Four Englishmen entered record books after crossing the 50-run mark in their ICC World Cup 2019 opener against South Africa at the iconic Oval Stadium in London on Thursday.

Jason Roy (54), Joe Root (51), Eoin Morgan (57) and Ben Stokes (89) slammed respective half-centuries to take England to 311/8 against the Proteas.

Also Read: Eoin Morgan breaks England’s all-time ODI record

Courtesy of this show, the four batsmen registered their name in the list of most half-centuries in an innings in the World Cup. This was the 13th such instance and first for England.

But England, who last year set a world record for the highest one-day international total of 481-6 and have often blown teams away with the bat, were repeatedly pegged back by a Proteas side who deployed the slower ball to good effect.

The ball did not always come onto the bat and Root, speaking at the innings break, admitted: “We would’ve liked more, especially when you’re setting a total but that was not your typical one-day pitch in England. It did grip a bit and there is plenty in the pitch for the bowlers.

“You never felt in, you always felt the bowlers were in the game. Hopefully we can back up that score with the ball.”

((With agency inputs))

First Published: May 30, 2019 19:36 IST