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• Lock George Martin has been handed a surprise starting opportunity in England’s team for the Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa 22bet
  
  22-year-old Martin partners Maro Itoje in the second row, with Ollie Chessum dropped to the bench and Steve Borthwick making two other changes 22bet
  
  Freddie Steward replaces Marcus Smith at full-back, with the Harlequins playmaker ruled out due to head injury return to play protocols 22bet
  
  Smith was cleared to return to the field after passing an in-game head injury assessment against Fiji, but has failed a subsequent part of the process, ruling him out of this weekend’s fixture 22bet
  
  The final change comes in the front row, where Joe Marler’s scrummaging expertise is preferred to Ellis Genge’s dynamism on the loosehead 22bet
  
  RecommendedEngland must be ready for whatever ‘very, very smart’ Springboks throw at them, says Kevin SinfieldThe two sides of Rassie Erasmus, the puppet master pulling South Africa’s strings at Rugby World CupSouth Africa name World Cup semi-final team against England“After an excellent few days preparation in Paris, we look forward to the challenge of playing the World Champions and number one ranked team in the world,” said Borthwick 22bet
  
  “Through this tournament the team has progressed, with the players repeatedly finding a way to win, sometimes in challenging circumstances 22bet
  
  We will once again need to be at our very best this weekend as we face an excellent team in South Africa 22bet
  
  “There is no doubt the players will truly relish the challenge of knockout rugby under the lights in Paris 22bet
  
  These players will, as they have done in every game of this tournament, give absolutely everything in the semi-final to get the result we want 22bet
  
  ”The squad includes 13 survivors from the World Cup final defeat to the Springboks in 2019 22bet
  
  Martin’s elevation comes as a surprise after a strong tournament from the Itoje/Chessum lock partnership, but perhaps reflects a desire from Borthwick to match South Africa’s bench impact with a strogn set of tight five replacements 22bet
  
  The young Leicester lock will also have a key role to play at scrum-time, anchoring behind a front row bolstered at the set-piece by the wily Marler 22bet
  
  The 33-year-old starts opposite fellow veteran Dan Cole, who endured a difficult day in Yokohama four years ago having been required early on after an injury to Kyle Sinckler 22bet
  
  Owen Farrell will again captain England from fly half as he wins a 111th cap 22bet
  
  England team to face South Africa at the Stade de France (Saturday 21 October, kick off 8pm)1 Joe Marler, 2 Jamie George, 3 Dan Cole; 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Martin; 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 Owen Farrell; 11 Elliot Daly, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 13 Joe Marchant, Jonny May; 15 Freddie Steward 22bet
  
  Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Billy Vunipola; 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence 22bet
  
  More aboutEngland RugbyRugby World CupSouth Africa rugbyGeorge MartinFreddie StewardSteve BorthwickJoe MarlerEllis GengeJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/1England spring surprise with three changes for World Cup semi-final England spring surprise with three changes for World Cup semi-finalGeorge Martin is a surprise second row starter for England in their semi-final against South Africa Reuters ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today 22bet
  
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  truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply 22bet
  
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  fullName}}My Independent Premium Account details Help centre Logout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} 22bet
  
  
  
  A spirited Afghanistan upset another former champion on Monday when Hashmatullah Shahidi’s men defeated 1996 winners Sri Lanka by seven wickets to continue their memorable campaign at the Cricket World Cup 22bet
  
  Their bowlers had laid the foundation of their third win in six matches when they bowled out Sri Lanka for a below-par 241 in 49 22bet
  
  3 overs 22bet
  
  Three of their top five batters, including captain Shahidi, then produced half-centuries in a clinical chase which they accomplished in 45 22bet
  
  2 overs to move to fifth place in the points table 22bet
  
  Azmatullah Omarzai (73) scored the winning run with Shahidi (58) looking on from the other end 22bet
  
  Afghanistan, who registered one win in the 2015 World Cup and none in 2019, now have an outright chance of making the last four in India 22bet
  
  “Quite happy and proud of the team,” Shahidi said 22bet
  
  “The chase was very professional and I am very happy about it 22bet
  
  ”Shahidi and his men had stunned holders England and 1992 champions Pakistan earlier in the competition and they proved those were no flukes with yet another impressive display against Sri Lanka 22bet
  
  Put in to bat, several Sri Lankan batters got their eyes in but could not quite capitalise on those starts 22bet
  
  After the fall of Dimuth Karunaratne in the sixth over, Kusal Mendis (39) forged half-century partnerships with Pathum Nissanka (46) and Sadeera Samrawickrama (36) to steady the innings 22bet
  
  At 134-2 in the 28th over, Sri Lanka looked well placed to reach 275, but the plucky Afghans struck at regular intervals to peg them back 22bet
  
  Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana raised 45 quick runs for the eighth wicket but Sri Lanka still fell short of 250 22bet
  
  Afghan left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed 4-34, which won him the player-of-the-match award 22bet
  
  Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over but Rahmat Shah (62) and Ibrahim Zadran (39) calmed the nerves with a 73-run partnership 22bet
  
  Kasun Rajitha dismissed Rahmat but not before the batter had brought up his second successive 50 of the tournament 22bet
  
  Shahidi and Omarzai mixed caution with occasional aggression in their unbroken century stand to take Afghanistan closer to the target 22bet
  
  With victory in sight, both decided to play their shots and Azmatullah scored the winning run when he attempted to hit a six and was dropped at deep midwicket 22bet
  
  “I think we were a little bit short of runs,” Sri Lanka captain Mendis said after their fourth loss in six matches 22bet
  
  “We needed 280 or 300 on this pitch 22bet
  
  I think the bowlers did well in the first 10 overs but it was tough after that 22bet
  
  ”ReutersMore aboutCricket World CupAfghanistan Sri LankaJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1Afghanistan upset Sri Lanka to continue memorable World Cup campaignAfghanistan upset Sri Lanka to continue memorable World Cup campaignAFP via Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today 22bet
  
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  truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply 22bet
  
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