Morgan hails England's adaptability skills after convincing win over Proteas

Skipper Eoin Morgan rued that a sluggish track did not allow them post a desired total but hailed the adaptability skills of his side, which thumped South Africa by a massive 104-run margin in the World Cup opener.

Half centuries by Jason Roy (54), Joe Root (51), Morgan (57) and all-rounder Ben Stokes (89) helped the hosts post 311 for eight before they bundled South Africa for a paltry 207.

"I think given the nature of the pitch and the way South Africa bowled, we were struggling with our plan A game with the bat for some time and that emphasised how slow the pitch was," said Morgan.

"You could not get away and we could not strike the ball like we would do for our plan A. One of the ways we have improved in the last two years is understanding conditions and we adapted really well here."
"We have been at 20-5 before and put a reasonable score on the board, fought to the end and believed we can still win. If we lose wickets then we will adapt."