Key events
Pakistan reach 300!
50th over: Pakistan 302-9 (Shaheen Shah Afridi 10, Haris Rauf 4) Brook entrusts the final over to Baker. It starts well enough – leg-bye, leg-bye, wicket, leg-bye, but the last ball is there to be hit and Haris Rauf belts it to midwicket for four to bring up the 300.
That caps a sparkling recovery from Pakistan, who made a stodgy 81-4 off 112 balls before Hasan Raza came in, a fluent 130-2 off 128 while he was there, and a rip-roaring 91-3 off 61 after he’d gone. This could be the end of Babar Azam’s ODI career. And it may well be a winning score, though England’s dashers will have the dew on their side.
Thanks for your company and sorry for the terrible start (like Babar, but worse). You’re in safe hands now with my friend and yours, Rob Smyth.
ShareWicket! Naseem c Overton b Baker 1 (Pakistan 296-9)
That lone long-on is Overton, and Naseem has plopped the ball into his bread basket!
Updated at 07.48 EDT
49th over: Pakistan 283-7 (Shaheen Shah Afridi 9, Naseem Shah 0) Shaheen, now the captain of this team, shows leadership by belting Curran for two fours in a row, one to long-on, the other past cover. And England are penalised for their over rate, so just when they need three men at long-on, they will have only one.
Updated at 07.47 EDT
Wicket! Faheem Ashraf c Jacks b Curran 39 (Pakistan 285-8)
One brings two! Curran’s slower-ball bouncer befuddles Faheem, who can only send it to Jacks at deep midwicket.
Updated at 07.43 EDT
48th over: Pakistan 283-7 (Faheem Ashraf 38, Shaheen Shah Afridi 0) So Brook did have faith in Baker, and he may have regretted it as those three fours pinged off Arafat’s bat, but Baker bounced back. He’s a buoyant character and Brook is a creative captain.
ShareWICKET! Arafat c Brook b Baker 59 (Pakistan 283-7)
Arafat celebrates his fifty with two more fours, one through the covers, the other over them. He’s on fire! But then Baker finds the extinguisher, drawing a top edge that is safely held by Brook.
ShareFifty to Arafat Minhas!
Arafat gets a yorker from Sonny Baker and doesn’t so much dig it out as blaze it through the covers. That takes him to his first ODI fifty, 51 off 54 balls – watchful at first, then commanding.
47th over: Pakistan 271-6 (Arafat Minhas 47, Faheem Ashraf 38) Brook, perhaps not quite trusting Baker yet, goes back to the more experienced Curran. He has Arafat dropped by Jamie Cox, running back and not quite holding clinging onto a top edge. And the next ball brings another near-miss as Arafat swings down the ground, Tom Banton grabs it back from over the boundary and does his best to offer a relay catch – but it’s to Ben Duckett, the shortest player in the team, and it goes over his head!
46th over: Pakistan 263-6 (Arafat Minhas 41, Faheem Ashraf 36) Brook produces a rabbit out of a hat, handing the ball to Joe Root, perhaps in a bid to improve the over rate. Faheem says thanks very much and helps himself to a six over long-on. Pakistan have yet another 50 partnership – 52 off 37 balls.
45th over: Pakistan 250-6 (Arafat Minhas 38, Faheem Ashraf 26) Back comes Sonny Baker, hoping for reverse swing and not finding it as far as I can tell. He concedes one boundary, to a swirling mishit from Arafat, which Harry Brook chases all the way and can’t quite handle. “Ended up chesting it over the boundary,” says Mark Butcher, who’s so good at finding the fun in this funny old game.
44th over: Pakistan 242-6 (Arafat Minhas 32, Faheem Ashraf 25) Back comes Rashid and Faheem continues on his merry way, starting the over with a pair of consecutive thumps to the long-on boundary. Faheem has faced 16 balls and hit five of them for four, which is one more than Babar Azam managed off 52 balls.
