There’s no telling what could have happened against Australia but pondering the whats and if’s will never win a tournament, both Temba Bavuma and Steve Smith concurred.

From both a batting and bowling perspective, the green and gold looked solid, with some options oalso presenting themsleves on the bench. Matthew Breetzke’s maiden ODI score of 150 in the recent tri-series against Pakistan, also means there’s solid options back home.

Pace bowlers like Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Wiaan Mulder produced promising figures against Afghanistan, too, but can they bring the heat against a desperate England?

In terms of batting, Ryan Rickelton’s century showed why giving the young guns a chance can work in the team's favour. Fire power like David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen and Mulder down the line mean the Proteas have depth to work with.

But how will they perform against the likes of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer? Archer produced figures of 3/64 against the Afghans and was backed up by Liam Livingstone with 2/28.

England were clubbed by Australia in a five wicket defeat on Saturday, despite putting up a target of 351/8 in 50 overs. England's bowlers expensive against the aussies, with a standout performance of 120 from 86 by wicket keeper Josh Inglis.

Their pace attack, including the 'world's fastest bowler' Mark Wood was fairly expensive, with all but Joe Root claiming 1 wicket. They struggled to strike during the middle of Australia's innings, which could have let aussie batters settle in a lot better.

The English bowling attack performed similarly against Afghanistan, who scored 325/7 in their innings during Wednesday's Group B clash. Ibrahim Zadran rewrote history with his record breaking 177/146.

Past chokers or not, the current conditions put the Proteas in a good position to put England to rest and start navigate the deep end of this tournament. England's defeat does not automatically qualify them for the next round, as a loss to England will have to involve the net run rate in the equation.

The Proteas need more than talent to hold their nerve and see the next crucial game through. All indications from the team show positivity in the camp, but nerves really don’t brew on the surface.

Temba Bavuma will be the first Protea Captain to lead his team to a Champions Trophy victory in over 20 years if they can rise to the occasion.