Sam Billings takes four catches for England Lions in South Africa
Monday 26th January 2015
Kent's Sam Billings took four catches and Ben Stokes excelled with bat and ball as England Lions held their nerve to win their first one-day match against South Africa A in Bloemfontein.
Stokes, one of five players who have joined the Lions for the five-match one-day series, took 4-22 as a strong home team were dismissed for 172 with more than 10 of their 50 overs remaining.
The Durham all-rounder then made 31 in the Lions' reply, which was the second-highest score of the innings behind Jason Roy, and although he was dismissed with 41 runs still required, Samit Patel and Liam Plunkett drew on their considerable experience to secure a four-wicket victory.
James Vince had won his first toss as Lions captain, and it did not take long for a five-strong seam attack to vindicate his decision to bowl first.
Harry Gurney struck in his first over, angling one across Reeza Hendricks for Sam Billings to take the first of four catches, and Boyd Rankin also claimed an early success when Stiaan van Zyl was deceived, and bowled, by a ball of full length.
Stokes went even better, striking with his first ball of the tour, helped by a tumbling catch at mid-off by Rankin to dismiss Dean Elgar.
Jonny Bairstow then showed his ability in the outfield by taking a steepling catch from Theunis de Bruyn’s top-edged pull for Stokes’s second wicket, and Plunkett struck next with a beauty which had Justin Ontong caught behind.
Gurney returned to have Dane Vilas caught behind down the legside, then Rankin dismissed Chris Morris for a duck and claimed his second athetic catch of the innings to end a dangerous innings of 39 by David Wiese, driving Stokes to mid-off.
Gurney and Stokes polished off the innings with a wicket each during the powerplay, and the Lions launched their reply before lunch, with Roy and Alex Lees rattling up 30 inside six overs.
But Lees fell soon after the break, then Marchant de Lange had Vince caught behind for a duck and won an lbw decision against Roy to end an innings of 43 from 44 balls from the Surrey man including nine powerful boundaries.
The Lions were wobbling at 88 for four when Bairstow edged a good ball from Wiese to slip. Stokes and Billings put them back on track with a fifth-wicket stand of 44, only to fall in consecutive overs from Kagiso Rabada and Wiese to set nerves jangling again.
But Patel and Plunkett held their nerve to put on an unbroken 39, with Plunkett launching the first six of the match and Patel hitting the winning runs in the 35th over.
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