Pre-tournament favourites England humbled South Africa by 104 runs in the first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at The Oval in London on Thursday with all-rounder Ben Stokes producing an all-round performance.
All-rounder Ben Stokes proved his worth by contributing with both bat and ball as England got off to a winning start in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019
Pre-tournament favourites England humbled South Africa by 104 runs in the first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at The Oval in London on Thursday with all-rounder Ben Stokes producing an all-round performance.
Stokes scored 89 off 79 then returned to take two wickets. He also took a stunning catch to send Andile Phehlukwayo back and involved in a run-out. He sure is one of the players to watch out for.
He got ample support from Jofra Archer, who took three wickets early in the South African innings, He also rattled Hashim Amla with a nasty bouncer.
Easy for England
Two wickets in two for Ben Stokes to wrap up the South African innings. Pre-tournament England beat South Africa by 104 runs. England-311/8, England 207 all out in 39.5 overs.
Archer Is Now England's Go-To Man, Amla Back
England needed a wicket and Jofra Archer has it. He dismissed van der Dussen. Three wickets for the fast bowler. And that brought Hashim Amla back. South Africa were 167/6 after 32 overs.
Archer Rattles Proteas
Jofra Archer first hit Hashim Amla, forcing the opener to retire hurt, then dismissed both Aiden Markram and Faf du Plessis.
Injury Scare
Jofra Archer bouncer hit Hashim Amla in the fourth over. A 145kph bouncer smashing into the grill, it's never safe. The South African opener didn't continue.
So, What Happened In The First Innings?
Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl, and record-making Imran Tahir struct in the first over itself. Fifties for Jason Roy, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan helped England steady their innings, then Ben Stokes almost pull away from the Proteas with a 79-ball 89.
Lungi Ngidi took three wickets for 66. Kagiso Rabada also conceded 66 but for two wickets. Tahir's figures: 2/61 . They were the only three bowlers to complete the quotas of 10 overs. Faf got the liberty of using seven bowlers.
Enough, Not Enough?
England managed 311/8 in the first match of the ICC World Cup 2018. Good work from South African bowlers. England were shooting 350s with ease in the build-up to the tournament.
Near Miss
Ben Stokes got out for a well-made 89, falling short off a deserved ton by 11 runs. Third wicket for Lungi Ngidi, though.
England are likely to post their smallest total in their last five ODIs, after 373/3 (50), 359/4 (44.5), 341/7 (49.3) and 351/9 (50)
Drinks
Another promising stand for England with skipper Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes added 81 runs for the fourth wicket. England were 192/3 after 34 overs.
Century Stand And Two Quick Wickets
A 106-run stand between Jason Roy and Joe Root steadied the England innings, but they soon departed in quick succession to concede the advantage to South Africa. Both hit fifties. After 24 overs, England were 131/3 with Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes unbeaten on 13 and 10 runs respectively. The wicket-takers were Andile Phehlukwayo for Roy and Kagiso Rabada for Root.
Some Intriguing Stats For Jonny Man
Jonny Bairstow, one of the most destructive batsmen, becomes the first opener to be out for a golden duck in the opening innings of a Cricket World Cup. He is also the first England opener to get a golden duck in any World Cup.
By the way, he was dismissed by Imran Tahir, caught behind. And he became the first spinner to bowl the first over of a World Cup.
Irishman Is Now The Leading Briton
By the way, Morgan is playing his 200 ODI for England. The Irish-born is now the leading player for England in the format, three more than Paul Collingwood (197).
What captains said
Faf du Plessis, South Africa: Early start at the Oval, if there's anything in the wicket, it's now. Shamsi, Miller, Morris, Steyn not playing. Steyn's around 80%.
It's going to be a good one. Ngidi and KG have been exceptional over the last couple of years. Also, good to see Amla scoring runs in the warm-up.
Eoin Morgan, England: Would've looked to do the same. The wicket looks really good. It's set fair all day, shouldn't change much.
Wood was available for selection. But unfortunately, he's missed out. Archer's a guy who's come in and impressed. He's very calm when he plays. He's a very exciting prospect.
The favourites tag sits comfortably. It's been a collective drive for us.
Teams
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir
Toss
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has won the toss and opted to field against England at The Oval.