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A FIGHTING 89 from 79 balls from Ben Stokes and an excellent return of 3-27 from fast bowler Jofra Archer guided host nation and tournament favourites England to a resounding 104-run victory against South Africa in the World Cup opener at The Oval in London yesterday.

Jason Roy (54), Joe Root (51) and captain Eoin Morgan (57) all contributed half centuries but it was Stokes’ more substantial innings which allowed England to post a total of 311 for eight before Archer claimed two early wickets and forced Hashim Amla to retire hurt to apply immediate pressure.

Quinton de Kock enjoyed a moment of extraordinary luck on 25 when a googly from Adil Rashid clipped his leg stump firmly enough illuminate the bails – but not remove them.

The left hander went on to a top score of 68 from 74 balls but with the total on a promising 129 for two he heaved a leg side delivery from Liam Plunkett to Root at fine leg and the slide toward defeat had started. It wasn’t the only questionable piece of shot selection from the Proteas batsmen.

Aiden Markram (11) edged a loose drive against Archer to slip, captain Faf du Plessis (5) top-edged an Archer bouncer to fine leg and JP Duminy (8) tamely lofted offspinner Moeen Ali to long off.

Amla (13) spent 34 overs off the field undergoing concussion tests after a fierce Archer bouncer crashed into his helmet and the game was all but over when he returned to the crease at 167 for six.

Du Plessis sprung a surprise by giving the first over to Tahir after winning the toss and choosing to bowl first but the move paid immediate dividends when Jonny Bairstow edged the second delivery of the match into the gloves of De Kock.

Roy batted within his explosive capabilities and repaired the early damage with a stand of 106 with Root but both departed within three deliveries as South Africa’s bowlers fought back.

A slower ball from Andile Phehlukwayo persuaded Roy to mistime a pull and Root cut Rabada to Duminy at backward point.

Roy’s 54 came from 53 balls with eight fours – cautious by his standards – while Root required 59 deliveries for his 51 with just five boundaries.

Captain Eoin Morgan showed more intent with consecutive sixes off Lungi Ngidi in the 26th over but the paucity of loose deliveries and determined fielding made it impossible for him to maintain the tempo until a lofted drive to long off was superbly caught by a diving Markram.

At 247 for four with just under 10 overs to go the home side and tournament favourites were still well set for a total well in excess of 320 but Ngidi, who struggled to find the right length in his opening spell, struck twice to keep his team in the game.

A clever slower ball conned the world’s most destructive batsman, Jos Buttler, into an early pull shot which deflected from the bottom edge onto his stumps for 18 from 16 balls without a boundary.

Moeen Ali then lofted Ngidi to wide long on but Du Plessis, anticipating the trajectory and flight of the ball, ran early and took a wonderfully judged, diving catch just inside the boundary.

Ngidi added the wicket of Stokes in the penultimate over, reverse flicking to Hashim Amla at short third man, to finish with 3-66 while Tahir claimed 2-61 and Rabada 2-66. Phehlukwayo did an excellent job in the middle overs conceding just 44 runs from his eight overs.

“We are really satisfied with the way everything went today, we can’t have a bad word to say about anything,” said man of the match Stokes.

“Every man and his dog has has something to say about him in the build-up to the tournament so it was great to see the way he responded to the pressure. The future looks bright for him and England.”

“Nobody wants to lose but the better team won on the day and we have to learn from our mistakes and bounce back against Bangladesh on Sunday,” said Tahir. — SuperSport