Updated at 07.20 EDT
43rd over: Pakistan 232-6 (Arafat Minhas 31, Faheem Ashraf 16) Last over for Jacks, too. He thinks he’s got Arafat LBW, but the ball was sliding just past the leg stump. Faheem, facing a similar delivery, plays the finest of glances for four, and then goes from artful to agricultural with a swing for four more. Even so, Jacks finishes with 10-0-45-1: he was superb early on.
42nd over: Pakistan 222-6 (Arafat Minhas 31, Faheem Ashraf 7) Overton has reached his last over. He looks for that yorker again but gets it wrong this time, allowing Faheem to play a handsome cover drive. Still, it’s been a fine shift from Overton: 10-0-38-1, like something from the 1980s.
Updated at 07.12 EDT
41st over: Pakistan 215-6 (Arafat Minhas 30, Faheem Ashraf 2) It’s two left-handers at the crease now, so Nasser Hussain wonders if Brook will bring back Jacks with his off-breaks. And he does! It almost works as Arafat flirts with danger by clothing a pull. Four singles off the over.
40th over: Pakistan 211-6 (Arafat Minhas 29, Faheem Ashraf 0) Overton gets some reward at last for his discipline, and Harry Brook gets another tick for keeping him on. It’s been an innings of two halves from Pakistan: a trudge to 81-4 off 112 balls before Hasan appeared, a waltz to 130-2 off 128 while he was there.
ShareWICKET! Hasan Nawaz b Overton 79 (Pakistan 211-6)
Well bowled JOverton! After bowling even shorter than before, he switches to the yorker and gets the wicket England most wanted. That’s the end of a lovely innings from Hasan, who cruised to 79 off only 74 balls.
39th over: Pakistan 209-5 (Hasan Nawaz 77, Arafat Minhas 29) Arafat, emboldened, spots Curran’s moon ball and crunches it over cover for four. Then he plays the best shot of the three, swinging a full ball over mid-on for six, is it – no, four more, but still a statement. And he’s not finished yet, as another full ball is drilled past mid-off to make 13 off the over. Second fiddle no longer!
38th over: Pakistan 196-5 (Hasan Nawaz 77, Arafat Minhas 17) Overton, who’s been banging away short of a length, bowls a rare half-volley and Arafat cashes in with a whippy on-drive. That’s his first four, off the 24th delivery he has faced, but he needn’t worry about it because he has helped Hasan add 62 at a run a ball.
Updated at 06.52 EDT
37th over: Pakistan 190-5 (Hasan Nawaz 76, Arafat Minhas 12) Good from Curran, who could easily be rusty after his lay-off. He restricts the batters to three singles and very nearly has Arafat caught behind, but it’s a tough chance to Jamie Cox’s left and he can’t quite cling on.
36th over: Pakistan 187-5 (Hasan Nawaz 74, Arafat Minhas 11) When Harry Brook was brave enough to bring Will Jacks on for the seventh over, Pakistan’s senior pros weren’t brave enough to attack him. Now Jacks comes back and these young batters show how it’s done. Hasan hits a handsome cut for four and the other five balls all go for a single. They’ve added 53 already and look how many of those Arafat has made. Hasan has changed the game.
35th over: Pakistan 178-5 (Hasan Nawaz 67, Arafat Minhas 9) And here is Sam Curran, summoned from the deep at last. He starts as he means to go on, with a super-slow ball. This doesn’t please Stuart Broad, who argues that it’s not a surprise if the batter hasn’t got used to your normal speed. Hasan copes easily enough, waiting several minutes for the ball to arrive, then flicking it round the corner for two as if playing French cricket. He cuts the next ball for two more as England concede an overthrow, before Curran settles down and bowls three dots. Maybe he would tell Broad that slow is his normal speed.
Updated at 06.41 EDT
34th over: Pakistan 173-5 (Hasan Nawaz 62, Arafat Minhas 9) Last over with a different ball at each end. Harry Brook is working on one of them, polishing one side in an effort to persuade it to reverse-swing. No sign of that yet but Jamie Overton keeps it tight once again, going for only three singles.
33rd over: Pakistan 170-5 (Hasan Nawaz 60, Arafat Minhas 8) Sometimes the drinks break takes a wicket, and sometimes things continue just as before. Hasan shimmies down the track to hit Rashid’s first ball for six, again: he does love to start an over with a statement.
