Disclaimer: Due to the latest Wix update the existing blog system has been replaced and therefore all existing posts needed to be republished. These are not new blog posts. The original publication date of this post was 11.09.2016
The ODI series between England and Pakistan was wrapped up in Cardiff with the tourists claiming their first and only win of the 50 over format.
In an explosive series which saw records tumble, England dominated, claiming the series with ease. The series highlighted the limited overs side’s continued improvement and talent in this format of the game.
The series kicked off with a rain affected game at the Ageas Bowl, with England cruising to a 44-run victory on Duckworth-Lewis. Pakistan posted an unusual total of 260 for 6 off their 50 overs, in a performance that closely resembled One-Day cricket of old rather than the 300+ par totals that are more common of recent years. Regular wickets didn’t help the tourists, with the wickets being shared amongst the bowling attack, however their mundane run-rate and inability to kick on in the final overs of their innings took them to the undoubtedly under par score of 260. However, Pakistan’s early removal of Alex Hales in the fifth over offered some hope, before an 89 run partnership between Jason Roy and Joe Root seemingly took the game away from the tourists. With both batsman reaching their 50s and limited overs captain Eoin Morgan and specialist batsman for this game Ben Stokes finishing on 33* and 15* respectively the hosts, well ahead of the run-rate, were crowned the victors when the rain set in.
Moving on to Lord’s the hosts were hoping that they could replicate their test side’s success at the home of cricket having won the toss and electing to bat. Their start, however, quickly put them on the back foot as Pakistan found themselves 3-2 in the fourth over. England’s man of the summer Chris Woakes and returning paceman Mark Wood were the pair that oversaw the departure of top three. Whilst England continued to take regular wickets, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed salvaged a more respectable total for his team with his well crafted 105 off 130 balls. However, after falling in the 43rd over to Adil Rashid, Pakistan stumbled towards 251 all out in 49.5 overs. After hitting another under-par total, it was imperative that the hosts took early wickets and put England under a greater amount of pressure than in the previous game. The Pakistan bowlers delivered on that with Mohammad Amir removing Roy off just the second ball of the innings and Imad Wasim leaving England on just 35 for 2 after bowling Hales. However a 100 run partnership between Root and Morgan put the home side back in the driving seat, with a quick-fire 42 off 30 balls from Stokes all but sealing the deal for England. The home side claimed their victory, increasing their series lead to 2-0 with two and a half overs to spare.
England were looking to claim the series and continue their undefeated summer in limited overs cricket in the third ODI. Trent Bridge will live long in the memory and not simply because England secured the series there. In a game that saw records tumble, fans were treated to a batting onslaught from the hosts who won the toss and wisely elected to bat. Opening batsman Hales was the star of the show for England with a history-making knock of 171 off 122 balls to give him the highest score by an English batsman in ODI cricket. The fact that Hales was dismissed in the 37th over gives some indication of just what kind of total England were moving towards. Root with whom Hales had produced a partnership of 248 runs fell the following over for a well calculated innings of 85 off 86 balls and leaving the hosts on 283 for 3 with 12 overs remaining. Enter the explosive talent of Jos Buttler and Morgan who both made fast half centuries to propel England to the highest ever ODI total of 444 runs.
With a required run-rate of 8.88 an over and having been unable to surpass 300 in the other two games of the series, it looked unlikely that Pakistan would post a total anywhere near that of England's. Though the tourists did come out bats swinging, only two players managed to pass 50, with Sharjeel Khan hitting 58 off 30 and bowler Amir with a blistering 58 off 28 at the end of the innings, before both falling victim to England's star bowler Woakes (5.4-1-41-4). England sealed their third victory of the series, dismissing Pakistan in the 43rd over for 275 and taking them to an unassailable 3-0 series lead.
With the series won at Trent Bridge, England looked to Headingley as a chance to inch closer to a series whitewash and a summer undefeated in limited overs cricket, whilst Pakistan looked to salvage a more respectable scoreline and their players into form. Captain Azhar Ali led from the front with a steady 80 off 104 before being removed by Rashid, with Wasim's 57 off 41 making him the only other player to make a half century. Pakistan limped to a rather meagre looking 247 for 8 off their 50 overs and looked as though they were heading towards their fourth loss of the series. However, tight bowling from Pakistan early on and in particular from the newly returned Mohammad Irfan and a much improved fielding effort, causing England's top order to fall to 72 for 4 in the fifteenth over. However, the decision to take Irfan out of the attack and his subsequent inability to return to the field after suffering from cramp, left Pakistan with a bowler down and England with the opportunity to build a crucial partnership whilst the tourists reassessed their game plan. A hundred partnership between Stokes (69 off 70) and Jonny Bairstow (61 off 83) propelled England to 175 for 5 before Stokes fell to spinner Wasim. However the damage had already been done and a quick-fire 45 off 48 not out from Moeen Ali sealed a fourth win for England by 4 wickets, with just one game remaining at Cardiff.
The final match of the series did offer some redemption for the tired tourists after a long summer of test match and limited overs cricket. Having won the toss and opting to bowl, Amir (10-0-50-3) and Hassan Ali (10-0-60-4) managed to take early wickets to put the home side under pressure. Despite Pakistan's hard work with the ball England still managed to post a total above 300, with Roy's 87 off 89 and Stokes's 75 off 76 aiding England's push to 302 for 9 at the end of their 50 overs. Whilst not an unreachable target, Pakistan were going to have to perform much better than they had in the previous games if they were going to make their first total of over 300. England got off to a strong start, removing the top three for just 77 runs in an impressive opening partnership from newly returned Mark Wood and man of the summer Woakes. Two blistering innings from Pakistan's Shoaib Malik (77 off 80) and Ahmed (90 off 73) were the pivotal moment in the game and offered Pakistan with the chance to avoid a whitewash. England did hit back, with debutante Liam Dawson (8-0-70-2), whose figures wrongly reflect his bowling effort, claiming the two well-deserved wickets and breaking the 163 run partnership. However, though England claimed three quick wickets, Pakistan managed to knock off the remaining runs required with 10 balls to spare, claiming the final match by four wickets.
Overall, the series displayed some fantastic cricket on both sides, though England undoubtedly came out of the series the happier of the two teams. Whilst Pakistan's performance in the final game of the series was much improved, they will be looking to make changes and go through a rebuilding period in order to provide a much more consistent and challenging performances on the world stage. England on the other hand can be much happier with their overall performance, though their fielding is an area in which they can improve. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of their performance during this series is the fact that every player has contributed at some point during the series with either bat or ball. With such a hectic schedule coming up with the Champions Trophy accompanying the two home series, it will prove useful to England to have such strength in depth in both batting and bowling.
Both teams will look to the coming few months to prepare for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in the hopes of claiming their first title in the competition.
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