Cardiff: All-rounder Sam Curran will play his first game under the head coach Brendon McCullum, as he earned a recall into the T20 setup, following a sensational Hundred campaign for the eventual winners Oval Invincibles, scoring 238 runs with the bat in nine matches, while taking 12 wickets. Curran evidently wasn't in the scheme of things as far as the national team was concerned after McCullum took over as the white-ball coach and needed to put in consistent performances with bat and ball to get back into the reckoning.

"We sat down with him recently and asked him to be able to bang down the door, to be able to force his way into a position in the top six and with his bowling ability and his variation of being left-arm," McCullum told Sky Sports on Sunday after the third ODI.

"He is an attractive resource. It was a matter of his performances getting back to where he needed to be, and he was, quite honestly, he wasn't necessarily a finished player yet. But he was determined to make sure that he had a long, sustainable career in international cricket. Fair play to Sam, he's banged down the door in that role in franchise cricket." McCullum added.

Apart from Curran, wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt also returned to the T20I side after having missed the West Indies series due to paternity leave.

Salt will most likely partner with Tom Banton at the top, with Jos Buttler to follow. After a difficult ODI series, England will hope to start the T20I series on a good note, taking the momentum from the ODI series finale, where the hosts racked up 414 runs batting first.

Rehan Ahmed, the bowling all-rounder, continued to be on the bench despite earning a call-up for both formats. Apart from Curran, Jamie Overton and Jofra Archer will be heading the pace attack, while Liam Dawson will be the second spinner. South Africa will pose a mighty challenge for the English team, considering how well they have performed in the last three weeks in both formats.

England playing XI: Phil Salt, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook(c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
England playing XI: Phil Salt, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook(c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.