In their contrasting styles, England and South Africa have each displayed two sides to their Twenty20 character in the opening rounds of this competition. England veered from complacency in their first-night humiliation against the Dutch to determination in their subsequent demolition of Pakistan; South Africa steamrolled Scotland by 130 runs on Sunday, then struggled to manage even a run a ball against New Zealand.
The subtle difference, of course, is that even when South Africa were off the boil, they still managed to emerge victorious. Graeme Smith's men have been on a roll during a memorable year on the road, and as the end of their odyssey draws nigh, they've forged themselves a unit that can cope with all conditions. Clinical is the word that best describes their approach, and it's not without good reason that they start this match as favourites.
Nevertheless, England have good reason for optimism going into the Super Eights, not least because there was a point midway through the weekend when they thought their tournament was over before it had begun. The manner in which they responded to their Dutch disaster was encouraging if not outright impressive, as they put a distracted Pakistan side in its place and progressed with aplomb.
Humiliation has a habit of sharpening one's focus for future engagements, and there's little question that England are now taking this competition deadly seriously. As has been shown on numerous occasions already in the past week, Twenty20 is a format in which any team can win on its day. An upset can never be ruled out, not even against the most disciplined team in the tournament.
Watch out for...
AB de Villiers is a fearsome striker of a cricket ball. Against Scotland on Sunday, his 79 not out included 11 boundaries from 34 deliveries, six of which sailed clean over the ropes. Combining balance and timing with a followthrough as extravagant as his appetite for runs, he is the kingpin of South Africa's middle-order, and the man most likely to shred England's prospects in the closing overs. Had he not been bumped down the order to allow his team-mates valuable practice against New Zealand, South Africa would surely have mustered more than 128 for 7.
He may be rattling with painkillers, but Kevin Pietersen is also rattling with resolve. His dodgy Achilles was not risked against the Dutch, but with their tournament on the line, England had not option but to whistle their main man back off the bench against Pakistan. He did not disappoint with 58 from 38 balls, an innings that included a vast drilled six over long-off. For a man who professed to being "70% fit" it was an impressive effort. What will he produce when he's back at the peak of his form and fitness?
Team news
After foolishly omitting most of their kingpin players against the Dutch, England didn't come close to repeating that mistake against Pakistan. It seems fair to assume that they'll pick something approaching the same line-up again, with perhaps Adil Rashid dipping out in favour of Ryan Sidebottom (or, conceivably, Graham Napier) if the Trent Bridge wicket is deemed to favour the pacemen.
England (probable) 1 Luke Wright, 2 Ravi Bopara, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Owais Shah, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 7 James Foster (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Ryan Sidebottom, 11 James Anderson
Curious selection scuppered their prospects on home soil at the 2007 World Twenty20, but South Africa have picked their most potent line-up available this time around. From Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis through to de Villiers and Albie Morkel, they have batsmen for all occasions, and in Dale Steyn, Johan Botha and Wayne Parnell, bowlers for all conditions.
South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Kallis, 3 Herschelle Gibbs, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Dale Steyn.
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