Proteas place in Champions Trophy playoffs goes down to the wire

South Africa will need to hit their straps against England on Saturday after they missed out on progressing automatically to the Champions Trophy semifinals on Friday due to an unfavourable result in the clash between Australia and Afghanistan.

If Australia had defeated Afghanistan in their last Group B game, the Proteas would have booked their spot in the playoffs with a match to spare.

However, with the game between Australia and Afghanistan ending without a result due to rain, and each team picking up one point, South Africa will be hoping to beat England in their last group match in Karachi on Saturday (11am start).

If they lose to England, the Proteas can still book their place in the semifinals if they complete the group stages with a better net run rate than Afghanistan.

Group standings

Heading into the last Group B fixture between SA and England, Australia are top of the table with four points and they have already qualified for the semifinals.

South Africa and Afghanistan each have three points, though the Proteas are in second place with a better net run rate.

England, who are lying fourth in the standings without a point, cannot progress to the semifinals.

The other two teams contesting the semifinals (from Group A) will be New Zealand and India, with Bangladesh and Pakistan having already been knocked out in the race for the playoffs.

While the semifinal fixtures will be confirmed only when the group stage comes to an end on Sunday, the matches in the penultimate round will be played in Dubai on Tuesday and Lahore on Wednesday.

The final will be contested next Sunday, though the venue has not yet been confirmed, with India playing all their matches in the UAE for security reasons due to political tensions between India and Pakistan.