SA vs ENG: South Africa batsmen will use Rabada, Nortje to get ready for Archer, Wood

The South Africa vs England series promises to be a feisty affair, and we could be in for a searing pace battle with Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood all set to star. Rabada, Nortje and Archer all go into the series on the back of impressive performance at the recently concluded Indian Premier League and South Africa are set to use them in the nets to prepare for the England pacers.

Rabada and Nortje led the Delhi Capitals to the IPL final with their destructive pace bowling, and the former was the leading wicket taker of the tournament. Meanwhile, Jofra Archer was voted as the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2020 for his incredible all-round displays.

The trio will be in action soon, with England and South Africa set to face each other in three ODIs and three T20Is.

South Africa coach Boucher excited about the pace duo

South Africa coach Mark Boucher was delighted to watch his pace duo of Rabada and Nortje shine at the 2020 IPL, and said that he would look to use their bowling to prepare his batsmen for the challenge that lies ahead. The Proteas will pair out the duo against their batsmen in the nets sessions and the upcoming warm-up matches.

Boucher said, “I’m excited about our two and the fact they are bowling together. Having pace is one thing, but being able to put the ball in the right area consistently is very important, and they did that. It will stand us in good stead that they had that experience.”

“We’ll pair out two quicks against our batters in the nets and in those warm-up matches. That should give them some practice ... as a batsmen you don’t enjoy (facing pace) but you can get used to it. If we have KG and Ana bowling at 150 that is good enough preparation for whatever England might throw at us."

The South Africa vs England series gets underway on November 27 with the first of the three T20s at the Newlands stadium. The second T20 takes place in Paarl, before the two teams return to Cape Town for the final T20 as well as the three ODIs.