The giant 7ft 1in tall Irfan, who was himself only called into the squad as an injury replacement for Mohammad Hafeez on August 27, managed just five legitimate overs in Thursday’s fourth ODI against England at Headingley before going off with cramps to the visible annoyance of coach Mickey Arthur.
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With huge disappointment and frustration among Pakistani viewers, Pakistan will be engaged in last encounter with England as part of five-match one day worldwide (ODI) series at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Sunday.
A defiant Azhar Ali struck 80 but it needed an entertaining 57 off 41 from Imad Wasim to get Pakistan up to a competitive total.
Irfan took two for 25 in five overs but then twice went on and off the field and bowled only one more delivery, a wide, before, after pulling up in delivery stride, he walked off for the final time. His parents emigrated to Swansea for work, but returned to Pakistan while Imad was a young child.
Pakistan team for Asia Hockey Cup announced.
It may well be the last match of Azhar Ali as Pakistan’s ODI Captain. We have players in the side who can take bowling apart but they can be smart too’. We always try and flawless our fielding or get close to ideal and we want to become number one in the world.
Pakistan have a tough schedule as they try to improve their ranking, with the ICC system also factoring into account the quality of a team’s opposition. I’ve been asking questions regularly about different bits, that’s only natural, that’s human instinct to ask questions.
“We’ve got two series against West Indies that we have to play well in – West Indies are a decent one-day outfit”. But Sarfraz, who made Pakistan’s first ODI hundred at Lord’s in the second match of this series, fell just short of another century when he lofted Dawson and Alex Hales, back-pedalling at mid-on, held the catch.
“There were checks and balances in place [about Irfan’s fitness]”.
“He was put on standby when we selected our one-day squad”.
“I want to give guys opportunities and then we’ll know by the end of the tour who we can and can’t take forward”. Pakistan lost the match by four wickets to go 4-0 down in a five-match series.
Agencies add: Jonny Bairstow (61 off 83), the recalled wicketkeeper-batsman, and Ben Stokes (69 off 70) joined hands to stitch up a course-changing 103-run stand for the fifth wicket, before Moeen Ali (45* off 48) helped England see off the chase with two overs and four wickets to spare.
The series concludes in Cardiff on Sunday.
Pakistan have one last chance to raise their head before the cricketing world and their own fans by winning this last game.
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Following the Dhaka attack, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sent an inspection team to Bangladesh led by long-serving security chief Reg Dickason.
