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Johannesburg - Dom Sibley made a solid half-century and said England had "a good run-out" on the first day of their two-day non-first-class match against a Cricket South Africa Invitation XI at Willowmoore Park on Tuesday.
Captain Joe Root top-scored and Joe Denly also hit a half-century as England reached 309 for seven at the close. Only four wickets fell to bowlers, with all three half-centurions retiring.
Sibley, seeking to cement his place as Rory Burns' opening partner in the England Test side after modest returns in his first two Tests in New Zealand, ground out an innings of 58 on a slow pitch against an attack drawn from South Africa's second-tier first-class competition. He faced 140 balls and hit eight fours.
"Most people had a good run-out and faced a good amount of balls," said Sibley. He said he was happy to get the call to retire after batting for more than three hours.
"It's all part of warm-up games, to make sure everyone gets time in the middle," he said."I'm happy with the amount of time I got out there after a couple of days of nets."
Denly made 60 off 98 balls, while Root provided the most entertaining batting of the day by stroking 72 off 86 deliveries.
All nine England batsmen in action reached double figures as the tourists had their first day of action ahead of a Test series against South Africa, starting at Centurion on December 26.
