The 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup has begun on Thursday (30th May). On the opening day of the tournament, the host side England beat South Africa by 104 runs at The Oval (London).
After winning the toss, South African captain Faf du Plessis decided to field first. England managed to score 311/8 at the end of 50 overs. In reply, South Africa was bundled out for just 207 runs (39.5 overs).
Brief Scores: England – 311/8 in 50 overs (Ben Stokes 89, Eoin Morgan 57; Lungi Ngidi 3/66)
South Africa – 207 in 39.5 overs (Quinton de Kock 68, Rassie van der Dussen 50; Jofra Archer 3/27)
Result – England won by 104 runs
Here are some of the statistical highlights of the match:
(Teams’ stats)
England
i) England lost their opening wicket on the second ball of the match as the opener Jonny Bairstow was caught behind for a golden duck. It was the first wicket of this Cricket World Cup
- It is the second fastest opening wicket fall in an edition of the Cricket World Cup. During the opening match of 1992 Cricket World Cup, New Zealand opener John Wright lost his wicket on the first legal delivery of the tournament.
ii) Four England batsmen scored 50+ runs in the first innings.
- It is the first time in Cricket World Cup history when more than three English batsmen scored 50+ runs in the same innings.
iii) England scored 311/8 in 50 overs.
- It is the highest total for England against South Africa in a Cricket World Cup match. Their previous record was 252/6 (45 overs) at Sydney on 22nd March 1992.
- It is the third highest ODI total for England against South Africa in England. Their top two records are 339/6 (50 overs) at Leeds on 24th May 2017 and 330/6 (50 overs) at Southampton on 27th May 2017.
iv) England won this match by 104 runs.
- It is the second largest ODI victory (by runs) for England against South Africa. Their record is winning by 126 runs at The Oval on 29th August 2008.
(Players’ stats)
Jonny Bairstow
i) English opening batsman Jonny Bairstow scored a golden duck.
- Jonny Bairstow is the fourth English opening batsman to score a golden duck in Cricket World Cup. Since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he becomes the first English opening batsman to claim this feat.
England openers who scored a golden duck in a Cricket World Cup match
| Player | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| Tim Robinson | Australia | Kolkata | 8th November 1987 |
| Graham Gooch | Zimbabwe | Albury | 18th March 1992 |
| Alec Stewart | South Africa | The Oval | 22nd May 1999 |
| Jonny Bairstow | South Africa | The Oval | 30th May 2019 |
Eoin Morgan
i) It was Eoin Morgan’s 200th ODI match for England.
- Eoin Morgan is the first cricketer to play 200 ODI matches for England.
Also Read: ICC World Cup 2019: We Have Been Outplayed In All Three Departments- Faf du Plessis
ii) By the end of this match, Eoin Morgan has scored 7,034 ODI runs.
- Eoin Morgan is the 12th left-handed batsman to score 7,000+ ODI runs.
Imran Tahir
i) South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir played this match at the age of 40 years and 64 days.
- Imran Tahir becomes the oldest player to represent South Africa in the Cricket World Cup. The previous record holder was Omar Henry, who played a CWC match for South Africa at the age of 40 years and 39 days.
ii) By the end of this match, Imran Tahir has picked up 31 wickets in Cricket World Cup.
- Imran Tahir is the joint second most wicket-taking South African bowler in Cricket World Cup history. He has equalled with Dale Steyn’s 31 wickets record in CWC history. Former Proteas pacer Allan Donald took the most wickets for this side in CWC history as he took 38 wickets in this tournament history.
Ben Stokes
i) English cricketer Ben Stokes scored 89 runs (79 balls) and also took two wickets (2/12) in this match. He also took two catches in this match.
- Ben Stokes is only the second player in Cricket World Cup history to score 75+ runs, took more than one wicket and also to take more than one catch in the same match. The first cricketer to achieve this rare feat in the CWC history was Aravinda de Silva (Sri Lanka) who scored 107* runs, took three wickets (3/42) and also took two catches against Australia at Lahore on 17th March 1996.
- Ben Stokes is the fourth England cricketer to score at least 75 runs and also to take at least two wickets in the same match of Cricket World Cup.
England players’ top all-round performances in Cricket World Cup history
| Player | Runs scored | Bowling figures | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| Graeme Hick | 85 | 2/45 | New Zealand | Ahmedabad | 14th February 1996 |
| Michael Vaughan | 79 | 3/39 | West Indies | Bridgetown | 21st April 2007 |
| Moeen Ali | 128 | 2/47 | Scotland | Christchurch | 23rd February 2015 |
| Ben Stokes | 89 | 2/12 | South Africa | The Oval | 30th May 2019 |