Updated at 06.30 EDT
Drinks! It’s England v Hasan
32nd over: Pakistan 161-5 (Hasan Nawaz 52, Arafat Minhas 7) And so to the second drinks break, with Hasan on song but England still on top. It’s been a team effort with all the bowlers chipping in – Jacks and Overton with their thrift, Atkinson, Baker and Rashid with wickets, and Curran with two fine catches.
Updated at 06.26 EDT
Fifty to Hasan Nawaz!
Hasan glides Overton for four to reach the first fifty of the day. He’s been more confident than any other batter, more fluent and more entertaining, making 50 off 46 balls with four fours and three sixes.
31st over: Pakistan 154-5 (Hasan Nawaz 46, Arafat Minhas 6) Hasan likes that six so much, he does it again off his next ball, off Rashid. Even with three dots at the end of the over, the partnership is 21 off 21.
30th over: Pakistan 147-5 (Hasan Nawaz 39, Arafat Minhas 6) Pakistan badly need a counter-attack too, and here it comes. The new batter, Arafat, reads Atkinson’s length rapidly and cuts him for four well in front of square. Then Hasan flicks him for six! If he can stay in for another 10 overs, his team will still be in the game.
Updated at 06.18 EDT
29th over: Pakistan 135-5 (Hasan Nawaz 32, Arafat Minhas 1) Brook, whose brain never sleeps, takes Jacks off (7-0-24-1) and brings back Rashid, who whisks through an over for just two singles.
Meanwhile, at Gqeberha, Marco Jansen has turned into Ian Botham, 1981 vintage.
Updated at 06.18 EDT
28th over: Pakistan 133-5 (Hasan Nawaz 31, Arafat Minhas 0) Curran, on his return after injury, has been a specialist fielder so far, but he’s still making a difference. Credit too to Harry Brook, who saw Atkinson make a couple of blunders in the deep and gave him a shot at redemption.
ShareWICKET! Saad Baig c Curran b Atkinson 35 (Pakistan 133-5)
The breakthrough! Atkinson’s bouncer is spot-on, heading for Saad’s face, and although he plays a decent pull, he picks the wrong man to hit it to. Curran races in from deep square to take another assured catch.
27th over: Pakistan 131-4 (Saad Baig 35, Hasan Nawaz 30) Now Hasan is dropped! And again it’s Atkinson who lends him a hand, by spilling a simple chance at long leg as Hasan top-edges a sweep off Jacks. The batters run two to bring up a fine 50 partnership off 50 balls. Now they just need to double it.
Updated at 06.06 EDT
26th over: Pakistan 128-4 (Saad Baig 34, Hasan Nawaz 28) Pakistan’s hopes of a respectable total now rest on Hasan Nawaz, and he’s rising to the challenge. He square-drives Baker for what should be two, but Gus Atkinson allows himself to be nutmegged, so it’s four. Nawaz rubs it in by backing away to leg and thrashing the next ball for four more, then calms down and plays an artful dab for two. That’s 10 off the over, and 35 off the last five.
25th over: Pakistan 118-4 (Saad Baig 34, Hasan Nawaz 18) Ladies and gentlemen, w have a dramatic development: Will Jacks has conceded a four. It comes off the 36th ball he’s bowled as Saad Baig clonks him over midwicket. Only two singles off the first five balls, though, and at the halfway stage Harry Brook won’t be remotely bothered.
Updated at 05.56 EDT
24th over: Pakistan 112-4 (Saad Baig 29, Hasan Nawaz 17) Baker’s over goes for five, but only because there are two wides as his bouncers go haywire. A camera goes for a wander above the crowd, which seems a little sparse although there’s plenty of hubbub.
23rd over: Pakistan 106-4 (Saad Baig 27, Hasan Nawaz 15) Rashid continues and Saad Baig changes gear, cutting the first ball of the over for two and chipping the last over mid-on for four. These two have added 25 at a run a ball: all Pakistan need now is for them to quadruple it.
