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1st Twenty20 International

The Rose Bowl, Southampton

The Champions Trophy ended ignominiously for both England and South Africa, and over the next few days they'll look to get it all out of their system with three slog-happy T20 fixtures.

In most respects it's a prelude to the main event of the Test series, emphasised by the fact that both sides are resting the big guns for these games and instead blooding new players.  Amla, de Kock, Duminy and Rabada are all out for South Africa, as well as Faf du Plessis (who may also miss the Test series due to the birth of his first child).  Meanwhile, for England it's Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Joe Root who are being rested.  In their place, Eoin Morgan has declared his intention to hand maiden caps to each of the new call-ups - Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Chris Overton, Tom Curran and Mason Crane - over the course of the series, while the Proteas may turn to left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, right-arm paceman Dane Paterson and top-order batsmen JJ Smuts and Reeza Hendricks.

The last T20 encounter between the two nations was, of course, the record-breaker at the World T20 in India last March.  Most of the big-hitters from that match will be elsewhere, but Morgan and de Villiers both have a point to prove, especially as neither will play a part in the Test series, and the youngsters have to treat this as an opportunity to show their England potential too.  Another 28C scorcher is forecast on the south coast, and the pitch should be perfect for a bit of spin and a lot of boundaries.

Let's see what the next generation have got to offer.

Play commences at 1830, 21st June 2017