England vs South Africa 2017: 1st ODI, 5 Talking Points

A collapse of the South African middle-order and a magnificent hundred from Eoin Morgan helped England overcome the Proteas by 72 runs in the first ODI at Leeds. Put in to bat, England rode on a Hales-Root partnership initially before Andile Phehlukwayo broke through with twin strikes.

Stokes and Buttler departed in the space of 10 balls and England looked like they would fall well short of 300. But Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali put on a riveting 117 run stand in 13 overs. Morgan raced to a fine 100, while Ali, after a shaky start, took England to 339 with some powerful strikes towards the end.

South Africa found their own stable pair at the top in Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis but like Hales and Root, the duo fell in quick succession to leave de Villiers with too much work to do. He was offered no support by the trio of JP Duminy, David Miller and Chris Morris as all of them were dismissed off poor strokes.

Eventually, the asking rate became too steep and de Villiers was forced to go big, resulting in his dismissal. A few lusty blows from Parnell and Rabada only delayed the inevitable as England romped home by 72 runs.

Brief Scores: England 339/6 (Morgan 107, Ali 77, Phehlukwayo 2/59) beat South Africa 267/10 (Amla 73, du Plessis 67, Woakes 4/38)

Take a look at the talking points from the first One Day International at Leeds.

---

#5 Alex Hales gets a healthy workout

England know that heading into the Champions Trophy, Alex Hales is a vital member of their squad. With the ability to accelerate the innings at the start, anchor in the middle-overs, and lambast in the death, Hales is the complete package. However, he has not featured as much as England would have liked since his return from injury.

But the aggressive opener showed little signs of rust as he dug into Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell, smashing the latter for two boundaries in an over. Root did not look at his best, but gave Hales good company as the opener ensured England were well on top during his stay at the crease. He cracked his eighth half-century but fell on 61.

#4 Andile Phehlukwayo stakes his claim

Phehlukwayo dismissed Hales and Root in quick succession

A year ago, South Africa were searching for a good all-rounder. But now they have four – Wayne Parnell, Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo – and aren't sure how to fit them into their playing XI.

Phehlukwayo gave a good account of himself in his debut series against Australia where he led the bowling charts. His gritty batting at the death also earned accolades but his bowling, despite the numbers, was under scrutiny.

The all-rounder put matters to rest with a splendid spell against England. He had the well settled Alex Hales edging to de Kock before grabbing the all important wicket of Joe Root with a bouncer. His figures after his first four overs read 4-0-16-2. Although he took a bit of stick towards the end, Phehlukwayo showed that he can do a good job as a bowler.

#3 Eoin Morgan slams 11th ODI ton

Morgan played some exquisite shots to race to a brilliant century

The England captain is building up some cracking form ahead of the Champions Trophy and smashed his third hundred in eight games – the other two were against India and the Windies, both away from home. Morgan was aggressive right from the outset and never let the Proteas pacers settle into a rhythm.

The manner in which he took on the bouncers showed the kind of touch the skipper was in. Even when Stokes and Buttler were dismissed in quick succession, Morgan kept England going in the company of Moeen Ali. Their partnership was worth 117 in 13 overs and took England well past the 300 mark. The skipper also went past Alec Stewart to become the third highest run-scorer for England in ODIs.

#2 Moeen Ali overcomes slow start with a final bash

Ali cleared the ropes five times, including thrice in an over from Tahir

Moeen Ali has often been criticised for getting stuck at the crease and that rung true for a large portion of his innings here at Leeds. Chris Morris and co. restricted Ali with short deliveries and tight lines. Ali took his time to settle down albeit in an unorthodox fashion before a flat-batted six off Parnell got him going.

Another four followed in the over after which he took on Imran Tahir. The leggie was plundered for three sixes in a 22 run over as the southpaw raced past his half-century off 34 balls – he has taken 20 balls for his first 12 runs. He ended the innings with a huge six off Chris Morris in the final over to take England to 339.

#1 de Villiers left stranded by pathetic middle-order display

AB de Villiers looked in great touch but received little support from his teammates

South Africa needed a special knock from AB de Villiers after Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis fell in quick succession. The Proteas skipper looked in ominous touch as he took on Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali. He was tactical in his approach and ensured the required rate did not climb too much.

What de Villiers needed was some support from the middle-order. But none of them seemed too keen to provide that. JP Duminy holed out to deep mid-wicket, the only deep fielder on the leg side, and David Miller mirrored that dismissal. Chris Morris, after slamming a beautiful straight hit off Moeen Ali, played a bizarre reverse sweep off the next ball to be dismissed caught behind off a leading edge. de Villiers eventually went on the attack and in the process lost his wicket to Ali.