DAY 1: Bouchier strikes half-century on debut as England start well in test

England opener Maia Bouchier struck an elegant, undefeated half-century on her test debut as the visitors went into lunch on the first day of the one-off test against South Africa on a solid 103 for one at a windy Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

Although there was plenty of grass left on the pitch, the South African pace bowlers were unable to extract much life out of it as Bouchier and Tammy Beaumont added 53 in 72 balls for the first wicket after England won the toss and chose to bat.

Beaumont, who was fortunate to escape a good shout for leg-before in the opening over from Marizanne Kapp, was the only wicket to fall, mistiming a pull off Ayanda Hlubi to be nicely caught by Sune Luus diving to her left at midwicket.

Hlubi was the first of the South African bowlers to pepper her normal repertoire with some short-pitched deliveries and it paid off on that occasion as Beaumont spliced her attempted pull.

Bouchier was the more fluent of the England batters, playing some lovely on-drives in her undefeated 54 in 79 balls (9x4s, 1x6). She was involved in two half-century stands, the second with her captain Heather Knight who finished unbeaten on 20 in 47 balls.

Bouchier had two narrow escapes, however, the first when she had a misunderstanding with Beaumont over a quick single and was left marooned in the middle of the pitch. Luckily for her, Luus’s throw missed the stumps. The second came when she went to her 50 with a hooked six off new bowler Tumi Sekhukhune. The ball passed close to Kapp on the long-leg boundary, who may have misjudged its flight as it went over the rope.

The South African bowlers began loosely, bowling at least a boundary ball an over but they tightened up their disciplines after the mid-morning drinks break as England’s run-rate slowed from 4.5 to 3.8 runs an over.

Nevertheless, the tourists would have been well pleased with their position at the break at a warm, windy Mangaung Oval.

SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Annerie Dercksen, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayanda Hlubi

ENGLAND: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (capt). Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell.