Jason Roy, who was the curator of England’s victory in the first One-Day International (ODI) against Pakistan, said that the dizziness during his innings was caused by nothing but low blood sugar level.
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Azhar was Pakistan’s main man with 82 and Sarfraz Ahmed hit 55 off 58 balls.
The tourists’ sluggish advance to 260 for six in Wednesday’s rain-affected series opener at the Ageas Bowl, won by Eoin Morgan’s side at a canter, was reminiscent of the cricket England played before last summer’s white-ball revolution.
Roy scored a 56-ball 65 to get England off to a flying start, while Joe Root hit 61 in England’s latest impressive display in the 50-over format. But there was a worrying moment when Roy, on 20, needed several minutes’ on-field treatment for what a team spokesman later confirmed was a dizzy spell.
“It was a case of not having enough sugar on me apparently, that’s it plain and simple”, Roy told reporters. I was able to get my bearings, settle and re-set myself and just go again.
After Hales guided Umar Gul to slip, some excellent running was a feature of Roy’s stand with Root, who swept and drove his way to a 23rd score of 50 or more in ODIs, coming at a rate of one every three innings.
Mohammad Amir had had five catches dropped off his bowling during the Test series and the Pakistan paceman’s bad luck continued Wednesday.
Roy, on 24, skied left-arm quick Amir high on the legside.
Besides poor batting performance from the Pakistani side, the match also saw some poor fielding that included a dropped catch by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.
Roy then set about chasing down that score, aided by Root, who hit 61.
Azhar won the toss in the first of this five-match series and elected to bat in what was then bright sunshine.
Despite a run-a-ball seventh-wicket stand of 34 between Swansea-born Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz, Pakistan’s total always looked under par.
Azhar, however, justified his own slow 82-run knock, saying that one of the top-order batsmen need to stay out there in the middle and play for the long haul.
Azhar was still on nine when he glanced fast bowler Liam Plunkett and a diving Buttler dropped the hard left-handed chance.
Azhar was twice dropped on 9, when Hales couldn’t hold on to a catch in the gully region before Jos Buttler dropped a hard left-handed catch down the legside.
Babar Azam made 40 before being dismissed lbw after Rashid’s appeal was granted, even though replays showed he edged the ball before it struck his pads.
The Pakistan opener let hubris dictate his decision to demand a review, only to be rightly denied a reprieve.
Azhar completed his fifty, taking 84 balls to get to the landmark. But he fell when top-edging a slog-sweep off Rashid (2 for 51) to Moeen Ali at short third man.
Morgan dabbed one to cover and Ali was onto it quickly to run Root out, the sixth time Morgan has run a team-mate out in an England shirt.
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With Joe Root making a half-century nearly as he pleased – he finished with 61 from 72 balls – there was an inevitability about England taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
