Cape Town - England Under-19 skipper, Will Rhodes, took five wickets to set his side up for a two-wicket victory against South Africa Under-19 in the first Youth One-Day International (ODI) of the five-match series at Edgbaston on Friday.
The visitors were restricted to 227 with 11 balls to spare after they were put in to bat first.
Janneman Malan (56) was the only batsman to reach a half-century, while his second-wicket partner, Ryan Rickleton (47) fell just three runs short of his 50. Rickleton and Malan put on a 76-run partnership, after the early wicket of Grant Roelofsen for eight.
Rhodes, the leading wicket taker, finished with 5/48, while Matthew Fisher chipped in with 2/32.
In their reply, England's openers, Rhodes (36) and Haseeb Hameed gave their side a solid start with a 68-run partnership before the former became Keith Dudgeon's first victim. The bowler took five wickets for 39 runs to topple the top order.
After Rhodes's wicket in the 15th over, Dudgeon returned in the 17th and 19th overs to remove Tom Alsop and Jonathan Tattersall for a run each, leaving the hosts on 72/3. Hameed brought calm to the innings with a 101-run, fourth-wicket partnership with Joe Clarke. Lwandiswa Zuma, however, later removed Clarke for 39.
Dudgeon returned in the 43rd over to deny Hameed what would have been a hard-earned century, dismissing him for 97 off 115 balls, including 11 fours and a six.
The hosts continued to chip away at the target, with Ed Barnard adding 21 and Rob Jones chipping in with 11 not out to help their side to their two-wicket victory with four balls to spare.
The second ODI is in Nottingham on Sunday.