By scoring 158 off 131 balls, Ben Stokes has removed all doubts about his fitness ahead of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa.
England, playing their first warm-up match on tour against a South African Invitational XI in Potchefstroom, will resume day two on 470-5 in just 88 overs.
Their innings got off to a less than ideal start when Alastair Cook and Alex Hales were back in the shed with just 10 runs on the board, and Joe Root followed shortly after to leave England on 56-3.
Nick Compton scored 58 before Stokes and James Taylor (114) took control as England scored at the pace of a one-day international.
Stokes’s innings suggests he has fully recovered from the shoulder injury that he sustained during last month’s Test series against Pakistan.
It was his first full-throttle innings since landing awkwardly on the point of his shoulder during the third Test in Sharjah in November, an injury that onlookers had initially feared was a dislocation.
Thandolwethu Mnyaka was the best bowler on the day with figures of 3-66 in 18 overs.
Moeen Ali (33) and Chris Woakes (10) will continue the innings on Wednesday.
