Well, well, what a start that was then. That England beat South Africa at The Oval yesterday was not a major surprise, after all the hosts are strong favourites to win the tournament, but the manner of the victory was more impressive than the eventual margin might suggest. Yes, their opponents were a little undercooked coming into the tournament and yes, they were missing Dale Steyn, but even so, England can be very pleased with their day's work in South London. More than once Eoin Morgan's team found themselves in less than ideal position, but each time they managed to respond in style.
Highlights from yesterday, skip to 4'20" for the extraordinary Stokes catch.
Following the loss of Jonny Bairstow to the second ball of the tournament there was no panic, no clatter of wickets, but neither did England withdraw into their shells. Instead, Jason Roy and Joe Root took an over or two to steady the ship and then embarked on a well-paced century partnership to put the home side back in control. When the two JR's fell in quick succession here then was another moment that England sides of the past might have failed to deal with, but once again the response was solid. This time it was Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes who were able to rattle up a ton between them. As more wickets tumbled towards the end of the innings another chance for England to lose their heads was sidestepped. By now the batsmen had assessed the pitch, three hundred, it was decided would be a decent score, and so Stokes and the tail safely guided England to what would prove to be a defendable total.
However, it was in the field that England looked imperious. Jofra Archer was superb, his pace and aggression were good for three wickets that made recent discussions surrounding his inclusion in the squad look naive and foolish. Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali all chipped in with wickets too but it was Ben Stokes who epitomised this England performance. Bristling from his cool-headed 89 with the bat, Stokes took the final two wickets of the innings, produced an excellent bit of fielding to prompt a run-out and claimed two catches, the second of which nearly broke the internet.
In short, it was a performance from Stokes that has been lacking in recent months. He never quite hit his straps in the IPL earlier this year and it is hard not to trace his (relative) decline back to those events outside a Bristol nightclub in September 2017. It's true there have been some good performances since then but this is the first time I can remember him being the heartbeat of the team since that night. England has managed to rise to number one in the one-day rankings with Stokes either missing or playing at only 50% of his potential. If yesterday is anything to go by then the rest of the teams at this year's World Cup had better watch out. It is time to unleash the power of a fully operational England one-day side.
Cricket World Cup Betting
A good start to the tournament for me yesterday with England running out comfortable winners against South Africa. It was a result that did nothing to change my mind that anyone wanting to stop the hosts will have to put up a very special performance indeed.
Today in game two I am backing Pakistan to overcome the West Indies. I quite fancy the Windies to do well in this World Cup, just not quite as well as Pakistan when the dust settles on the round-robin-stage. No doubt that Jason Holder's side will pick up wins but I fancy Pakistan here thanks to their better preparation on English soil. Even though they lost the recent one day series against England 4-0, they managed to rack up some decent scores and are one of those teams that do better than you expect them to at major tournaments.
Starting pot: £50
Pending: £3
Winnings: £1.44
Balance: £47.44
