Eoin Morgan & Co have come a long way after their unfortunate exit at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand. They were knocked out by Bangladesh then, but post that setback, things have turned massively.
The Englishmen are entering the tournament as one of the favourites. Their transformation has been remarkable as Eoin Morgan's men climbing to the top of the one-day international rankings and twice setting a new record for the highest one-day international total, which now stands at 481 for six.
Batting has been the basis of England's ODI rejuvenation, with Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Morgan and the dynamic Jos Buttler among a top seven who can all change the course of an innings in the blink of an eye.
As far as the Proteas are concerned, they have a painful past. They had suffered plenty of World Cup heartache but having been losing semi-finalists four years, there is a sense that they would go under the radar this time around.
South Africa, captained by Faf du Plessis, are without retired star batsman AB de Villiers but their top order includes the talented Quinton de Kock.
They will be without Dale Steyn on Thursday as the outstanding fast bowler nurses a shoulder injury but South Africa have become used to his absence in recent times.
Squads:
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Tom Curran, Mark Wood, James Vince, Liam Dawson
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Faf du Plessis(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chris Morris