Pakistan were hammered by nine wickets in the first ODI against an England side that had many debutants as the original side was isolated due to coronavirus.
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For a long time now, India’s bench strength has been talked about as envy for the cricketing world. However, without creating too much noise, England has also built a considerable bench strength in all departments. Consider this, in the first ODI at Cardiff, Ben Stokes had a total experience of 98 ODIs. The rest of the players in the playing 11 combined were just 26. The original England squad was in isolation after seven members tested positive for COVID-19 following the end of the Sri Lanka ODI in Bristol.
This was the first time Ben Stokes was captaining England. There were newcomers like Brydon Carse, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Craig Overton, and Lewis Gregory. Even the keeper was new in John Simpson. Pakistan, on the other hand, had veterans like Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Afridi.
Yet, Pakistan lost. They did not just lose. They were thrashed by nine wickets in the opening ODI at Cardiff. The performances highlight Pakistan’s woes but it also brings to light the bench strength of the England team. This inexperienced side is now on the cusp of securing a series win.
Pakistan made a disastrous start in the first over as they lost both Imam and Babar in the first over to Mahmood. Mohammad Rizwan hit three quick boundaries but he fell to Lewis Gregory. When Saud Shakeel fell cheaply, Pakistan was in deep trouble at 26/4. Fakhar and Sohaib Maqsood stitched a 53-run stand and that seemed to have revived Pakistan.
Fakhar was nearing his fifty but he was dismissed by Matthew Parkinson for 47. With the partnership broken, the Pakistan side was struggling to get to even 150. Shadab Khan combined caution with aggression to take Pakistan close to 150. But, when he fell for 30, the innings ended quickly. Mahmood ended with 4/42 from his 10 overs. He got good support from Craig Overton and Matthew Parkinson as Pakistan was bowled out for 142.
Pakistan looked to exploit the inexperience of the England batting line-up. Shaheen Afridi got the better of Philip Salt for 7. But, Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley showed their worth in the chase. There is a reason why Malan was the No.1 Twenty20 International player. Not concerned about the early loss, Malan and Crawley got England off to a flier.
Malan hit two fours in Afridi and Hasan Ali’s overs. By the 10th over, England had raced to 61/1. Crawley joined Malan as he hit two fours off Haris Rauf in the 12th over. Malan notched up a fifty on debut while Crawley also notched up a milestone in his first game. The game was sealed in the 22nd over as England went 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Mahmood was the Man of the Match for his spell and said the wicket was more suited to Test cricket. Stokes, who started his captaincy on a winning note, hailed the team for the clinical performance. “Any game where you get the opposition out so early, you’re always ahead of the game. You’re always striving for that massive team performance. I just told the boys to do what they’ve been doing all summer for their counties. Don’t change anything,” Stokes said.
The second match will take place at Lord’s on July 10. The final ODI will take place on July 13 in Edgbaston. After that, the action shifts to the three T20Is from July 16 to July 20.
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