Rassie van der Dussen scored a classy century as South Africa sealed a 62-run victory in sweltering heat in the first one-day international, spoiling England all-rounder Ben Stokes’ farewell party in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday. After opting to bat, the tourist amassed 333 in five of his 50 overs, boosted by a career-best 134 from Van der Dussen as he put on 151 with Aiden Markram (77).The home side started their reply strongly but South Africa continued to bounce back wickets through the middle overs. Despite an eye-catching 86 off 77 balls from Joe Root, England fell short of their target as they were bowled out for 271.
It wasn’t quite the dismissal Stokes would have liked on his way out of ODIs, returning bowling figures of 0-44 in five overs and scoring just five with the bat in what is his home county.”We are used to the heat, but today was also quite dry and windy,” Van der Dussen said in the post-match presentation.“We batted well and our bowlers performed brilliantly. We knew we had to play smart cricket, we are happy with the performance but we will see where we can improve.”Van der Dussen was the anchor for the South African innings as he perfectly read the conditions on a wicket that was harder to bat in the scorching sun.
England started their reply very well with Jason Roy (43) and Jonny Bairstow (63) putting on 102 for the first wicket, but the tourists hit the brakes on a worn pitch and fast bowler Anrich Nortje (4-53) returned late in the innings to remove Root in the 45th over, which signaled the end of the game.Stokes was unable to display the heroics that have been his hallmark during a glittering career as he was trapped leg-in front by part-time wicketkeeper Markram (2-25).
The second of the three-match series takes place at Old Trafford on Friday.“ It was a tough day but the effort from the boys was excellent at the start in the heat. It was a good toss (for South Africa) to win,” England captain Joss Buttler said.“You have to take wickets to stop the flow of runs in this format. We could never make it with the bat because the wicket was lower and slower. South Africa read the conditions well.’There was more bad news for England on Tuesday when fast bowler Mark Wood said he would need further surgery on his injured elbow, casting doubts over his participation in the World Twenty20 in Australia, which starts in October.
