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CWC19: England beat South Africa by 104 runs in the Opener

London, May 31 - Opener Quinton de Kock's valiant 68 run effort and Rassie van der Dussen's half-century went in vain as South Africa succumbed at 207 runs in reply to… Read More

The Victory is more satisfying than normal says Eoin Morgan

England captain during Post match presentation ceremony - Delighted to be off and running in this tournament. It's more satisfying than normal. We were very good today, the wicket didn't allow us to execute our plan which is to try and score quite a considerable total, but I thought the maturity and smart cricket we played shows the effort we put in the last two years and the experience as well. 

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England beat South Africa by 104 runs in CWC19 Opener

England beat South Africa by 104 runs in the opening match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 at Oval on Thursday.

Brief Scores

  • England - 311/8 (50.0)
  • South Africa - 207-all out (39.5)
  • Player of the Match - Ben Stokes (England)

England - 87/1 in 15 Overs

England - 87/1 in 15 Overs

Jason Roy - 44*, Joe Root - 42*, Imran Tahir - 1/18

#SAvENG: South Africa opt to field in CWC19 opener

South Africa opt to field in CWC19 opener.

England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer

South Africa (Playing XI) - Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir

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Morgan embraces pressure of being favourites

Eoin Morgan promised England will not fold under the pressure of being World Cup favourites ahead of Thursday’s opener against South Africa. 

“We have spoken about it as a group, the level of expectation and the favourites tag is there for a reason,” he said.

“Over the last two years, particularly at home, we have been outstanding and that is the reason it is there.

“In past World Cups I have played in and some of the others have played in, we have gone with little expectation and not done that well. I would pick this position instead.

“There is a lot of belief within the dressing room. We are confident with our own game. The first game of any World Cup or Ashes feels different and that is natural.

Eng vs SA: Preview & Expected Playing XI

Hosts and hot favourites England will know this is their best chance to lift the crown for the first time, when they take on perennial underachievers South Africa in the World Cup opener at The Oval here on Thursday.

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London, May 31 - Opener Quinton de Kock's valiant 68 run effort and Rassie van der Dussen's half-century went in vain as South Africa succumbed at 207 runs in reply to England's 311 in the tournament opener of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 at the Kennington Oval here on Thursday.

Match Report


London, May 29 - Hosts and hot favourites England will know this is their best chance to lift the crown for the first time, when they take on perennial underachievers South Africa in the World Cup opener at The Oval here on Thursday.

England, who are still in search of their first trophy like South Africa, have risen from the ashes of their poor campaign in the showpiece last time, following that group-stage exit by ascending to the summit of the ICC ODI rankings.

Eoin Morgan's side boast of the most dominant batting unit in 50-over cricket and their bowling too oozes the firepower few teams can rival.

Such has been England's dominance that their 4-0 whitewash of Pakistan earlier this summer meant the Three Lions haven't lost a multi-game series for two-and-a-half years.

In the warm-up games, England faltered in their first outing losing to fellow title contenders Australia before chalking up an easy win over lesser lights Afghanistan. 

But other teams would very well know that these matches mean little when it comes to tournament proper where the English bat as deep as anyone with the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy boasting the highest strike-rates of any openers in ODI history to have posted more than 1,000 runs, yet still have the highest average of any pair topping the order in the competition. 

Joe Root is one of the world's best batters in all formats with skipper Morgan, in-form Jos Buttler, all-rounder Ben Stokes following him to lead a talent-laden cast of cricketers.

In men's ODI history, only 20 players have ever averaged over 25 with the bat at a strike-rate over 100. Four of them -- Buttler, Roy, Bairstow and Moeen Ali -- currently play for England.

England's bowling might not be as breathtaking as their batting, but with the inclusion of Jofra Archer -- who has just qualified to represent the team but was fast tracked into the fold -- their pace battery could make a considerable difference.

On flat decks, spinners could play a role and it is then that leggie Adil Rashid comes into the picture, having taken more wickets than any other bowler since the tournament's 2015 edition.

Talking about South Africa, the Proteas received a body blow on Tuesday as pace spearhead Dale Steyn was ruled out for the first game with a shoulder injury.

South Africa, always considered one of the favourites, have also had injury concerns over their two other main strike bowlers, Lungi Ngidi (side) and Kagiso Rabada (back), though both played in the warm-up win over Sri Lanka last week.

Branded as 'chokers' due to their failure to make the final despite making the knockouts of every edition they have participated in -- barring 2003 when they were also the hosts -- the Faf Du Plessis-led side this time have one of the best bowling units of the tournaments but lack depth in their batting.

In pacer Rabada, South Africa have one of the best in the business and the wily old fox Imran Tahir also adds variety with his deadly leg-spin.

As far as their batting is concerned, Du Plessis will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility along with stumper batsman Quinton de Kock. Hashim Amla's international career appears to be winding down as this could be his last World Cup.

Rassie van der Dussen has had a terrific rookie year so far, with four half-centuries in his first eight ODI innings. Aiden Markram, 24, has already captained South Africa, and 23-year-old Andile Phehlukwayo adds value in more ways than one, with his all-round capabilities.

Overall, many experts have said this will be the most exciting World Cup in recent times with each of the ten teams playing each other in a marathon round robin format. Besides England, Virat Kohli's India and Aaron Finch's Australia are the other favourites with West Indies and New Zealand tipped as the dark horses.

There will be considerable focus on Steve Smith and David Warner as the pair are making a comeback into international cricket since their ball tampering scandal in Cape Town last year. Former Aussie skipper Smith was booed during a warm up game and this could be the norm as they look for their sixth title.

Kohli's India, boasting of perhaps the best bowling attack in the tournament with Jasprit Bumrah in their ranks, are also expected to fire on all cylinders with the hype they have brought along. Arguably the best batsman of his generation, 31-year old Kohli will also look to make this World Cup his own by racking up runs.

Former captain M.S. Dhoni could be playing his last World Cup but at 37, he showed no signs of ageing in the warm-up game against Bangladesh by scoring a brilliant century (113 of 78).

With run fests expected in every other game, there could be upsets along the way too as Afghanistan showed by beating Pakistan in the first warm-up. 

The Windies posted a total of more than 400 against New Zealand, in a game where more than 750 runs were scored in less than 100 overs.

This will also be a World Cup where many first timers like Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan and Bumrah, who have already made a name for themselves, will want to make it count. 

Unfancied Pakistan, who have done precious little since their 2017 Champions Trophy win, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will look to shrug aside the tag and over perform. Debutants Afghanistan have nothing to lose and will be expected to express themselves freely.


IANS

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