England defeat South Africa by 104 runs to begin World Cup campaign on a strong note

[Suleiman]

What captaincy. Let’s see how SAF do in a WC with little to no expectations

 

[ARK Rafay]

Morgan and Buttler wickets for cheap and England won't get away with a big total

 

[Mueez]

Tahir strikes.

Shrewd captaincy by Faf Du Plessis.

 

[hassan747]

Come on Saffers!

 

[RamLakhan]

Good start by SA, but poor streaming by Hotstar so far

 

[MMHS]

Just brilliant for Faf - he summed up England batting perfectly.

 

[jnaveen1980]

CSK player using fellow CSK player in a very very CSK way !!

 

[Rana]

Bairstow is now going to unleash against Pakistan on Monday

 

[jnaveen1980]

This is straight out of Dhoni's book. Having been with Dhoni for so long in the IPL, these kind of weird moves can come only to him lol

 

[hassan747]

England have been getting way too big for their boots. Really hope they malfunction in the world cup.

 

[Rana]

What a magical move
Now all teams will throw leg spinner first at England

Bet Sarfaraz still dishes up Imad against Roy

 

[Amirforpresident]

so are we going to start with Hafeez tomorrow keeping in mind both their openers are left handed?

 

[Afhan Ali]

Bairstow is now going to unleash against Pakistan on Monday

Yes I think he will smash our bowlers

 

[Markhor]

Ngidi could be handful here with a bit of grass on the pitch. Oval offers good bounce too.

 

[Ahmed216]

The challenge for england is to continue playing in the same manner in this pressure cooker WC

 

[Nikhil_cric]

What a start to the World Cup. Tahir Bhai you beauty. Now they need to get rid of Morgs and the Freak quickly.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

We should open with shadab against England.

Shadab is not good enough like Tahir.

You have to hit the right spots.

 

[Markhor]

Bet Sarfaraz still dishes up Imad against Roy

Copying the ploy is one thing but neither Imad or Shadab have the class of Tahir.

 

[jnaveen1980]

That was such a wonderful over. It is not like he fluked a wicket. Every single ball looked like taking a wicket. If you are nervous watch out. Tahir is such a wily campaigner.

 

[Hawkeye]

England will bottle and choke as always.

No matter how good their form, they can't win this cup.

Mark my words.

 

[ARK Rafay]

so are we going to start with Hafeez tomorrow keeping in mind both their openers are left handed?

Uh no. Bairstow is right handed

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Saffas look relaxed, I have to say.

 

[DHONI183]

England vs South Africa | 1st match | World Cup | The Oval | May 30, 2019 | Match Thread

Roy to get a hundred here. Mark my words!

 

[Amirforpresident]

Uh no. Bairstow is right handed

We are playing WI tomorrow

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pacers might go for runs. It is not offering them anything.

 

[Rana]

Copying the ploy is one thing but neither Imad or Shadab have the class of Tahir.

True, but this is a world cup, you will see many greats and legends out of sorts when the moment arrives. Any other Bilateral you may have seen Bairstow not acting so tentatively.

Remember, Faf used Tahir for Jason Roy. Bairstow wicket was just a massive bonus

 

[Markhor]

That'll help settle the anxiety in the dressing room. England need to get through the early phase.

10:30AM starts in England can be tricky for batting sides.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Great start. England look shaken.

 

[jnaveen1980]

A bowler like Tahir is like a gold. He is in such good form at this age.

 

[Zeshan547]

England already feeling the heat,,

 

[Dr_Bassim]

England will bottle and choke as always.

No matter how good their form, they can't win this cup.

Mark my words.

You cant predict anything after 2 balls.

 

[ARK Rafay]

A bowler like Tahir is like a gold. He is in such good form at this age.

And most importantly he's someone if you ask will say give me the ball captain I'll take you a wicket. Which I find none in current Pakistani WC squad

 

[Rana]

Pointless second over

 

[sindhiboy]

really hope this is not a high scoring match. jason roy has improved against spin alot

 

[Markhor]

This is why I don't buy the Jason Roy for Tests argument. Pushes at the ball with hard hands.

 

[Rana]

Has Ngidi lost pace or was he always a 82-84 mph bowler?

 

[szundercover]

Shadab is not good enough like Tahir.

You have to hit the right spots.

We should trust him and if it pays off then it will be a massive bonus.

 

[Rana]

Root looking in form.

Ngidi looks trash!

 

[sindhiboy]

roy is struggling against ngidi

 

[IAJ]

No pace at all

 

[Malik-01]

Why is it not in 4K????!!

