Jos Buttler guided England to 355-5 with a spectacular 46-ball century, the fastest in ODIs by an England player, and Pakistan fell 84 runs short with Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid taking three wickets each
And here’s Vic Marks’s match report.
England’s players, weighed down after receiving an endless supply of novelty cheques, gather round the trophy. A job very well done in tough conditions, bouncing back from the Test defeat in style. As Eoin Morgan pointed out, everyone has played their part, culminating in Jos Buttler stepping out of his slump to guide England home in the third match, and clinch the series today.
That’s it from me; we’ll be back for the three-match T20 series, which rounds off England’s stay in the Gulf, and begins next Thursday. Won’t you join us? Thanks for reading. Bye!
Here comes Eoin Morgan. “Outstanding performance today, the most impressive thing was the batting... Jos Buttler was outstanding, and he was set up by Joe Root and Jason Roy early in the innings.”
On their bowling performance: “we were conceding runs at a clip but we kept taking wickets. This series has been a huge learning curve, but our big performances has been shared around.
Azhar Ali: “That big innings [from Buttler] was the difference, although we made a good start to our innings... it’s a big loss, congratulations to England, they played well... over the series, we played some bad cricket.”
Azhar gives full credit to Buttler, but says he is disappointed with the bowling at the end of England’s innings. A frank assessment from the Pakistan captain.
The man of the match award goes to... Jos Buttler. Not a massive surprise. The man of the series award goes to... also Jos Buttler. He was England’s leading run-scorer, and edges out Chris Woakes, who took eight wickets in the series.
Buttler: “Today was really satisfying for me, great to win the series most of all. It was one of those days, it’s amazing how things turn around.”
I’ll be sticking around for a few moments yet, with man of the match and series to be announced, and impending chat with both captains.
In the end, Jos Buttler’s heroics put the match beyond Pakistan’s reach, as they slumped to 271 all out after a defiant start to the innings. England win comfortably to complete an impressive series win, bouncing back from an opening defeat to win the series 3-1.
Anwar clubs the ball glumly to Rashid at cover, who scoops it up in front of him. Both umpires think it’s out, but they check with the third umpire, just to delay the inevitable. It’s out, and it’s all over!
40th over: Pakistan 271-9 (Anwar 24, Irfan 0) Irfan is stuck on strike, with each successful straight bat met with cheers that may or may not be ironic. Woakes fires in a bouncer which hits the lofty No11 in the armpit. A maiden, the first of the innings.
39th over: Pakistan 271-9 (Anwar 24, Irfan 0) Anwar sees out the over. It’s a matter of time now, with the crowd turning from cheers to disgruntled mumbling.
Yasir offers a big swing into the on side, and it sails straight to Woakes at cow corner. Mohammed Irfan is all that stands between England and a 3-1 series victory.
38th over: Pakistan 270-8 (Anwar 23, Yasir 5) Woakes returns – he would be especially keen to tidy up the tail end, with a place in the side against South Africa very much up for grabs. Yasir is composed enough, exchanging singles with Anwar, before a clip into the leg side for another.
Pakistan need more than that though, and Anwar takes a big swing, the ball dropping way short of the boundary. Willey races in from long on, but can’t reach it – the ball instead crushing his finger as it falls from the sky. He’s clearly in some pain, and I wouldn’t expect him to return to the attack today.
37th over: Pakistan 266-8 (Anwar 21, Yasir 3) There’s an appeal as Yasir looks to have edged through to Buttler, but replays suggest the bat struck the turf. Yasir picks up three runs either side of that awkward moment, before Anwar, who isn’t licked yet, smacks the final ball of the over beyond midwicket in defiant fashion.
No such heroics from Wahab, who is out second ball! Moeen gets a bit of turn to outfox the batsman, who prods the ball straight back to him. Pakistan’s defiant chase is in danger of going out with a whimper.
36th over: Pakistan 258-7 (Anwar 17, Wahab 1) Wahab, who hit an unbeaten 33 in Sharjah, is next to the crease. Anwar keeps motoring, spanking consecutive fours to keep the scoreboard moving, even if the wickets are running out.
