The Oval is the venue for the third and final test match between England and South Africa, the game gets under way on Thursday and any winner here will also claim the series.
The first 2 tests of this 3 match series have delivered contrasting results. In the first test at Lords South Africa wrapped up victory inside 3 days by a margin of an innings and 12 runs. The Proteas bowled England out for 165 and 149 either side of their total of 326, Rabada with 7 wickets in total was Man of the Match.
It was a different story in the second test at Old Trafford as England coasted to victory by an innings and 85 runs. The Proteas won the toss and elected to bat and the decision backfired as they were bowled out for just 151 with Rabada's 36 the top score.
England replied with 415/9 with Stokes (103) and Foakes (113 not out) doing the bulk of the damage. The Proteas were then bowled out for 179 in their second knock (Petersen 42) and Stokes was named MoM.
We now head to London for the decider and on the team news front Jonny Bairstow is out injured for England and he will also miss the T20 World Cup, Ben Duckett has been called into the squad.
This was how the teams lined up at Old Trafford in the second test
England:
Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, James Anderson
South Africa:
Dean Elgar (c), Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi
Kennington Oval, London
Over the course of the last decade England have played 8 test matches at The Oval, winning 4, drawing 1 and losing 3
The most recent test at this ground came against India who beat England by 157 runs. India made 191 and 466 and England posted 290 and 210
In July 2017 England (353 and 313/8) beat the Proteas (175 and 252) by 239 runs at this venue and Ben Stokes was named Man of the Match
You can check the weather forecast here
The Betting - 3rd Test Match
At the time of writing England are 11/10 to win the match with the draw at 22/10 and South Africa are 5/2
Joe Root is 21/10 to top score for England in the first innings and Elgar is 15/4 to do likewise for South Africa
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict
I've had a miserable time of punting this series so far so just a couple of plays for me. Joe Root hasn't made the runs many would have expected but he remains the most likely of England's top order and I expect him to good here. Root as top England 1st innings bat and also Man of the Match is my main interest.
Rassie van der Dussen, my go to man for the Proteas top bat market has also failed to fire and I will switch to Keegan Petersen who showed plenty of determination in a hopeless second innings cause at Old Trafford.
Bets: Top England 1st Innings Bat Joe Root at 21/10
Top South Africa 1st Innings Bat Keegan Petersen at 4/1
Man of the Match Joe Root at 13/2
Claim your 1st deposit bonus up to R10,000 here
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
Subscribe to our free weekly betting mailer which will include our best and value bets below.