 

[Dr_Bassim]

We should trust him and if it pays off then it will be a massive bonus.

And if it doesnt England will be 50 in 5 overs.

 

[szundercover]

Root looking in form.

Ngidi looks trash!

He just came back after injury.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Why is it not in 4K????!!

Foxtel 4k

 

[Hawkeye]

You cant predict anything after 2 balls.

I just did, and you won't see Eng lift the cup.

 

[jnaveen1980]

And most importantly he's someone if you ask will say give me the ball captain I'll take you a wicket. Which I find none in current Pakistani WC squad

He is relishing his cricket at this age. Such a bundle of energy. He can be infectious.

 

[jnaveen1980]

They have shaved teh grass for England lol

 

[szundercover]

And if it doesnt England will be 50 in 5 overs.

We have gone with that by using our pacers we might as well try something different.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Bad move to bowl ngidi after tahir's first over,Rabada would have been a much better choice

 

[Rana]

They have shaved teh grass for England lol

That will be the case throughout the world cup.

All other teams struggling to post 270-300

 

[jnaveen1980]

Amla missed it.

 

[Mueez]

I wish Sarfraz was as aggressive as Faf, man Sarfraz used to be in his early captaincy days...

 

[sindhiboy]

the value of root is now showing

 

[jnaveen1980]

Bad move to bowl ngidi after tahir's first over,Rabada would have been a much better choice

In the practice game Ngidi looked much better than Rabada.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Never rated Ngidi.

 

[Imran Hasan]

Its gonna another 350 plus runs innings from England.

 

[Darkness]

I really thought that england might just slow down a bit after wicket in first over lol

 

[Rana]

Wow this Ngidi guy is overrated!

 

[Dr_Bassim]

I just did, and you won't see Eng lift the cup.

What I meant to say, it wont be a choke.

They are 2 other teams who are as good as England, if not slightly better.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I really thought that england might just slow down a bit after wicket in first over lol

This is a batting paradise. Even if you want to be quiet pitch won't allow a team like England to be quiet.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Phehlukwayo is another trundler,only in the team coz of quota.350+for england

 

[jnaveen1980]

Bowlers are not getting any movement. You need to take the pace off the ball and use other variations.

 

[Suleiman]

Phehlukwayo is another trundler,only in the team coz of quota.350+for england

Yep, quota and Kolpak will cost SAF.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Phehlukwayo is another trundler,only in the team coz of quota.350+for england

Wait and watch he could be more effective than you think. Change ups will play a big role in these kind of pitches.

 

[szundercover]

Phehlukwayo is another trundler,only in the team coz of quota.350+for england

Lol this trundler was the Highest wicket taker against us in the odi series.

 

[jnaveen1980]

KAGISO RABDA !!!! come on man

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Phehlukwayo is another trundler,only in the team coz of quota.350+for england

Yep, quota and Kolpak will cost SAF.

I've seen some amazing things from him with the bat. Great finisher and actually reminds me of Klusener.

 

[sindhiboy]

i have a feeling roy will smash rabada

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pitch is mhe for fast bowlers. Ball is coming down gun barrell straight.

 

[Mueez]

Rabada’s action is so smooth.

Pleasing to the eye.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Don't bowl full to these guys. Will punish you very badly. Just keep it just short of a length

 

[cricketkashmir]

This is where England is so good now. They attack, no matter what, not allowing the opposition to dominate. Other teams would have easily gone into a shell trying to keep wickets in hand

 

[Hawkeye]

What I meant to say, it wont be a choke.

They are 2 other teams who are as good as England, if not slightly better.

How would you define a choke?

 

[jnaveen1980]

This is where England is so good now. They attack, no matter what, not allowing the opposition to dominate. Other teams would have easily gone into a shell trying to keep wickets in hand

Because they have depth in their line up. If their batting stops at 7 like it is for India they will play conservatively too.

 

[sindhiboy]

good comeback from rabada

 

[Markhor]

Rabada should've opened with Tahir.

 

[RehanG]

I really thought that england might just slow down a bit after wicket in first over lol

Its England not Pakistan, we would have been doing damage control for the next 25 overs.

 

[Hawkeye]

I've seen some amazing things from him with the bat. Great finisher and actually reminds me of Klusener.

Do you and people in SA think SA can win the cup?

 

[Rana]

Hassan Ali watch and learn!

90MPH on the money inswingers by Rabada

 

[MMHS]

What is per today - 375? That Roy push is scary sight for bowlers ... any type. It's a road with outfield like racing tracks and boundaries are short.