South Africa A crush England Lions in first One-Day

LEICESTER: A collective bowling performance, followed by Rubin Hermann's unbeaten half-century, propelled South Africa A to a commanding nine-wicket victory over England Lions in the first One-Day of the three-match series here at Grace Road on Friday.

Lions' captain Jordan Cox's decision to bat first backfired as the home side could muster 119 before being bowled out in 26.1 overs.

Middle-order batter James Coles waged a lone battle for the Lions and top-scored with a cautious 42 off 58 deliveries.

Besides him, only skipper Cox (20) and No.10 Henry Crocombe (12) could amass double figures against a spirited South Africa A bowling attack, led by Ottneil Baartman, who picked up three wickets for just 17 runs in his five overs.

Baartman was amply supported by fellow pacer Gerald Coetzee, who also bagged three wickets but for 42 runs in eight overs. Kwena Maphaka and Bjorn Fortuin, on the other hand, claimed two each.

In turn, the visitors made a light work of the 120-run target as they chased it down for the loss of just one wicket and 183 balls to spare.

Left-handed opener Hermann spearheaded South Africa A's run chase with an unbeaten half-century and top-scored with a 62-ball 57, studded with seven fours and two sixes.

He also shared important partnerships with fellow opener Tony de Zorzi and captain Marques Ackerman, who made notable contributions with 23 and 34 not out, respectively.

For the Lions, Henry Crocombe remained the solitary wicket-taker as he cleaned up de Zorzi in the 10th over.

The resounding nine-wicket victory gave South Africa a 1-0 lead in the three-match One-Day series against England Lions, with the remaining two fixtures scheduled to be played in Worcester on June 7 and 9, respectively.