De Villiers queries Stokes catch in South Africa loss

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."