LONDON: England opener Jason Roy jumps to control the ball as Ben Stokes (L) looks on during a warm-up football match at Lord’s on Friday.—AP
LONDON: England opener Jason Roy jumps to control the ball as Ben Stokes (L) looks on during a warm-up football match at Lord’s on Friday.—AP

LONDON: England meet Pakistan in the second ODI here at Lord’s on Saturday, with the confident-looking hosts looking to make it 2-0 in the five-match series.

On the eve of the second ODI, Eoin Morgan and Azhar Ali, the two captains, face different situations.

Morgan is on a high, his team having played a brand of fearless cricket that’s made the cricketing world take notice.

Pakistan, on the other hand, ranked ninth in the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings, just played the type of cricket in Southampton that took viewers back to the late nineties, when totals of around 250 were common. Present-day cricket demands greater adventurism and application with the bat which Pakistan could not demonstrate in the series opener.

Unlike the magnificent show produced by their compatriots in Test cricket, Pakistan ODI side’s slip in the 50-over version has not gone completely unnoticed. The tourists can’t afford to lose more games and risk the chances of falling further behind eighth-ranked West Indies, ahead of the Sept 30, 2017 deadline for automatic qualification to the 2019 World Cup.

England have been playing like a well-oiled machine and have few areas of concern at the moment. Jason Roy has hit an impressive patch of scoring, while Joe Root and Morgan have been consistent.

Plus the host of all-rounders in the middle-order, England have a batting depth that’s hardly matched by any other team.

Opener Alex Hales hasn’t found form this summer, but he’s expected to be given a decent run, considering his match-winning abilities.

AZHAR Ali plays football during a nets session.—Reuters
AZHAR Ali plays football during a nets session.—Reuters

If the batting looks primed, the return of Mark Wood to the international fold after 10 months has beefed up the bowling attack. The pacer hit speeds in excess of 90mph and has promised more pace as the series progresses.

Joining Wood are Liam Plunkett, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes. Add the spin of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, the hosts have a potent and balanced bowling line-up.

On the other hand, Pakistan have failed to find the balance between bat and ball. Sharjeel Khan, who followed his blistering 152 against Ireland with a less than impressive 16 in the first ODI, has been backed to provide explosive starts. Azhar top-scored with a 110-ball 82, but candidly admitted that his batsmen shouldn’t have played the number of dot balls they did.

Mohammad Hafeez is lacking in confidence after a modest Test series while Shoaib Malik seems hasn’t found a concrete role in the side.

Babar Azam, the 21-year-old right-hander, however has been a visible hope in the middle-order in recent times, exhibiting immense promise.

Pakistan bowlers meanwhile came under close scrutiny after failing to stop England from scoring at will in Southampton. While pace spearhead Mohammad Amir lacked in energy at times, veteran Umar Gul was rusty and spinners Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz looked average.

FAST bowler Mohammad Amir reacts during a practice session.—AP
FAST bowler Mohammad Amir reacts during a practice session.—AP

Azhar’s bowlers, no doubt, had a modest 260 to defend but they appeared clueless at times, waiting for the batsmen to commit mistakes on their own rather than looking to make inroads.

London has been a happy place for Pakistan on this tour so far and their die-hard supporters would hope that their ODI team’s renaissance will begin at Lord’s today.

Squads:

ENGLAND: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan (captain), Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, David Willey, Mark Wood.

PAKISTAN: Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, Babar Azam, Azhar Ali (captain), Hasan Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2016

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