22nd over: Pakistan 98-4 (Saad Baig 21, Hasan Nawaz 14) Back comes Sonny Baker, who, if he was a character in a children’s book, would be Mr Bustle. Hasan decides to give him the first two balls, settling for defensive pushes, then steps out to whack him past cover for four. Shot!
21st over: Pakistan 94-4 (Saad Baig 21, Hasan Nawaz 10) Adil, using his variations and his experience, goes for just two singles.
Updated at 05.42 EDT
20th over: Pakistan 92-4 (Saad Baig 20, Hasan Nawaz 9) Saad Baig is playing his second ODI, Hasan Nawaz his sixth, but they already look more comfortable than any other pair of batters today. Nawaz, unlike Salman Agha, is unruffled by Overton’s pace, greeting him with a clip for two and a glide for a single. After that, Overton still gets more than his fair share of dots.
Updated at 05.36 EDT
19th over: Pakistan 87-4 (Saad Baig 18, Hasan Nawaz 6) In comes Hasan Nawaz with his team in a lot of bother – and he hits his first ball for six! With a lofted on-drive. So it’s an expensive over from Rashid, 13 off it, but that’s a price worth paying for the scalp of Salman Agha, who made a hundred on Sunday.
Updated at 05.36 EDT
18th over: Pakistan 74-3 (Saad Baig 17, Salman Agha 10) Bowling short and fast is often a recipe for runs – cuts, hooks, upper-cuts, top edges over the keeper’s head. Not today from Jamie Overton. Salman does get the last ball of the over away for two, but it’s an uppish glide that could easily have gone to hand at backward point. Overton has 4-0-8-0.
17th over: Pakistan 70-3 (Saad Baig 17, Salman Agha 7) It’s Adil time! Pakistan have been so passive against Jacks that they’re going to have to attack England’s senior spinner. And Salman does: first ball, down the track, driving over extra-cover, four. By the middle of the over, Adil is all over him like a Rash. This duel is already a good contest.
16th over: Pakistan 65-3 (Saad Baig 17, Salman Agha 2) Overton continues and instantly hits Salman on the hand. Ouch! He gets some treatment and a breather as the umpires take drinks, and he;’s able to continue – but he nearly runs Saad out by going “Yes! No”. And Overton, like Jacks, has been allowed to make a miserly start: 3-0-5-0.
ShareDrinks! England well on top
15th over: Pakistan 64-3 (Saad Baig 17, Salman Agha 1) Jacks may have bowled that ball a touch faster: Babar, attempting a swat to midwicket, was late on it as it homed in on the off bail. Jacks almost makes it two wickets in two balls as Salman Agha plays a straight chip and flirts with a caught-and-bowled. Saad Baig, who has worked out that he’ll have to be the grown-up in the room, cuts the last ball of the over for four. But Jacks’ figures are still outstanding: 5-0-15-1.
ShareWICKET! Babar Azam b Jacks 34 (Pakistan 59-3)
And now he’s gone! Babar misses a straight one, for reasons that are hard to fathom – but it’s just deserts for Jacks’ accuracy, and for Babar’s lassitude.
Updated at 05.05 EDT
14th over: Pakistan 58-2 (Babar Azam 34, Saad Baig 12) Babar, meanwhile, is threatening to be the junior partner to a 19-year-old. He does manage a clip for two off JOverton.
13th over: Pakistan 54-2 (Babar Azam 31, Saad Baig 12) Three singles off Jacks, who has, I’m fairly sure, not conceded a two, let alone a four. His four overs have gone for just nine runs, a bonus for England as he’s very much the junior partner to Adil Rashid.
12th over: Pakistan 51-2 (Babar Azam 29, Saad Baig 11) Atkinson gets a breather after a solid opening spell (5-0-22-1). On comes Jamie Overton, the Liam Plunkett of this team, to bang it in and stick it up ’em. He duly surprises Saad Baig with his pace and bounce, beating him outside off with a ball clocked at 88mph, and this is yet another over that goes for just one run.
Updated at 04.56 EDT
11th over: Pakistan 50-2 (Babar Azam 28, Saad Baig 11) As Jacks continues, the batters finally begin to milk him. They take four singles, but one is off the edge as Jacks’ angle, from round the wicket, bothers Babar.
