England allrounder Ben Stokes says stunning catch masked over fielding mistake

The Durham man completed an outrageous grab in the World Cup opener against South Africa in the 104-run win at The Oval.

Ben Stokes admits the brilliant catch which illuminated England's opening World Cup win over South Africa came via a fielding error.

The Durham allrounder produced a fine one-handed grab to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo on the boundary in the 104-run success at The Oval.

But Stokes admits he was wrongly positioned when the ball was struck and admitted the take should have been easier.

"I had a bit of a panic on to be honest," the man-of-the-match said. 

"I was a little bit further in that I should have been. 

"I took a step in and panicked a bit. It gets the nickname the claw so luckily it stuck.

Ben Stokes with the bat, Ben Stokes with the ball, Ben Stokes on the field!

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"I didn't know how to react. I knew I shouldn't have been there. It is probably a regulation catch if I am in the right position."

Stokes, 27, had earlier top-scored for the hosts with a well-paced 89 from 79 balls as they set South Africa 312 to win.

Though it was a less than virtuoso performance from England's batsman - Jason Roy, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan also struck half-centuries but failed to go on - they got an insight into the pace of the pitch during the innings.

"The messages out from the batsman in the middle was that it was a tricky wicket and try to get up to 320, 310, maybe 330 so I just tried to pace it," added Stokes.

"It was quite hard to get away when the ball was on a length and the ball was sticking in the pitch.

"Towards the end they were really hard to get away, but getting over that 300 mark is a big thing for chasing so I thought we did well to get up there and we knew what was best for our bowlers to do because we'd seen them."

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