Sarfraz sends Rashid for four with an impetuous slap shot down the ground. He tries to repeat the trick next ball, and sends it straight to Willey at mid-on. That rather sums up this series for Pakistan’s batsmen – deadly one minute, daft the next.
35th over: Pakistan 245-6 (Sarfraz 20, Anwar 9) Sarfraz, who has grubbed his way to 16 off 20, picks up another couple with a sweep to bring up 1000 ODI runs. A single puts Anwar on strike, and Moeen keeps the batsmen running for singles with an impressive, conservative over.
34th over: Pakistan 240-6 (Sarfraz 16, Anwar 8) Sarfraz lashes towards midwicket, and Morgan, diving full to his left, gets fingertips to it. That would have been an exceptional catch. Anwar, who is certainly capable of clearing the fence, picks up four along the ground with a well-timed sweep.
33rd over: Pakistan 231-6 (Sarfraz 14, Anwar 1) Malik joins Babar Azam in departing straight after reaching his half-century. Four of Pakistan’s batsmen have departed on scores between 37 and 52; if any of them had stuck around, Pakistan would probably be favourites now. As it is, Anwar Ali comes to the crease with just four wickets required for England to win the series.
If that first drop from Hales was the moment Pakistan started to believe, this quite spectacular catch may mark the beginning of the end. Malik tries to club a Topley full toss over midwicket, but it drops short. Hales still has plenty to do, racing in from deep square to take a diving catch. About ten times harder than the one he dropped.
32nd over: Pakistan 227-5 (Malik 52, Sarfraz 11) Malik completes his half-century in just 31 balls – including five boundaries – picking up seven runs in three balls as Rashid goes fuller to little effect. Ten runs off the over, England proving unable to stem the tide at the moment.
31st over: Pakistan 217-5 (Malik 43, Sarfraz 10) Topley continues, but the runs keep trickling in, with both batsmen poking tentatively around the field to pick up a slew of singles. Topley, conceding nine runs an over, has been England’s most expensive bowler, and there’s some competition.
30th over: Pakistan 211-5 (Malik 39, Sarfraz 8) Dot, dot, dot, four from Sarfraz, as he bides his time with Rashid before sending a flatter ball sweetly through midwicket. This has been toe-to-toe stuff from the start, with momentum edging either way on a ball-by-ball basis. Pakistan will be happy with their run rate, England pleased with their haul of five wickets at the 30-over mark.
29th over: Pakistan 206-5 (Malik 39, Sarfraz 3) Topley comes back into the attack. Interesting choice. Sarfraz attemps a cut to point, but his momentum is stalled by his bat snapping at the handle in mid-air. That’s a shoddy piece of kit right there. Sarfraz has to wait for a new bat, then prods a single away with Topley coming round the wicket. Sarfraz continues an eventful over with a hasty single, Moeen almost running him out with a direct hit from some distance away. It’s another final-ball boundary, but a fortunate one, as Topley’s yorker finds a thick inside edge and flies away past fine leg.
28th over: Pakistan 197-5 (Malik 32, Sarfraz 1) England are chipping away at the order, with Rashid getting two key wickets to swing the momentum back in their favour. Sarfraz is another aggressive, intelligent batsman though – this game could hinge on how long Pakistan can preserve this partnership.
Rizwan gets in on the act with a six, moving down the track to smack a straight Rashid delivery down the ground. Rashid isn’t having that, and brings out a leg-breaker which Rizwan misreads, edging through to Buttler!
27th over: Pakistan 188-4 (Malik 30, Rizwan 4) Pakistan’s halfway mark score of 176 is their highest since the distant, nu-metal days of 2000. Woakes with a welcome quiet over here, restricting the batsmen to two singles – until, you guessed it, the last ball, which Malik drives cannily over mid on for four.
