There was little respite for Pakistan as they faced the prospects of an embarrassing 5-0 whitewash in their One-day worldwide series against England on Saturday when pacer Mohammad Irfan was ruled out of the contest because of a hamstring problem.
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Moeen Ali, 45 not out, hit a winning six off Pakistan captain Azhar Ali as England reached 252-6 at Headingley.
The tourists head into Sunday’s final ODI in Cardiff already 4-0 down in the five-match series and with just a lone Twenty20 global in Manchester on Wednesday to follow before they leave Britain.
By contrast they are a lowly ninth in the ODI table, with the 1992 champions in danger of failing to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup in England. It was one gamble too many, as this time Azhar Ali threw down the stumps from mid-on. We speak a hell of a lot. Definitely, we didn’t bowl well enough in Nottingham. I don’t think that’s the group of people we’ve got in this squad.
England are a case in point. But they haven’t been able to perform as a unit.
England’s improvement is dramatic, but Azhar can explain its origins since current assistant Paul Farbrace first took the reins from Peter Moores. I’ve been asking questions regularly about different bits, that’s only natural, that’s human instinct to ask questions.
But Bairstow and Moeen Ali added another 50 and, although Bairstow was run out, Moeen and David Willey saw England home with two overs to spare.
Alex Hales (eight) could not repeat his heroics at Trent Bridge, where he scored 171, and with Joe Root (30) and Eoin Morgan (11) also departing early the onus was on Stokes and Bairstow – one of five Yorkshire players in the team – to deliver. I would be desperately disappointed if I didn’t play at Cardiff but that’s me as a person and my will to want to play for England in every format.
“Where we are lacking as a batting unit we are not rotating the strike and we don’t have the guys who can clear the ropes”. He was put on standby when we selected our one-day squad, he went to the NCA and did his training.
After a game where records were shattered for fun, England and Pakistan rung in the changes.
For all Pakistan’s increased competitiveness – this was the closest match of the series – they have not passed 275 in four attempts, and Irfan, their best bowler with 2-26, managed only five overs before a calf problem forced him off the field.
Meanwhile, Swansea-born Imad Wasim is looking forward to returning to Wales.
After scoring a scarcely believable 444 for three last time out, England were embroiled in an old-school 50-over tussle which appeared to be going against them when the top four were dismissed within 15 overs.
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Dawson returned to see off each of Pakistan’s top-scorers, both holing out as they got greedy with the big hits, and then Bairstow produced a sharp piece of work to run Nawaz out with a direct hit.
