Highlights: Ben Stokes starred in all departments as England began their quest to win the World Cup with a 104-run thrashing of South Africa in the tournament opener at the Oval on Thursday. The all-rounder top-scored with 89 in England’s 311 for eight, held a brilliant catch in the outfield and took two for 12, including the last wicket, as England won with 61 balls left. South Africa were bowled out for 207 runs.

Follow England vs South Africa highlights here:

22:13 hrs IST England win by 104 runs Stokes induces an edge from Tahir and Root takes a simple catch at first slip. South Africa are bowled out for 207 runs and lose the match by 104 runs.





22:03 hrs IST Stokes dismisses Rabada Rabada pulls a delivery from Stokes to Plunkett and gets out for 11 runs. South Africa lose their ninth wicket for 207 runs.





21:56 hrs IST Amla goes for 13 runs Amla nicks a delivery off Plunkett and goes for 13 runs. England are hitting the final nails on the coffin as they pick up South Africa’s eighth wicket.





21:53 hrs IST Morgan tries to do a Stokes Rabada smacks a delivery off Stokes and Morgan leaps in the air to get to the ball. However, he isn’t as good Stokes as the ball sails over him. South Africa: 193/7 in 38 overs.





21:40 hrs IST Stokes takes a spectacular catch to dismiss Phehlukwayo Phehlukwayo sweeps a delivery from Rashid, Stokes runs backwards, jumps and holds on to a catch with one hand! The South African goes for 24 as the team is reduced to 180/7.





21:34 hrs IST Phehlukwayo keeps SA in the game Phehlukwayo tucks a delivery from Archer to the fine-leg boundary. South Africa need 132 runs from 16 overs with Amla at the crease.





21:26 hrs IST Van der Dussen departs for 50 runs Van der Dussen goes for a big shot and presents a simple catch to Moeen Ali. He departs for 50 runs. Is this game, set and match for South Africa? The Proteas move to 167/6 in 31.5 overs.





21:22 hrs IST Fifty for Dussen Rassie van der Dussen completes his half-century and he has held the innings from one end very well. He needs someone to bat on the side in order for the Proteas to recover after the loss off five wickets. Dussen has hit four boundaries and one six thus far.





21:15 hrs IST Four and four Phehlukwayo and Dussen hit one four each off Moeen as the Englishman concede 10 runs in the over. The Proteas need a big partnership here if they are to get anywhere close to the England target.





21:07 hrs IST Pretorius run out Pretorius and Van der Dussen misjudge a second run and in the process Stokes gets the former run out. This is going from bad to worse for the Proteas.





20:58 hrs IST Duminy falls for eight runs Duminy tries to clear long-off, but presents a catch to Stokes. The South African batting line-up is falling apart here. SA: 142/4 in 25.5 overs.





20:50 hrs IST De Kock goes goes for 68 runs De Kock swats a delivery from Plunkett, but the ball goes straight to Root in the square leg area. South Africa: 129/3 in 23 overs.





20:40 hrs IST De Kock and Van der Dussen take SA past 100 De Kock and Van der Dussen have strung a decent partnership of 65 from 69 balls. South Africa move to 109/2 in 21 overs.





20:29 hrs IST De Kock scores half-century De Kock clips the ball on the off-side and brings up his fifty off 58 balls. The South African has fought the storm brilliantly and now he has to start batting at a quicker rate.





20:16 hrs IST De Kock nears fifty De Kock strikes a delivery from Rashid on the leg side and picks up two runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman moves to 42 runs from 48 balls.





20:07 hrs IST De Kock survives a scare De Kock fails to get hold of a delivery from Rashid and the ball hits the stumps. But fortunately for the South African, the bails don’t fall off. South Africa: 51/2 in 11 overs.





20:00 hrs IST Du Plessis departs for five runs Du Plessis top-edges a delivery from Archer and gets out for just five runs. That’s a big blow for the Proteas and the English players know it! South Africa: 44/2 in 9.3 overs.





19:49 hrs IST Markram departs for 11 runs Just when Markram was looking to open his arms, he nicks a delivery off Archer and gets out for 11 runs. South Africa: 36/1 in 7.4 overs.





19:42 hrs IST South Africa reach 26/0 in 6 overs Quinton de Kock has played a fluent innings so far as South Africa reach 26/0 in 6 overs. The wicketkeeper-batsman has to make this start count for South Africa.





19:35 hrs IST Hashim Amla walks off the field Archer bowls a short ball and Amla misses the delivery. The ball hits the grill of the South African’s helmet and Amla looks in distress. After checking out a few other helmet options presented to him, he decides to walk off the field. Markram joins De Kock in the middle.