26th over: Pakistan 182-4 (Malik 25, Rizwan 4) Pakistan have shown some uncharacteristic steel, with everyone (with the possible exception of Shahzad) choosing their shots nicely. Rizwan gets in on the act, with a masterful sweep for four, off the first ball faced.
Redemption for Hales, clearing two other fielders out of his way and taking a one-handed catch from deep cover to dismiss Babar Azam, who went for the rope off Rashid and just got underneath it. That’s a timely breakthrough, and no mistake.
25th over: Pakistan 176-3 (Babar Azam 50, Malik 23) Azam inches towards his half-century with a quick double, as Woakes returns to the attack. On 49, Azam swings at a delivery outside off, and almost edges through to Buttler. He regains his composure to tuck a single through the off-side to get his half-century off 49 balls. We’re halfway through, and Pakistan are, give or take a couple of runs, halfway to their target.
24th over: Pakistan 171-3 (Babar Azam 47, Malik 23) Here’s an eye-watering stat: England had seven fours after 23 overs; Pakistan have 17, and five sixes. Rashid, England’s most economical bowler, keeps the batsmen on the defensive in this over, with just three off the first five balls... and then Malik ends the over with a booming six, crashed back down the ground. There’s a pattern emerging here.
23rd over: Pakistan 162-3 (Babar Azam 45, Malik 16) Pakistan have continued with their aggressive approach, and Malik dances down the pitch, sending a gigantic six over midwicket. That even cleared the first tier of the stands. Malik follows that up with two run from a tickle off his pads, and the batsmen run another quick double to end an expensive over for England.
22nd over: Pakistan 150-3 (Babar Azam 45, Malik 5) Rashid continues, with Malik making his first impression with a cover drive that gleans a couple of runs. Rashid, left out of the Test squad for the tour of South Africa, has looked dangerous, and again has Babar Azam looking edgy with a couple of turning deliveries.
21st over: Pakistan 146-3 (Babar Azam 45, Malik 2) Shoaib Malik, who was run out in similarly farcical circumstances in the last match, is next to the crease. Pakistan have suffered the most ODI run-outs this year, three ahead of New Zealand, with daylight to the rest. Azam gets his sixth boundary, sending a full toss through the off side for four, and adds a late double with a dab down to third man.
20th over: Pakistan 138-3 (Babar Azam 38, Malik 1) So it seems the answer to the Mohammed Hafeez problem is to give him plenty to swing at, and wait for him to get himself out. That was a lucky wicket for England, in truth, but Rashid and Ali have done well to restrict the batsman, edging the required run rate up. That’s until Babar Azam, who is putting together an intelligent innings, crashes Rashid over extra cover for six.
Oh dear. It’s another one for the Allan Donald’s Ridiculous Run-Outs DVD, as Hafeez pushes the ball in David Willey’s direction, and with Azam unmoved at the other end, Hafeez is forced to trundle back, but is out of his crease by a good foot as Buttler clears the bails.
19th over: Pakistan 129-2 (Hafeez 37, Babar Azam 30) Spin from both ends, with Moeen continuing and causing problems for Babar Azam, who rotates the strike with an awkward swipe that drops between the fielders...
18th over: Pakistan 128-2 (Hafeez 37, Babar Azam 29) Pakistan have bagged at least one boundary in each of the last seven overs. England’s inexperienced attack getting a bit of a workout here, and it’s Adil Rashid’s turn to try and make the breakthrough. He almost gets it with a corking ball that drifts from middle stump, almost nicking Babar Azam’s outside edge. Rashid does at least stem the flow of runs – four from the over.
17th over: Pakistan 124-2 (Hafeez 36, Babar Azam 26) Moeen leaks just a single from the first four balls, after the players return from drinks. Pakistan have tended to wait for their chances, looking for a boundary or two per over to keep things moving. They get it, with Babar Azam tickling the final ball round the corner for a slow-motion four, with Willey chasing in vain.
Here’s a melancholy Angus King: “what is it about Hope and OBO? Every time you think it’s going to last she leaves you standing in the door of the Pink Flamingo crying in the rain.”
