De Villiers queries Stokes catch

South Africa captain AB De Villiers questioned the validity of Ben Stokes’ stunning catch that led to his dismissal in his team’s loss to England.

De Villiers made just eight before being caught one-handed by Stokes on the boundary as South Africa suffered a 39-run loss in the first one-day international on Wednesday.

But the skipper said questions had been raised by team-mates regarding his dismissal, with suggestions the boundary rope had been moved.

“It was a great catch and I thought he did well to keep it in – if he did,” De Villiers said.

“There are lots of rumours and theories going on in the changing room. I’m not getting involved but a lot of guys think I was a bit unlucky there.

“I’m happy to walk off when the umpire gives me out. It was a silly shot. I’m better than that.”

De Villiers’ dismissal left South Africa at 151-3 in their chase of England’s 399-9 in Bloemfontein.

Rain ruined the hosts’ chances in the 34th over as they fell 39 runs short after the Duckworth-Lewis method was needed.

De Villiers was unwilling to criticise his bowlers despite England’s huge total, saying the Mangaung Oval was good for batting.

“It was a tough toss to lose, I think. It was really hard on the bowlers the first 10 or 15 overs, it took us a while to realise it was an incredibly good wicket,” he said.

“We were a little bit slow to adapt to our lengths, but I’m not going to be too hard on the bowlers.”