19:25 hrs IST Streaky boundary by De Kock De Kock slashes at a delivery from Woakes and the ball runs away to the third man boundary. South Africa: 10/0 in 2.5 overs.





19:18 hrs IST Woakes starts brilliantly Eangland’s fast bowler Woakes gets his team off to a good start. He concedes just two runs in the first over. Amla and De Kock’s stand will be the key for South Africa.





18:45 hrs IST Innings over Kagiso Rabada concedes 11 runs in the over as England finish at 311/8 in 50 overs. Ben Stokes was the pick of the batsmen for England as he scored 89. Jason Roy, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan slammed respective half-centuries for the Three Lions to help them to this score. As for the Proteas, Lungi Ngidi scalped 3 while Imran Tahir and Kagiso Rabada scalped two wicket each.





18:39 hrs IST Stokes departs for 89 Ben Stokes’ excellent innings finally comes to an end as he departs for 89. The southpaw hits the ball into the hands of Hashim Amla, who was fielding at gully. England lose their eight wicket and we have just one over left to be bowled in the innings.





18:33 hrs IST Rabada strikes Kagiso Rabada picks his second wicket of the night as he gets rid of Chris Woakes for 13. The right hander hits the ball straight down the fielder at extra cover, where du Plessis took an easy catch. England are seven down now. Ben Stokes needs to up the ante in the final few overs of the innings.





18:27 hrs IST Phehlukwayo’s long over ends Andile Phehlukwayo bowls three wides and his over finally comes to an end. On the last ball, the South Africans appealed for a caught and bowled but the replayed showed that the ball had landed ahead of the bowled before he completed the catch. Woakes survived on 13 as Phehlukwayo gives away 9 runs in his over.





18:20 hrs IST Good over for England Chris Woakes hits Kagiso Rabada for a boundary towards backward point and the South African pacer didn’t like that at all. 10 runs came from that over from Rabada as England are looking for a strong finish to their innings.





18:15 hrs IST Five overs left South Africa will be very pleased with what they have done in the innings so far. They have kept the England batsman relatively quiet. Yes there have been four half-centurions, but none of them scored runs at the speed of knots. Stokes remains the key for England in these last few overs.





18:09 hrs IST Excellent catch from du Plessis Moeen Ali hit the ball towards long on and Faf du Plessis ran full length to his left and took a brilliant diving catch. Ali departs for 3 as England lose their sixth wicket. Proteas are doing well to take wickets at regular intervals.





18:04 hrs IST Time to cut loose? Seven over left in the innings and maybe, just maybe it is time for the two English batsmen to cut loose. At this rate England will reach closer to the magical 300 figure mark. But they would want to go past even further.





17:57 hrs IST Buttler dismissed Jos Buttler tried to play the pull shot but ended up inside edging the ball on to the stumps. Lungi Ngidi picks his first wicket of the day as Buttler departs for 18. England have lost their fifth wicket.





17:52 hrs IST Stokes keeps scoreboard ticking Short and wide from Tahir and Stokes cuts the ball past the point fielder for a boundary. Seventh four of the innings for the southpaw as he continues to lead England’s charge in the innings. Stokes and Buttler have put together 29 runs off 25 deliveries. 9 overs left to be played in the innings.





17:45 hrs IST Good over from Tahir Imran Tahir keeps things tight and bowls a five-run over. He has given just 43 runs in 8 overs and also scalped couple of wickets so far in the innings. 11 overs left in the innings and Proteas will want England to score less than 300.





17:40 hrs IST Close shave for Stokes In trying to take a cheeky single, Ben Stokes almost lost his wicket but Aiden Markram misses the stumps from close range at point. 5 runs came from the over from Rabada as Proteas look to put even more pressure on the hosts.





17:33 hrs IST Morgan departs Imran Tahir picks his second wicket of the day as he gets rid of danger man Eoin Morgan for 57. The southpaw hit the ball down the ground where Aiden Markram took a brilliant diving catch to sent the England skipper back. Jos Buttler joins Ben Stokes in the middle now.





17:26 hrs IST 200 up for England Ben Stokes tried to hit the ball out of the orbit but ended up edging it for a boundary past the keeper. 8 runs came from the over from Phehlukwayo as England go past the 200-run mark in 35 overs.





17:18 hrs IST Fifty for Morgan Eoin Morgan completes his half-century off as many deliveries as he is leading England’s charge in the match. He has hit four boundaries and three sixes thus far and is looking increasingly dangerous with every passing over. His wicket remains the key for the Proteas.





