England Cricket Team’s tour of South Africa, consisting of 3 ODIs is set to begin on Jan 27. The Mangaung Oval Bloemfontein will host the first two games while the third ODI will be played at the Diamond Oval, Kimberley. The Pitch Report and the ODI Records of the Mangaung Oval Bloemfontein are provided ahead.
The ongoing SA20 2023 has been paused in order to accommodate the 3-match ODI series between the two nations. The franchise T20 league will now resume on February 2nd, Thursday. The ODI series is a part of the ICC ODI World Cup Super League. While England’s position won’t be affected much by the result of this series, the South Africans will be affecting their chances of direct qualification into the World Cup if they didn’t manage to win this series.
Bloemfontein ODI Records
16 of the total 31 ODIs played at the Mangaung Oval have been won by the chasing sides while the sides setting a total have managed to win 13 games. The average scores of both innings are quite low here.
| Total matches | 31 |
| Matches won batting first | 13 |
| Matches won bowling first | 16 |
| Average 1st Inns scores | 239 |
| Average 2nd Inns scores | 196 |
| Highest total recorded | 399/9 (50 Ov) by ENG vs RSA |
| Lowest total recorded | 78/10 (24 Ov) by ZIM vs RSA |
| Highest score chased | 274/4 (48.3 Ov) by RSA vs AUS |
| Lowest score defended | 203/6 (50 Ov) by AUS vs RSA |
Mangaung Oval Bloemfontein Pitch Report for SA vs ENG ODI series
The Mangaung Oval pitch is a perfectly balanced surface with assistance available for both, the batters as well as the bowlers. The pacers find good movement here in the initial overs and tend to trouble the batters. However, as the game progresses batting starts to become easier at this venue. The ground has a quick outfield with not too big dimensions, hence, the batters would get full reward for their shots here. The spinners may come in handy in the middle overs at Mangaung Oval.
Considering the past records and the conditions at this venue, the side winning the toss should look to chase here. A score of around 270-280 batting first would be a good total at this venue.