16th over: Pakistan 118-2 (Hafeez 35, Babar Azam 21) England, and Hales in particular, will be keen to get shot of Hafeez. Breaking this partnership, now 50 from 45 balls, is also a pressing concern. Babar Azam mistimes a cover drive but it drops short of the fielder, before Hafeez cracks another four with a pull through midwicket. Drinks!
15th over: Pakistan 111-2 (Hafeez 30, Babar Azam 19) Someone in the crowd has a handwritten sign that reads ‘356 is chaseable; Pakistan are unpredictable’. Sanguine stuff. Hales is back on the field, but probably wishes he wasn’t; after an exchange of singles, Hafeez swings for cow corner, and Hales gets right under it – but it falls through his fingers and dribbles away for four! That’s a dolly, and Moeen in the middle looks furious.
14th over: Pakistan 105-2 (Hafeez 25, Babar Azam 18) Hafeez has all day to set himself for a slow Topley ball, getting down on one knee and clubbing it into the crowd for six. Topley offers up a couple of wides as he struggles to find his range – and Babar Azam is on hand to offer more hurt, smacking another meek effort back down the ground. Topley on 0-32 after three overs, with Willey the only England bowler impressing.
13th over: Pakistan 91-2 (Hafeez 18, Babar Azam 13) Time for a bit of Moeen magic, although the spell is broken immediately by Babar Azam, who crunches his first ball straight through the covers for four. The bowler offers little else in the over, with only a couple of sneaky singles – but the scoreboard keeps moving.
12th over: Pakistan 84-2 (Hafeez 17, Babar Azam 7) Babar Azam runs a single, and has to coax Hafeez out of his crease. He’s finding his groove when on strike though, and sends Woakes packing with a one-bounce four over mid on. Woakes has bowled four overs, with figures of 0-31.
11th over: Pakistan 77-2 (Hafeez 12, Babar Azam 5) Willey is frustrating Hafeez here, forcing defensive shots when the batsman needs to come out swinging. He does find the fence with a wide, shorter ball that he sweeps awkwardly to fine leg. It was a better, more deliberate stroke than it looked. Willey doesn’t learn, and Rashid has to move over smartly to stop an identical effort from reaching the boundary.
10th over: Pakistan 68-2 (Hafeez 4, Babar Azam 4) Woakes, who has been expensive in his opening two overs, is helped out by Topley, who dives full-length to stop a mow through midwicket from Hafeez. Just three singles from the over. After ten overs, Pakistan’s run rate is bang on track, but those two cheap wickets will mean England won’t be panicking.
“A fine start from Pakistan, but when the rate is more than seven an over to begin with it’s a tall order” says Simon McMahon. “And when wickets fall (as they inevitably will) and the required rate edges up towards double figures, it becomes nigh on impossible. So, Pakistan to win by 6 wickets with 4 overs remaining?”
9th over: Pakistan 68-2 (Hafeez 4, Babar Azam 4) Pakistan’s shot of choice at present seems to be the nervous top edge just past the slips. Babar Azam gets a four in this fashion, with a slip and gully in place.
An inauspicious end to what was becoming an excellent knock from Azhar. After spearing a top edge beyond Buttler for a fortunate four, he chips a slower ball straight back to Willey, who gathers it in and does that sinewy celebration of his, square in the captain’s grill.
8th over: Pakistan 60-1 (Azhar 40, Hafeez 4) Woakes has impressed in this series, but he’s had a tough start here, with Azhar smashing an enormous six into the stands, then flicking a loose, wide delivery beyond Buttler for four. Azhar, clearly in the mood, nicks a single to keep the strike. England were 42-0 at this stage of their innings...
7th over: Pakistan 49-1 (Azhar 29, Hafeez 4) Here comes Mohammed Hafeez, who will need to stick around if Pakistan are to really threaten that England total.
John Starbuck asks: “do England have a special Cunning Plan for him? And when that doesn’t work (no plan survives contact with the enemy), how do they adapt to the circumstances?”
