England have won their last four matches, and are hoping for a series whitewash as they face Pakistan in the fifth ODI on Sunday.
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Pakistan’s top order struggled against spinners Adil Rashid, who took 3-47, and Moeen, 2-39, before captain Azhar Ali’s 80 and Imad Wasim’s quickfire late unbeaten 57 off 41 balls gave the visitors a competitive total.
Three wickets by right-arm pacer Anwar Ali and a half-century by opener Israrullah helped defending champions Peshawar claim their third match in a row as they crushed a hapless FATA side by seven wickets in the National T20 Cup at the Rawalpindi Stadium yesterday.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan is set to return home after suffering from cramps in the fourth One-Day International against England and will take no further part in the remainder of the series.
England are due to fly to Dhaka on September 29 for the tour’s limited-overs leg, which consists of one warm-up fixture and then three ODIs.
Serial match-winner Jonny Bairstow longs for the day when he is back in England’s first-choice 50-over team.
Bairstow has been in outstanding form all year, and has made nearly 1,000 Test runs since January, including in a memorable stand with Stokes against South Africa at Cape Town.
Bairstow (61) – on his home ground at Headingley – and Ben Stokes (69) rescued Eoin Morgan’s team from 72 for four against Pakistan, the pair’s century stand helping the hosts past a target of 247 for eight in the fourth Royal London Series match.
Jason Roy was caught low down by Mohammad Rizwan off Mohammad Irfan, and Alex Hales edged behind.
The series result against Pakistan has seen England move from 106 points to 107 points in fifth position three behind India and South Africa, who are at 110 points each with India ranked ahead of South Africa on decimal points.
He was replaced by Mohammad Irfan in that game who bowled just five overs before suffering cramps and was subsequently ruled out of the final game.
Pitch and weather report: Another dry pitch is on the offering in this series.
Pakistan had recovered from the early loss of Sharjeel Khan with a smooth fifty stand between Azhar Ali and Babar Azam.
Stokes – dropped on 34 when he whipped Imad to backwards square – responded by hitting six fours and two sixes before he was caught in the deep slog-sweeping the spinner.
The Supersub experiment, which made Vikram Solanki a little piece of cricket history in 2005 when he was the first used, came and went from one-day internationals after less than a year, but Jonny Bairstow’s one-day career is reviving the memories.
“It’s unfortunate that Jos suffered an injury, and I got told 32 minutes before the start that I was playing so to contribute was nice”.
“I don’t think anyone thinks that way, or is inclined to say, “Oh well, we’ll leave it to the next person”.
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“England are a phenomenal cricket team, power hitters all the way down, we haven’t been able to get quick starts and clear the ropes”, he said.