17:13 hrs IST Four and Six Wide delivery from Rabada and Stokes cuts the ball towards extra cover from a boundary. Couple of balls later, Morgan hits the ball over mid wicket for a huge six. His third of the innings. England are edging closer the 200-run mark,





17:08 hrs IST Tidy over from Phehlukwayo Andile Phehlukwayo almost bowls a maiden over but ruins it by bowling a wide. He managed to keep Morgan quiet in the over, who has looked in good touch thus far in his short stay at the crease.





17:02 hrs IST Fifty-run stand Ben Stokes hits his first boundary of the innings through the covers off Imran Tahir. With that, the fifty-run partnership is also up between Morgan and Stokes. The duo have done well to help England recover after the fall of Root and Roy and quick succession.





16:56 hrs IST Morgan leading from the front Eoin Morgan has hit 35 off 26 deliveries and his innings means England have recovered well after the loss of two quick wickets. So far, Morgan has hit three boundaries and two massive sixes and his strike rate reads almost 135.





16:51 hrs IST Six and Six Eoin Morgan hits back to back sixes off Lungi Ngidi and with that, the England skipper has notched up his 7000 runs in ODIs. He becomes the 17th fastest to reach this milestone as completes his in his 208th innings. England look to get a move on after two quick wickets.





16:45 hrs IST Morgan breaks the shackles Eoin Morgan hits his second boundary of the innings off Kagiso Rabada. A stunning straight drive from the southpaw relives some of the pressure on the batsmen. England need these two play most over in the middle overs.





16:40 hrs IST Morgan, Stokes dealing in singles Since the wicket of Root, four overs have been bowled and South African haven’t conceded a single boundary. Morgan and Stokes seem to contend with taking singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard ticking. Another wicket here and England will really be in trouble.





16:33 hrs IST England need a partnership Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes will have to do it all over again after England have lost the wickets of two set batsmen. Jason Roy and Joe Root were batting really well but in a span of two overs, things have changed spectacularly for the hosts.





16:28 hrs IST Root falls as well! South African pacers have turned the match around spectacularly as Kagiso Rabada now gets rid of Joe Root for 51. The batsman hits the ball straight into the hands of Duminy at point. England are three now as two new batsmen are at the crease now.





16:24 hrs IST Roy departs! In trying to hit a boundary too many, Jason Roy top edges a Phehlukwayo delivery in the air and skipper du Plessis take an easy catch at mid-off. Roy departs for 54 as England lose their second wicket of the innings.





16:19 hrs IST Root goes past 50 After Jason Roy, Joe Root now brings up his half-century off 56 deliveries. The partnership between these two have also crossed the 100-run mark. South Africa need to break this stand in order to stop the flow of runs. Root has hit five boundaries in the innings thus far and will for more of the same.





16:13 hrs IST England cross 100 Jason Roy brings up his half-century off just 51 deliveries and he has gotten his World Cup campaign on a positive note. With that, England have also crossed the 100-run mark in the 17th over. South Africa need wickets to stop the flow of runs.





16:07 hrs IST England near 100 Roy thumps Pretorius for a glorious boundary down the ground as the bowled concedes 9 runs from his over. England are moving all guns blazing towards the 100-run mark and the two batsmen are on the verge of notching their respective half-centuries.





16:02 hrs IST Good start for Phehlukwayo Andile Phehlukwayo stems the flow of runs as he bowls a boundary-less first over. He gave away just four singles as England batsmen looked a bit shaky in his over. South Africa need more of such over from their bowlers to keep things tight.





15:56 hrs IST No stopping boundaries 11th four of the innings for England as Jason Roy plays an outrageous pull shot for a boundary towards deep mid wicket off Kagiso Rabada. Since the dismissal of Bairstow in the first over, Roy has hit 6 boundaries while Root has slammed 5.Seven runs came from the over of Rabada.





15:52 hrs IST Another boundary for Roy Short delivery from Pretorious and Roy pulls the ball hard towards mid wicket for a boundary. Fifth four of the innings for Roy, same as Root. Overall, Pretorius bowled a good over as apart from that boundary, he bowled five dot deliveries.





15:48 hrs IST Rabada can’t find his line Joe Root hits the perfect on drive after Kagiso Rabada bowled full. The ball raced away past the mid-on fielder for a boundary as Root notches up his fifth boundary in the innings. England are scoring runs at a good pace as South African pacers have failed to put on the pressure after Tahir’s first over wicket.





15:44 hrs IST Pretorius starts steady Dwaine Pretorius bowls a five-run over in his first over of the innings. He stopped the flow of boundaries, which wasn’t allowing South Africa to build pressure on the batsmen. South Africa need to break this partnership to stop the flow of runs.