The opening partnership is broken, and in routine fashion. Shehzad gets two off a scrappy pull to square leg, but after a chat with Morgan, Willey bangs in a short delivery, and Shehzad sends it straight into the arms of Ali at deep midwicket.
6th over: Pakistan 43-0 (Azhar 29, Shehzad 11) Woakes comes in, with Morgan hoping to stem the steady flow of runs, but after a short ball causes confusion – and a half-chance at a run out with Azhar stumbling back to h is crease – the Pakistan captain punishes a couple of tame short balls. The first is dispatched over midwicket for six, the second driven through the off side for four more. An excellent start from Azhar.
5th over: Pakistan 33-0 (Azhar 19, Shehzad 11) Chris Jordan is on the field, in place of Alex Hales. Not sure what the issue is with Hales, but it can’t hurt to have Jordan in the field for a short while. An eventful over for James Taylor, as he gets hands to a fizzing, head-height blast from Shehzad, but can’t reel it in. A tricky chance, and he makes amends next ball, racing to the rope to save a boundary and sending the tiny hoardings skittering all over the place.
4th over: Pakistan 27-0 (Azhar 17, Shehzad 7) Buttler is having a rare old time behind the stumps, grinning away to himself. Lovely stuff. Pakistan struggling to pick out the holes in the England field, with a thump into the leg side from Azhar, and a carbon copy stroke from Shehzad, both finding a fielder. Azhar offers up a heave over mid on to finish the over with a four.
3rd over: Pakistan 20-0 (Azhar 12, Shehzad 6) It’s been a positive start from Pakistan’s openers, with plenty of early runs needed to stop that target drifting into the distance. Azhar gets set to spank a short ball through the covers, but only finds James Taylor in the field. A handful of singles from a scrappy over.
A good point well made, from Oliver Wilkes: “Well done Eoin for promoting Jos up the order. Please tell me that someone on TMS or Sky was chuntering away about how important it is for batsmen to know where they bat. Preferrably Boycs.”
2nd over: Pakistan 16-0 (Azhar 11, Shehzad 4) Reece Topley is up next, with Azhar still plumping for that flick through the leg side. It finally comes off with a four through square leg, and another two from an inswinging delivery. The captain mixes it up with a swing at fresh air, then a composed cover drive for another boundary!
1st over: Pakistan 5-0 (Azhar 1, Shehzad 4) A menacing opening over from Willey, who fires straight and true towards Azhar, who prods a single into the leg side. The bowler finds a bit of swing in both directions, almost catching Shehzad’s outside edge. A fine over is spoiled slightly by a delicate flick past Buttler from Shehzad. It runs away for four.
Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad way their way to the crease. David Willey will open things up.
Play will be getting back under way shortly. Here’s a song for Jos Buttler:
Thanks John. That wasn’t bad, was it? Jos Buttler has just scored the seventh fastest ODI century in history, behind only AB de Villiers, Corey Anderson, Shahid Afridi (x 2), Mark Boucher and Brian Lara.
Buttler’s knock was also, as you may have deduced, the fastest ODI century by an England player. Buttler has hit three centuries in all formats for England; all came in ODIs, and stand as the three fastest by an England player. When he’s on, he’s on.
And with that I shall pass you over to the estimable Niall McVeigh, who is on hand to take you through what will surely be a forlorn Pakistan chase. Send him your thoughts on niall.mcveigh.casual@theguardian.com.
Related: Jos Buttler scores fastest one-day hundred by an England player
“I don’t really know what we’ve just witness,” says Jason Roy, who in the end provided a Salieri innings to Buttler’s Mozart masterclass. “It was incredible.”
It’s also worth mentioning that Buttler’s flurry has taken England to their highest overseas ODI total.
England 355-5. The story looked like it was going to be Jason Roy’s maiden ODI ton but Jos Buttler has just rewritten the record books.
116 runs. 52 balls. 10 fours. Eight sixes. His second 50 came off just 16 balls. Perhaps the most spectacular, absurd, mind-boggling, wonderful ODI innings by anyone ever wearing an England shirt.
