Reigning champions England produced an impressive all-around performance to beat Pakistan by seven wickets at The Oval on Thursday in their final competitive match before the start of their Twenty20 World Cup title defence.
England won the toss and restricted Pakistan to a modest 157. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who was man of the match, took 2-27 from a maximum of four overs.
They then began their chase, with Phil Salt (45) and captain Jos Buttler (39) sharing a blistering opening stand of 82 within seven overs.
Harry Brook took six runs off paceman Haris Rauf, the best of Pakistan’s attacking line, in his 3-38 run, as England finished on 158-6 with more than three overs to spare.
The win gave England a 2-0 lead in the four-match T20 series after both games at Headingley and Cardiff were abandoned without a ball being bowled.
“We’ve been working hard in training and there’s a good feeling throughout the squad,” Butler told Sky Sports.
Buttler scored 84 runs in the hosts’ 23-run win in the second T20 at Edgbaston, continuing to lead England after his wife gave birth to the couple’s third child.
“It would have been nice to have a couple more games to expose some guys to different situations,” Butler added.
“But we have a very good experience in our group and a lot of our players have played in the IPL (Indian Premier League) so there is no shortage of cricket.”
Both England openers hit a powerful six off Naseem Shah before Salt holed out off Rauf to reach 45 in a swift victory.
– Pakistan’s midfield must ‘step up’ –
Earlier, Pakistan were trailing 59-0 after losing the coin toss at an overcast Oval.
But the team slumped to 86-5, their collapse beginning with skipper Babar Azam being caught at slip after a fierce delivery for 36 from fast bowler Jofra Archer.
“We did well for the first five or six overs but then we got out,” Azam said. “The middle order needs to work harder.”
“We need to sort those things out heading into the World Cup. We have a few injuries but we have a lot of positives. We’ve played well at times.”
Pakistan were also beaten by England’s disciplined attack and Rashid told reporters: “As a team, I think we bowled very well. I know they (Pakistan) got off to a great start but that’s T20 cricket.”
Rashid was also impressed with the way Archer, the injury-prone fast bowler, bowled in tandem with Mark Wood, who took wickets with a sharp bouncer.
“Joff and Woody, it’s exciting to watch those guys pitch,” he said.
“I saw the ball fly off the pitch and the keeper lift it really high. It’s exciting to have two quality world-class bowlers in our team.”
England begin their T20 World Cup campaign on June 4 against Scotland in Barbados, while 2009 champions Pakistan take on co-hosts USA in Dallas two days later.
Judge/EA
