South Africa opener Hashim Amla was forced to retire hurt having taken a nasty blow to the helmet grille as his team tried to secure victory against England in the opening game of the Cricket World Cup.

The Proteas, chasing 312 to beat the tournament hosts at The Oval, suffered an early setback when Amla came off in the fourth over after a vicious short ball from England seamer Jofra Archer reared up and struck him.

Amla initially called for a new helmet to be brought to him from the dressing room but, after further inspection out in the middle, he left the field while rubbing his head and Aiden Markram came out to join Quinton de Kock.

South Africa were 14 without loss at the time, with Amla having made five from eight balls.

INJURY | @hashamla

Oh-no, Hash has been struck on the head, he has had to go off the field. #ENGvSA #CWC19 #ProteaFire pic.twitter.com/Doldbz4oNF

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) May 30, 2019

Markram lasted just 12 deliveries and was dismissed for 11 when he edged Archer to Joe Root at slip.

South Africa later released an update just before the mid-point of their innings to say Amla was "doing fine" but would require further assessment to determine if he would be able to return.

"Hashim Amla has been assessed and is doing fine," read a statement posted on Twitter.

"Due to the sensitive nature of head injuries, he will undergo another re-assessment during the course of the innings which will give an indication of his further participation in the match."

INJURY UPDATE| #ENGvsSA @amlahash has been assessed and is doing fine. Due to the sensitive nature of head injuries, he will undergo another re-assessment during the course of the innings which will give an indication of his further participation in the match. #ProteaFire pic.twitter.com/L6gqtJWPeO

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) May 30, 2019