15:40 hrs IST England cross 50 Kagiso Rabada drops the ball short and Joe Root pulls it for a boundary towards mid-wicket. Lungi Ngidi tried to stop it with his foot but failed to do so on the boundary ropes. With that boundary, England have crossed the 50-run mark.





15:35 hrs IST Ngidi struggling with his line Lungi Ngidi has failed to pick his line so far in the innings and that has resulted in him going for runs. He bowls a slower one, wide of the off stumps and Roy hits him for his fourth boundary of the innings. Ngidi concedes 6 runs from the over.





15:31 hrs IST Rabada starts steady Kagiso Rabada replaced Imran Tahir into the attack and he was hit for a boundary straight down the ground to start the over. But the South African pacer hit back strongly in the over and bowled five dots to keep things tight.





15:27 hrs IST Ngidi goes for runs as well England have recovered well after the early blow as Root and Roy have already put together 38 runs off 34 deliveries. Jason Roy hit his second boundary over the innings as Ngidi gives away 10 runs in the over. The hosts are picking up good momentum.





15:23 hrs IST Expensive over from Tahir Imran Tahir misses his line in the over and it costs him 13 runs off 6 deliveries. He bowled short and wide first delivery and Jason Roy hit the ball through the cover for his first four of the innings. Root then swept the fourth ball of the over for a boundary towards square leg after a mis-field from Hashim Amla at short fine leg.





15:20 hrs IST Root looking good Confident start for Joe Root in the match as he hits his second boundary of the innings off Lungi Ngidi. The fast-bowler bowled on the pads of the batsman and Root flicked the ball for a boundary. 5 runs off the over from Ngidi as England are looking to stitch a partnership here.





15:15 hrs IST Tahir keeps things tight Imran Tahir gives away just four singles in his second over to keep things tight for the Proteas. So far, the decision to hand him the new ball has worked wonders for Faf du Plessis and he would want Tahir to continue in the same vein for couple of overs more.





15:10 hrs IST First four of the innings Lungi Ngidi bowls full and wide and Joe Root leans into the drive for the first boundary of the innings towards the cover region. 6 runs came from the second over from Ngidi as England look to forget the wicket in first over and move on. Imran Tahir comes to bowl his second over now.





15:04 hrs IST Bairstow departs for 0 Excellent start for South Africa as they have gotten the prized scalp of Jonny Bairstow in the first over itself. Imran Tahir bowls a regular leg spinning delivery and Bairstow edges the ball into the hands of the keeper. The right-hander departs for a golden duck as Tahir is running all around the ground, celebrating his first wicket of the tournament. Stat attack: Regarding Bairstow’s duck - First of 2019, 4th of his career, 1st vs South Africa, 1st in England





14:57 IST Openers eye good start England openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow will be looking to make a bright start in this titanic contest while as for South Africa, they will look up to their premier pacer Kagiso Rabada for few early wickets. Wait folks, Imran Tahir is opening the bowling for Proteas. Interesting pick this from skipper Faf du Plessis.





14:50 hrs IST National anthem time The players are making their way into the middle for the respective national anthems of the two teams. The jam-packed Oval will sing the songs of the two teams to begin the much-awaited World Cup. The atmosphere at the venue is unbelievable with fans covered in blue and green of their respective nations.





14:42 hrs IST Playing XIs South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid The teams for today!



🏴𠁧𠁢𠁥𠁮𠁧𠁿 #WeAreEngland

🇿🇦 #ProteaFire



FOLLOW #ENGvSA LIVE ⬇️ https://t.co/nH52002J64 pic.twitter.com/Keg5F3GHvl — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 30, 2019





14:33 hrs IST Toss update South Africa have won the toss and opted to bowl first against England in the World Cup opener. England captain Eoin Morgan concedes that he was also looking to bowl first considering the conditions.





14:25 hrs IST Predicted XIs England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (WK), Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis (C), JP Duminy, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi





14:20 hrs IST Toss soon The toss for the first match of the tournament will take place at 2:30 PM IST at the Oval. It will have a huge bearing on the result of the match. Both the teams will look to bat first and set a huge score for the other to chase.





14:15 hrs IST Top player battles Roy vs Rabada: The hard-hitting opening batsman Jason Roy will have to be careful when he is up against Kagiso Rabada in the World Cup opener. The English batter has scored just 31 runs off 50 balls against the pacer in ODIs and Rabada has dismissed Roy three times. The South African fast bowler will be surely looking to send Roy packing early on in his innings. Root vs Tahir: Joe Root will be fancying his chances against Imran Tahir as he has a good record against the leg-spinner. The anchor in the English line-up has scored 82 runs off 84 balls against Tahir, while he has been dismissed once by the South African in ODIs.





