Englandrecorded the highest-ever team total in a one-day global when they made 444 for three against Pakistanat TrentBridge today.
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A year and a half ago, right after the 2015 World Cup debacle, if someone had said England would be one of the better teams in ODI cricket and would also post a world record score, that someone would have been given the “you are out of your mind” look. He too set a record by scoring England’s fastest-ever ODI half century in just 22 balls! Buttler (90 off 65 balls) and captain Eoin Morgan (57 off 27) shared an unbeaten partnership of 157 to steer England to an all-time 50-over world record 444/3.
England were breaking a 10-year-old one-day global record, set by Sri Lanka against Holland, and did so only from the final ball of their innings on Tuesday when Buttler smashed yet another boundary.
England, which won the first two ODIs with relative ease as well, took a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match series in Nottingham after Pakistan was bowled out for 275 with 44 balls to spare.
Hales and Joe Root then continued to dominate the proceedings and played their shots easily.
Hasan Ali (2-74) got rid of Jason Roy (15) in the sixth over, but Hales and Root cut loose on a to put on 248 for the second wicket.
“I think it was an exceptional innings from Alex Hales and Jos Buttler”, said Azhar Ali, the Pakistan captain. “The batting we’ve got all the way down to pretty much number 11 so it’s an exciting time for us as a team”.
The classy Root continued to find the gaps easily, while a boundary from Hales gave him the best score by an England batsman in an ODI before Hasan finally ended his magnificent knock by trapping him leg before with the next ball. Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz was their most expensive bowler and he returned with figures of 0/110 in his allotted 10 overs. Change in pacers selection is yet again expected after Pakistan’s fast bowling attack badly failed to make any impact.
Dawson impressed on his worldwide debut in England’s last T20 match, taking 3-27 in an eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka at The Ageas Bowl two months ago.
There are ways to move on from “a tough few weeks”, as Alex Hales summed up his recent difficulties, then there is what he managed at Trent Bridge.
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The left-hander’s fifty took just 22 balls – the same as Buttler and he reached the landmark with three successive well-struck sixes off leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
