South Africa have begun their title defence in the best fashion possible, thrashing England by ten wickets in the World Cup opener at the CPT-India Pistons Ground, Chennai on Tuesday.

The architects of the emphatic South African win were openers Adrian Maartens (104*) and captain Rory Field (99*). Dominating the England attack right from ball one, the duo made a mockery of a victory target of 239 off 39 overs.

Maartens smashed nine fours in his 77-ball knock while Field stroked eight boundaries in his 67-ball 99 as their team cantered to 240/0 in 22.5 overs. Field missing a well-deserved ton was, then, the only blot on an otherwise perfect afternoon for the defending champions.

Such an easy win, though, seemed a remote possibility when England got off to a belligerent start.

With Nathan Foy (62 off 44 balls) in rollicking form, the Englishmen rattled up 128-4 by the time Foy was dismissed in the 16th over. But then the wickets began to tumble as Ernst Contradie (2-46) and Johan Schroeder (2-43) led the South African fightback. This ensured that, though, as many as 88 extras were conceded, England were restricted to 238-8. With the openers in blazing form, the South Africans, then, went on to overhaul the total without breaking any sweat and claimed five points, including a bonus point.

© CricInfo