14:07 hrs IST Amla on the verge of record in opener Hashim Amla is just 90 runs away from becoming the fourth South African to score 8000 ODI runs after Jacques Kallis (11550), AB de Villiers (9427) and Herschelle Gibbs (8094). If Amla manages to achieve this feat against England, he will go past India skipper Virat Kohli and take the top spot in the list of fastest to 8000 ODI runs. Kohli managed this feat in 175 innings, while Amla has played 171 innings thus far. So, if he goes past this mark on Thursday, Amla will better Kohli’s record by three innings. Amla also holds the record for being the fastest ever to 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 ODI runs.





14:00 hrs IST Best way to start for South Africa? “I heard somewhere that my two very good friends Broad and Anderson have said that England will have to do something really bad not to win this World Cup. As far as they are concerned England have won it already. To play the hosts, the number one team, is the best way to start, because it gives us a real sense of where we are and what we need to do going forward. But you don’t have to be number one to win the tournament and sometimes you can win the tournament and you don’t even go to number one,” South Africa coach Ottis Gibson was quoted as saying ahead of the opener.





13:50 hrs IST ‘World class’ players power England’s hopes “It’s an exciting feeling being in this team as you have world-class players all around you and the opposition might get 370, but there’s a belief in the dressing room we can chase it down. There is no hesitation or someone going ‘I don’t know about this’. We all have that belief and confidence we can do it,” added Rashid, whose ability to take wickets at key stages has also been an important part of England’s white-ball revival. We will hopefully stick to what we’ve been doing the past four years and hopefully the World Cup will work out well for us,” England spinner Adil Rashid was quoted as saying before the opener.





13:41 hrs IST Hosts’ batting prowess Batting has been the basis of England’s ODI rejuvenation, with Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Morgan and the dynamic Jos Buttler among a top seven who can all change the course of an innings in the blink of an eye. They are also being touted as the first team to go past the 500-run mark in ODI and they seem to be well equipped to do so in the World Cup itself. Are you Team #EoinMorgan or Team #FafDuPlessis today? 🙌 #CWC19 #ENGvSA #ProteaFire #WeAreEngland pic.twitter.com/FeUtinvGJe — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 30, 2019





13:32 hrs IST England eye redemption So embarrassing was England’s first-round exit at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand it prompted a major rethink of their attitude to the white-ball game. The transformation has been remarkable, with Eoin Morgan’s men climbing to the top of the one-day international rankings and twice setting a new record for the highest one-day international total, which now stands at 481 for six.





13:22 hrs IST England billed as heavy favourites Turning to England, who have risen to the top of the ODI rankings since their first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup, Kallis said: “It has been unbelievable -- where they have come from four years ago to now is incredible. They come in as favourites and the guys all know their roles, but they have the pressure of being at home as well so that may hang round their neck.”





13:11 hrs IST South Africa - WC Dark horse? Jacques Kallis believes South Africa can play “without any pressure” as they look to put repeated disappointments behind them at the World Cup. “The results they have over the last few years haven’t been as good as they would have liked maybe but this is a great place for them to be (not being talked about). Coming here without any pressure round their neck, they can play with freedom -- South Africa are my dark horse side,” he told reporters at the tournament opening ceremony in London on Wednesday. Thinking of my Protea friends today! Big day. I believe the boys are ready. Let’s get behind our team #ProteaFire @OfficialCSA @cricketworldcup — AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) May 30, 2019





13:00 hrs IST Captains meet English royalty Before the first match, Virat Kohli (India captain), Eoin Morgan (England captain), Aaron Finch (Australia captain), Faf du Plessis (South Africa captain), Sarfraz Ahmed (Pakistan captain), Kane Williamson (New Zealand captain), Jason Holder (West Indies captain), Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka captain), Masrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh captain), and Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan captain) met the Queen and Prince Harry at the Buckingham Palace in Central London on Wednesday.





12:40 hrs IST Dale Steyn injury Faf du Plessis agreed that Dale Steyn’s absence will be a major for South Africa in the first match against England. “Yeah, it is a big loss to our team. We did expect it when we picked the squad. He wasn’t quite - probably about 60 per cent when the squad was picked; so we anticipated for this to happen,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted Du Plessis as saying.





12:16 hrs IST What the captains said Faf du Plessis: “Whether we come into this tournament as favourites or as underdogs, you still have to go out on the park and play cricket and perform to win a World Cup.” Eoin Morgan: “It would mean a huge amount. The World Cup alone raises the profile of the game and is a platform for every young kid in this country to have a hero or have the inspiration to pick up a ball or a bat.”



