AB de Villiers has a key role to play.

By Jonathan Turner

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	1pt on AB de Villiers to hit 50 or more at 7/4 (Hills).	Has relished the conditions at Newlands in the last year or so.

We warned in our initial preview that victory for South Africa in their five-match one-day series with England might not quite be the formality the bookies were suggesting.

And that point has been underlined as the Proteas find themselves 1-0 down with three matches remaining after the washout in game one and then England's seven-wicket victory at Centurion on Sunday.

It's all led to a hasty revision of the odds, with England now the favourites at 7/4, South Africa out to 5/2 and a drawn series into 7/4.

Barring any more rain interruptions or ties, South Africa have to win the remaining three games to take the spoils and on the evidence of the first match at SuperSport Park that's a big ask.

For they were outplayed in that game right from the start as England showed real intelligence in the field and then kept their cool when it was their turn to bat.

The tone was set as Andrew Strauss' plans for Graeme Smith worked a treat - a couple of early inswingers nearly snared the Proteas skipper leg before but after that the bowlers were instructed to keep everything off his pads.

It came off as Smith's frustration told and after that wickets just kept falling at key moments.

Significant partnerships and hundreds haven't been regularly associated with England's batsmen in one-day internationals for a few years but an unbeaten 105 from Paul Collingwood and a 162-run stand for the third wicket on Sunday were both steps in the right direction.

That made it six wins in their last six completed ODI matches against South Africa for England and they could also be boosted on Friday by the return from injury of all-rounder Stuart Broad.

That's the good news then, but the bad starts with South Africa's record at Friday's venue of Newlands.

For they've won their last nine one-dayers there - and most of them by emphatic margins.

In the last few years they've beaten Pakistan by 10 wickets, Australia by 196 runs, the West Indies by 209 runs and England and India by 100-plus run margins.

Indeed England haven't won a 50-over game against the Proteas there and South Africa's overall record at the ground is an astonishing played 27, won 24.

It's therefore perfectly possible to make a strong case for South Africa at 4/7 to level the series despite that shocking recent run against the Three Lions.

Instead though we're going to suggest backing AB de Villiers to hit a half century at Hills' 7/4.

He missed out in the first game but that was a rare failure and he has a key role to play at number three in the absence of Jacques Kallis.

He's hit 20 half centuries in 87 innings which might suggest 7/4 isn't the greatest price but his last four scores in Cape Town are 80, 45, 2 and 50 not out.

And his last Test innings at Newlands saw him blast 163 against Australia in March, a knock which featured no fewer than seven sixes.