Moeen Ali, 45 not out, hit a winning six off Pakistan captain Azhar Ali as England posted 252-6 at Headingley.
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England’s one-day cricket is in rude health right now but the same can not be said of Pakistan who desperately need a change in fortunes in ODIs and T20Is.
Azhar made 80 and Imad Wasim 57 not out in an innings where the next best score was Sami Aslam’s 24.
England have already wrapped up their one day global series against Pakistan, but the idea of a clean sweep is still alive at Headingley.
Then Rashid signed off with the wicket of Azhar, whose hard work ended in anti-climax thanks to a tame chip to long-off from the final ball of the leg-spinner’s 10 overs. He also hoisted Plunkett and Rashid for two well-struck sixes. The most notable among the home side is a call-up for Jonny Bairstow to keep wicket following the warm-up where we presume Jos Buttler strained something.
But wickets fell around him steadily, with a diving Plunkett holding an excellent catch at mid-on to dismiss potential dangerman Sarfraz Ahmed (12) following a hard-hit drive off Rashid.
England left out pace bowlers Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, with their places taken by left-arm quick David Willey and all-rounder Chris Jordan.
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England, chasing a target of 248, finished on 252 for six with 12 balls to spare. Imad Wasim returns having been injured for Trent Bridge, coming in for the experienced Shoaib Malik who has had a poor series, while Umar Gul, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Irfan are drafted in.
