England have recovered from World Cup woes

England were dumped out in the group stages of the World Cup after winning only one of their five matches. They are currently ranked fifth in the ICC world rankings for the format. “They did really well to come back from that,” De Villiers said. “They are a really talented group of players - the way they came back from that earned a lot of respect around the world. 

“They must be one of the favourites, in their home country and playing some really good cricket of late.”

All-rounder Ben Stokes had a stellar Indian Premier League season, scoring 316 runs and collecting 12 wickets in 12 matches to help the Rising Pune Supergiants reach the final but he will not play in it after being recalled by England for the South Africa series. “He’s definitely got something special about him,” De Villiers added.