World Cup favourites England make impressive start with win over South Africa

England's batsmen usually hog the headlines in one-day cricket but the World Cup favourites produced a brilliant display in the field to seal a 104-run win over South Africa at The Oval.

That comfortable margin of victory didn't tell the whole story as the Proteas traded at 11-10 in-play after reaching 129-2 in pursuit of 312 for victory.

However, Quinton de Kock's dismissal for 68 sparked a collapse from the Proteas as England's fielders excelled with Ben Stokes taking a stunning catch to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo.

Stokes, a 9-1 shot, had top-scored in England's 311-8 with a measured innings of 89 and the Durham man claimed the final two wickets to seal a man-of-the-match performance.

Jofra Archer also enjoyed his World Cup debut, finishing with three wickets and forcing Hashim Amla to retire hurt during a fiery new-ball spell.

The win franked England's status as tournament favourites and the 2-1 shots were clipped to 15-8 to lift the trophy, with some firms going as short as 6-4.

The battle to be top England runscorer remains wide-open as Jason Roy (54), Joe Root (51) and Eoin Morgan (57) all made fluent half-centuries although Jonny Bairstow was dismissed for a first-ball duck.

Bairstow was second only to India's Virat Kohli in the top tournament runscorer betting and he will be hoping for a longer stay at the crease when England face Pakistan at Trent Bridge on Monday.

Paddy Power make Morgan's side 2-7 to win their second game, with Pakistan 5-2, while South Africa are 12-1 to win the World Cup and 5-4 to reach the semi-finals.

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