With the South Africa vs England ODI Series just a few days away now, iafrica.com's Barend Prins takes a closer look at just what the two teams have to offer during the five-match series.

In many ways, if the Proteas and England line up in the way I think they will, the teams look set to offer very similar strengths and weaknesses.

Both are led by prolific left-handed openers, possess dynamic middle orders, have hard-hitting wicketkeepers, several bowlers who bat and batsmen who bowl. Even the bowling line-ups look similar, led by a paceman who swings it away, a feisty off-spinner and plenty of variety all round.

For the sake of this article, I believe the teams will line up like this for the majority of the ODI series:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Alviro Peterson, Albie Morkel, Mark Boucher (wk), Ryan McLaren, Johan Botha, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn.

England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Joe Denly, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eion Morgan, Luke Wright, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann. Jimmy Anderson, Graham Onions.

But let's take a closer look at the respective line-ups and see how ? or if ? the teams differ.

The batsmen:

Looking at the respective line-ups from positions one to six, South Africa have the better batting line-up. Whereas South Africa have the experienced duo of Smith and Kallis at the top of the order, England have Strauss and Denly.

Strauss and Smith have very different influences on their respective teams ? as discussed by Tim Human ? and the England captain is without a doubt a quality player, but one that has only recently cemented his place in the ODI side after his selection as captain.

The England captain is currently in fine form ? as his scores on tour have shown thus far. Smith, on the other hand, is one of the most feared opening batsmen in world cricket at present. Denly and Kallis could not be farther apart however. Kallis is possibly the best-ever modern-day all-rounder, whilst Denly is a youngster with nine ODIs to his name.

Numbers three and four in the line-up makes for an interesting comparison. South Africa have the dynamic duo of De Villiers and Duminy ? who have both been promoted one up the order ? whilst England features the brilliance of Pietersen and the gritty Collingwood.

Pietersen and Collingwood have slightly better records than their two South African counterparts, but who knows what sort of form the former will be in after his injury lay-off? An in-form KP is a player the South Africans fear ? even though they would not admit as much openly. De Villiers is in the form of his life, however, so either way, there is not much to choose between these players.

With South Africa's new-look lower middle order consisting of Peterson and Morkel, their England counterparts Wright and Morgan have the edge. Peterson, batting in an unfamiliar position, is still finding his way in international cricket. Morgan might not be a veteran, but we all saw his class during the Champions Trophy ? especially against SA.

As far as their records go, there isn't much between Wright ? wherever he bats ? and Morkel. Morkel, however, has won games with his late and lower-order hitting, even if his bowling has not been up to it of late ? his performance against Zimbabwe aside. It remains to be seen if his promotion to No.6 in the order will benefit his country.

  • On Page Two, Barend takes a look at both teams' wicketkeepers and also the respective bowling line-ups...

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