NOTTINGHAM: A dejected Azhar Ali had little to smile about, and conceded Pakistan did not help themselves with a shoddy performance in the field as England amassed a world 444-3 in the third One-day International here on their way to a series-winning 169-run win on Tuesday (partly reported in Wednesday’s edition).

The Pakistan captain praised Alex Hales, who smashed an England record 171, and Jos Buttler’s blistering unbeaten 90.

“It was an exceptional innings from Alex Hales and Jos Buttler,” he said. “But I think 444 is a bit too much. I think we missed some key chances — especially that [Wahab Riaz] no-ball when we would have got rid of Hales on 72.

“We didn’t start well, and there’s no excuse for that. Those fielding lapses straightaway didn’t send a good message,” Azhar lamented after Pakistan were dismissed for 275 at Trent Bridge to trail 0-3 in the five-match series.

“The wicket was really good — lots of runs were in it,” he said. “Once the batsmen start going, it’s hard to stop them and really needed to support the bowlers and that didn’t happen.”

Pakistan were unable to play above the level which has seen them slump to ninth in the world rankings. But Azhar insisted they are capable of better.

“I still believe we’re not that bad,” he added. “We just need to learn quickly — otherwise we’ll prove ourselves wrong. We need to raise our game.”

Meanwhile, Hales does not expect to be an England record-holder for long after scoring the highest individual innings for his country in te format.

Hales said it’s just a matter of time before an England colleague betters his score.

“I think the improvements we’ve shown in the last couple of years, I’m not sure how long that record will stand,” he said. “The batting we’ve got all the way down to pretty much number 11 so it’s an exciting time for us as a team.”

This was a timely innings for Hales, who had managed just 145 runs at an average of 18.12 during England’s preceding 2-2 Test series with Pakistan.

That was followed by meagre scores of seven and 14 in the first two ODIs at Southampton and Lord’s respectively.

But back in front of his home crowd, the opener looked a far more confident and authoritative batsman as Robin Smith’s 167 not out against Australia at Edgbaston back in 1993 finally ceased to be England’s highest individual ODI score.

“It’s been a tough few weeks personally,” he said. “The Test series didn’t go to plan — but when it comes to the white ball in the last 12 months, I’ve felt in good form.

“I was always confident heading into this series, and it’s nice to put it right.”

Jason Roy, Hales’s opening partner had gone close to breaking Smith’s record with 162 against Sri Lanka at The Oval — his home ground — in June.

“I knew I was I closing in,” said Hales. “When I heard the cheer going round the ground I knew something was happening, but at the time I was unaware.”

This victory was further evidence of the progress England have made in 50-over cricket since their dismal first-round exit at last year’s World Cup.

Hales believes there is better to come from the 2019 World Cup hosts. “It’s exciting for us as I don’t think we’ve reached our full potential yet. We’re still learning with the bat and ball and still improving in the field so hopefully there’s a lot more to come in the next two years.”

Scoreboard

ENGLAND:

J.J. Roy c Sarfraz b Hasan 15

A.D. Hales lbw b Hasan 171

J.E. Root c Sarfraz b Nawaz 85

J.C. Buttler not out 90

E.J.G. Morgan not out 57

EXTRAS (B-6, LB-8, W-3, NB-9) 26

TOTAL (for three wkts, 50 overs) 444

FALL OF WKTS: 1-33, 2-281, 3-283.

DID NOT BAT: B.A. Stokes, Moeen Ali, C.R. Woakes, L.E. Plunkett, Adil Rashid, M.A. Wood.

BOWLING: Mohammad Amir 10-0-72-0 (1w); Hasan Ali 10-0-74-2 (3nb); Wahab Riaz 10-0-110-0 (6nb, 2w); Mohammad Nawaz 10-0-62-1; Yasir Shah 6-0-48-0; Azhar Ali 1-0-20-0; Shoaib Malik 3-0-44-0.

PAKISTAN:

Sami Aslam c Moeen b Woakes 8

Sharjeel Khan c Stokes b Woakes 58

Azhar Ali c Rashid b Woakes 13

Babar Azam c Morgan b Stokes 9

Sarfraz Ahmed c Root b Rashid 38

Shoaib Malik c Buttler b Plunkett 1

Mohammad Nawaz c Morgan b Rashid 34

Hasan Ali b Moeen 4

Wahab Riaz lbw b Wood 14

Yasir Shah not out 26

Mohammad Amir c and b Woakes 58

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, W-5, NB-1) 12

TOTAL (all out, 42.4 overs) 275

FALL OF WKTS: 1-21, 2-50, 3-83, 4-106, 5-108, 6-155, 7-164, 8-180, 9-199.

BOWLING: Wood 10-0-75-1 (2w); Woakes 5.4-1-41-4 (1w); Plunkett 6-0-30-1 (1w); Stokes 4-0-14-1 (1w); Moeen Ali

7-0-36-1 (1nb); Adil Rashid 10-0-73-2.

RESULT: England won by 169 runs to lead five-match series 3-0.

UMPIRES: R.A. Kettleborough (England) and S.D. Fry (Australia).

TV UMPIRE: M. Erasmus (South Africa).

MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Alex Hales.

FIRST MATCH: Southampton, England won by 44 runs (D/L Method).

SECOND MATCH: Lord’s, England won by four wickets.

FOURTH MATCH: Headingley (D/N), Thursday.

FIFTH MATCH: Cardiff, Sunday.

Published in Dawn September 1st, 2016