is contributing significant runs and Strauss won't want to head into the Test series having been dominated by South Africa's quicks.

The world game isn't overflowing with quick bowlers, but Wayne Parnell is one of an exciting young brigade who are set to star during the next decade. South Africa have missed his incisiveness at the start of the season as he recovered from an ankle injury and he made an immediate impact at Newlands. Parnell already has two ODI five-wicket hauls in eight matches and a quality left-arm paceman is an asset to any team. He can bat a bit, too, which could well become an important factor when the Test series begins. First, however, there are more ODI scalps to be bagged.

Stats and trivia

• When the two teams met at Port Elizabeth during the 2004-05 tour South Africa came out on top by three wickets in a tight game. Graeme Smith hit 105, but it was Mark Boucher who provided the vital late impetus. Both teams are likely to field three survivors from that match.

• Since the start of the Champions Trophy Paul Collingwood has scored 393 runs in six innings. He has also struck 13 sixes, almost a fifth of his career tally of 64. Who says you can't teach an old (ish) dog new tricks?

Quotes

"So far, it's been a little bit of a rollercoaster ride, in terms of results and performances. It's been an up-and-down tour."
Paul Collingwood admits the last couple of weeks have been a mixed bag for England. Wasn't it ever thus?

"AB is such a fantastic player. It is difficult to contain such an awesome player. If he gets the right platform and gets going, scores of 350 are on the cards all the time."
Hashim Amla warns England that there is more to come from AB de Villiers