Roy made 87 off 89 balls and Stokes scored 75 off 76 balls as England aims to clean sweep Pakistan 5-0.
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A 163-run stand from Sarfraz Ahmed (90) and Shoaib Malik (77) was crucial in chasing down a 303 target, and Azhar believes that with several youngsters coming through Pakistan can improve in the 50-over format if they show more consistency. Azhar had praise for Hasan Ali, who made his debut in Ireland and picked up a career-best 4 for 60 in Cardiff, as well as the spinning allrounders, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz, who could help with Pakistan’s balance in one-day cricket.
“Yes we are thinking about it and we will sit down and discuss it before the team is announced for the West Indies series”, Khan said.
Nevertheless, Pakistan remained at No. 9 in the ODI rankings, and were in danger of missing out on automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. He was unlucky with a rejected lbw appeal against Jason Roy in his first over, then saw Roy chop past his stumps for four, but his luck appeared to be out by the time Alex Hales struck three consecutive fours in Amir’s third over – the last flying in the air through a now-vacant second slip.
Tellingly, in an interview with Sky Sports before Sunday’s final one-day worldwide against Pakistan, Stokes talked about taking his time at the crease, playing himself in, and constructing an innings – words he followed with deeds a few hours later when he made 74, his highest one-day score for England.
“The way Sarfraz batted, this whole tour he’s been exceptional”, said Azhar following a much-needed win.
Meanwhile, England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan said he was “excited” by his team’s progress in 50-over cricket despite a season-ending loss to Pakistan.
Australia, aiming to reclaim the ICC Champions Trophy title to add to their World Cup trophy, when staged next year in the United Kingdom, have moved from 123 points to 124 points, and in doing so, have opened up an 11-point advantage over New Zealand.
The hosts passed their previous highest total of 408 for nine, made against New Zealand a year ago, while captain Morgan got to his half-century off 24 deliveries as he and Buttler shared an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 161.
“We lost a lot of momentum by losing wickets in the fashion we did”, said the captain, who promises nonetheless his side will not be tempering their aggressive intent any time soon.
And it will serve as just a gentle reminder to England of what happens when they’re not quite at their best.
“We just need to play some consistent cricket, fearless cricket”.
The skipper was also pleased to break out of a personal dip in form during this series:”It’s important to score runs, I’m in the team as a batsman”. We don’t want to be the best one day and the worst another.
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“I think it’s exciting”. “We haven’t been able to get quick starts and clear the ropes”.
