England Lions showcase queue of batters waiting for opportunity

SAM DALLING AT TAUNTON: Will Smeed smashed 90 and reaffirmed the common view that his England bow will come sooner rather than later

Taunton: South Africa 318-9, England Lions 321-4 - England Lions win by six wickets

Depth. There is a lot of talk about depth. But there has been no talk of a white-ball reset.

And as England suffered what they will hope is a freak 10-wicket humiliation, there was evidence aplenty as to why that topic has not been broached. For the England Lions, who can only be described as a group of the next cabs off the rank, defeated the South African tourists at a canter.

Six wickets and 77 balls remained when Stephen Eskinazi crashed the winning boundary. It took the Middlesex T20 skipper past fifty on what was his first appearance at this level (albeit not an official List A game, with both teams able to use batters and bowlers freely). He was the fourth Englishman to reach the mark, Sam Hain the only one of the top five to miss out.

It was a tough opening day of the tour for South Africa. One to forget about and one to move on from. They posed what could have been a challenging 319-run chase, but it was in fact toppled with minimal fuss. There are, for England, seemingly plenty who could step up if required.

The tone was set by Will Smeed and Tom Banton, an opening partnership with plenty of familiarity to the Taunton crowd. The pace of George Scrimshaw had been too hot for the pair to handle in Somerset's T20 quarter-final on this ground on Saturday. But they had no such trouble against Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje.

Initially, Smeed was the protagonist. A quirk of the English fixture list is that Smeed has never played a List A match. His 50-over experience to date has been limited to club cricket for Bridgwater CC.

Quite how he is to learn the nuances of the format in which England are world champions, is a debate for another day. With the current schedule and relegation of the Royal London Cup, it is certainly not by playing 50-over cricket. A circle that cannot be squared some might say.

^{Stephen Eskinazi made fifty on his England Lions debut (Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)}

Not that the newness bothered Smeed. There were all his usual flicks over square leg, full of brute force and staccato wrists. But there were also some drives through the covers that had the crowd purring. His style is that of a batting boxer short arm jabbing his way to boundaries. Crunch and away it races.

The only surprise was Smeed reached 90 and fell. It was a naff shot off Andile Phehlukwayo, a hoick having just struck a six. But forgiveness is required – it was Smeed's professional 50-over debut, and against an international attack. Plus, he made his runs in 56 balls. One hopes he can reach three figures soon mind: he has been stuck in the nineties four times in T20 too. Hoodoos and all that.

Smeed's career is already one big fast-track. The England question is probably 'when' rather than 'if'. While Baz has distanced himself from 'Bazball' the sense is Smeed would suit it. He departed with the score on 190 in just the 22nd over.

With Smeed was Banton, who was watchful initially before picking up the pace. He is a very different player to Smeed. Tall and rangy, his strokes have more flourish. The purist might say Banton is easier on the eye, but that is down to personal preference. And they certainly complement each other nicely.

Banton looked at ease during his 57. At times in the T20 group stages, he struggled for a little rhythm. But his dancing down the wicket it is clear he has found it at a crucial time. The short ball troubled him little all afternoon, although a Nortje bouncer smashed into the Colin Atkinson Pavilion troubled the tiles. Shortly after there was a pull that raced along the ground to the square leg boundary. Nortje is no slouch.

It feels like Banton has been around for an age now, but he is still only 23 years old. There remains a very bright career ahead of him.

Then came Ben Duckett. If he does not play for England again soon, it's difficult to see when he will. He is a batter at the very top of his game, having found a way of maximising his not inconsiderable talent. For that, he credits Ant Botha – assistant coach at Nottinghamshire – who has helped him open up the leg-side. That was on display. As were scoring shorts all-round the ground.

^{Ben Duckett made 85 for England Lions (Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)}

Some initial immaturity appears to have been ironed out and he is, at 27, entering his prime. And he is doing so with both a weight of runs and experience behind him. There is something about July and 50 over cricket for Duckett too: it was in this month in 2016 that he made 650 List A runs, including 220 for the Lions against Sri Lanka A.

It was just about the first ball Duckett mistimed which meant he departed with just two required for victory. By then he had 85 from 67. It is 1,164 days and counting since Duckett last played for England, that being his only T20I to date. It may not be many more sleeps before he gets another gig.

It was left to Eskinazi – who somehow does not possess a Hundred contract despite being one of the premier T20 performers domestically in recent years to finish the game off.

It was relentless from the Lions. That all rendered Janneman Malan's earlier century redundant. Likewise, David Miller's quick-fire 55 off 36 and 51 from Heinrich Klaasen. There was a trio of wickets for Rehan Ahmed, and four for David Payne who went for just 39 runs in his eight overs. Payne is now, belatedly, a full England international. Ahmed, and a squabble of others, are not far behind.

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