“Hi Tim,” says Nick Terdre, “Looks like the 9am start caught you out!” Guilty as charged. “Apart from Sam Curran, who is in the England team?” That’s one thing I have managed to cover: see 7th over.
10th over: Pakistan 46-2 (Babar Azam 26, Saad Baig 9) Saad Baig is 19, keeping wicket, making his second international appearance – and now, after a tongue-tied start, he suddenly finds his voice. He glides Atkinson for four, with a hint of edge, then cover-drives for four more with conviction.
9th over: Pakistan 34-2 (Babar Azam 25, Saad Baig 0) Jacks continues, so he wasn’t just a ploy for the quicks to swap round… and again he does well. This partnership is spoiling us: 19 balls used up, three runs scored.
8th over: Pakistan 33-2 (Babar Azam 24, Saad Baig 0) Brook takes Baker off, wicket or no wicket, to allow Gus Atkinson to change ends, which may explain why Jacks got that early go. Just a single off this over too: Babar seems to be back to form.
7th over: Pakistan 32-2 (Babar Azam 23, Saad Baig 0) Brook makes his first bowling change and springs a surprise by turning to Will Jacks’ off-breaks, rather than Sam Curran’s slow-ball allsorts. Jacks is on the money, conceding only a single.
That England team in full: Duckett, Banton, Root, Brook, Cox (wkt), Curran, Jacks, Overton, Atkinson, Rashid, Baker. No Jofra Archer as he’s been rested for this tour, and rightly so after a hectic year.
6th over: Pakistan 31-2 (Babar Azam 22, Saad Baig 0) Saim had just hit Baker for four – but only off the edge, through a vacant cordon. Harry Brook brings a slip in for the new batter’s first ball. Baker has been expensive (3-0-20-1) but, as usual, he’s made things happen.
Updated at 04.33 EDT
WICKET! Saim Ayub c Curran b Baker 8 (Pakistan 31-2)
Saim tries to flick Sonny Baker for six and sends the ball into the ether instead. Sam Curran does well to keep calm and cling on.
5th over: Pakistan 26-1 (Babar Azam 21, Saim Ayub 4) So sorry for the delay – nobody’s fault but mine. England didn’t help by taking a wicket with their first ball, as Gus Atkinson lured Fakhar Zaman into a loose clip to Joe Root at midwicket. That prompted Babar Azam to change the habit of a lifetime and get off to a quick start.
SharePreamble
Morning everyone. Or should that be welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends? Three weeks and two days after the last hurrah of the international summer, England are in action on the first of their five winter tours.
That day at the Oval, England were unstoppable, piling up 355 and then bowling Sri Lanka out for 132, which was barely any more than Tom Banton had made off his own bat. Will Banton, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Gus Atkinson and Liam Dawson still be in top form now? It’s anyone’s guess. In cricket, the picture can change in the space of a drinks break.
England have some momentum under Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum after beating India as well as Sri Lanka in the summer. But Brook’s record as an ODI captain away from home is modest: won 2, lost 4. And Pakistan started this tri-series with a win on Sunday, as Salman Agha continued his soap opera by making a hundred and the Sri Lankan tail wilted in the face of Pakistan’s fast bowlers. That game, like this one, was in Rawalpindi, which tends to offer pace and bounce.
England have played only three ODIs in Pakistan in the past 21 years – all early last year, all in the Champions Trophy, and all ending in defeat. The last time they met Pakistan in a 50-over game on Pakistani soil was at Rawalpindi in 2005, when England, captained by Marcus Trescothick, won a low-scoring tussle by six runs, thanks to four wickets from Jimmy Anderson and three from Ian Blackwell. England’s other spinner on that occasion was Shaun Udal. It would be another four years before they called up Adil Rashid, who now seems to have been there forever.
This is a day-nighter with play starting at 2pm in Rawalpindi, 10am BST. I’ll be back with the toss and the teams 25 minutes before that. In the meantime, here’s a perceptive series preview from Taha Hashim.