London, May 30: Ben Stokes starred in all departments as England began their quest to win the World Cup with a 104-run thrashing of South Africa in the tournament opener at the Oval on Thursday.

The all-rounder top-scored with 89 in England's 311 for eight, held a brilliant catch in the outfield and took two for 12, including the last wicket, as England won with 61 balls left.

Jofra Archer did the early damage with the ball, the fast bowler taking three for 27 in seven overs.

Barbados-born Archer, who only qualified for England in March, made his presence felt even before he had taken a wicket with a bouncer that beat Hashim Amla for pace and crashed into the grille of the helmet, with the veteran opener retiring hurt on five.

Archer then reduced the Proteas to 44 for two.

Aiden Markram edged to Joe Root at slip and South Africa captain Faf du Plessis fell for just five when he top-edged a hook to long leg.

But Quinton de Kock kept the Proteas in the hunt, although the opener was lucky when on 25 he played ball from leg-spinner Adil Rashid onto his stumps only for the bails to stay put.

The dashing left-hander went on to complete a 58-ball fifty but holed out off fast bowler Liam Plunkett for 68.

Rassie van der Dussen then make exactly 50 without pressing on when he miscued Archer to mid-on.

His exit saw Amla return with South Africa struggling at 167 for six in the 32nd over.

Stokes brilliance

The game was all but up for South Africa when a back-pedalling and diving Stokes held a brilliant one-handed catch in the deep to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo.

Amla's brave effort to rescue the innings ended on 13 when he was caught behind off Plunkett's slower-ball bouncer and Stokes finished the match when Imran Tahir edged him to Root.

Stokes was one of four England batsmen who got to 50 on a tricky surface, with captain Eoin Morgan (57), Jason Roy (54) and Root (51) all out soon after reaching the landmark.

England lost a wicket second ball before Roy and Root shared a stand of 106 that was equalled by Morgan and Stokes.

Du Plessi opted to field despite being without injured spearhead Dale Steyn and took the unorthodox decision to give leg-spinner Tahir the first over.

The 40-year-old, the oldest player in the tournament, struck second ball when Jonny Bairstow was caught behind by De Kock for a golden duck.

Roy and Root repaired the damage but were dismissed when well set as England lost two wickets for four runs in four balls to be 111 for three.

Morgan, whose aggressive approach has been symbolic of England's rise to the top of the one-day international rankings after their woeful first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup, struck the match's first two sixes off successive balls from Lungi Ngidi before he too was caught in the deep.

Left-hander Stokes saw his 79-ball knock end in the penultimate over when caught at third man following a reverse hit off paceman Ngidi (three for 66).

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Bhopal, Jan 1: Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the shifting of some 377 tons of hazardous waste began from the defunct Union Carbide factory on Wednesday night for its disposal, an official said.

The toxic waste is being shifted in 12 sealed container trucks to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal.

"12 container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles which are expected to reach Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours," said Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh.

He said around 100 people worked in 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste in trucks.

"They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes," he added.

Highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues. It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 rebuked authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite directions from even the Supreme Court and set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a "state of inertia".

The high court bench had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.

"If everything is found to be fine, the waste will be incinerated within three months. Otherwise, it might take up to nine months," Singh told PTI on Wednesday morning.

Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the waste disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, Singh said.

The smoke from the incinerator will pass through special four-layer filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted, he added.

Once it is confirmed that no traces of toxic elements are left, the ash will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.

A team of experts under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board will carry out the process, Singh said.

Some local activists have claimed that 10 tons of Union Carbide waste was incinerated on a trial basis in Pithampur in 2015, after which the soil, underground water and water sources in surrounding villages became polluted.

But Singh rejected the claim, stating that the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after the report of the 2015 test and all the objections were examined.

There would be no reason to worry, he said.

A large number of people had on Sunday taken out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city which has a population of about 1.75 lakh.