50th over: England 355-5 (Buttler 116, Moeen 4) The cricketing world outside Pakistan says thank you very much to Moeen Ali once more – he takes a single off the first ball of Wahab’s final over. Buttler waits like coiled spring … and Wahab sends five wides down the leg side. The bowler responds with a slower dot ball outside off but then gets it all wrong from then next with a nipple-high no ball outside off. Free hit: clipped into the gap at square leg for four.
He crumps the next between the sweepers at long on and midwicket for four more. They skitter two off the penultimate ball of the innings. And the last is again squirted away for two.
49th over: England 336-5 (Buttler 104, Moeen 3) Anwar Ali once more. Moeen again takes a single from the first ball of the over. Seatbelts on …
Buttler almost castles himself with a mis-hit ramp shot but a miserable delivery from Anwar disappears over the rope at midwicket. He moves to 90 from 43 balls. A very decent yorker is dug out for two. And it’s six from the next! A full ball just jabbed back over the bowler’s head and into the crowds. 98 off 45 … and that’s it. Six more! England’s fastest ever ODI century: 104 from 46 balls. Utterly incredible, otherworldly batting from Jos Buttler. Batting from the future, from outer space.
48th over: England 315-5 (Buttler 84, Moeen 2) Moeen takes a single to hand the strike back to Buttler.A full toss from Wahab is guided between the two fielders square on the off side. Four. The next, though, is skewed into the leg side … but somehow drops between three fielders. Two more. And a single pings away off the stumps at the non-strikers end. Buttler is 16 runs short of what would be the fastest ODI hundred for England. And there are two overs left. Moeen, though, has pinched the strike from the last ball of the over.
47th over: England 306-5 (Buttler 77, Moeen 0) And that’s over.
As a bowler there are v few players that you absolutely can't bowl at when they're 'on' - AB for sure. Maybe Buttler when he's like this.
James Taylor, who has had the best seat in the house for this astonishing innings, finally gets to face a delivery and quite sensibly he takes a single to hand the strike back to the whirlwind at the other end. Out comes the ramp … and there goes another boundary to bring up the England 300, a total no team has ever chased in the UAE. A yorker is dug out for a single.
Taylor flails the next into the evening sky and is a fortunate to see the ball drop safe. Taylor misses with a wild swing from the fifth ball and from the last he picks out the man at long on.
46th over: England 298-4 (Buttler 72, Taylor 10) Swing-and-a-miss from Buttler as Anwar Ali returns to the attack. But the next – an attempted bouncer – as swatted to square leg for four. Again Taylor turns a single into two from the next, and from the fourth ball of the over there’s the most casual of reverse-sweeps (again with no foot movement necessary) for four more.
The fifth ball of the over disappears into the stands at square leg for six. AND SO DOES THE LAST! It’s a big full toss from Anwar Ali, and Buttler gets it over the rope via the fingertips of the square leg fielder. He has 72 from 36 balls. The partnership is now worth 71, of which Taylor has scored 10.
45th over: England 276-4 (Buttler 50, Taylor 10) This is some shot from Jos Buttler – Wahab strays a touch short outside off and the batsman, feet barely moving, allows his hand-eye co-ordination to take over and slaps the ball baseball-style over extra cover and away for four. And he follows that up with something even better – a ferocious pull for six to cow corner. Buttler moves on to 47 from 27. Wahab responds with a clever slower ball, full and outside off. Smart stuff. Taylor turns a single off the next into two with some superb running and the last is a single that brings up Buttler’s half century (from 30 balls) and allows him to keep the strike.
44th over: England 262-4 (Buttler 37, Taylor 9) Buttler keeps his foot firmly on the gas, planting his foot down the track and biffing four to midwicket. From the next, he almost makes a mess of a ramp shot but adjusts at the last second and instead picks up four more despite the fine leg fielder’s dive. Overthrows from the next and four more from the last, thanks to some Pretty Average fielding from Yasir on the point boundary. Fifteen from the over.
43rd over: England 247-4 (Buttler 23, Taylor 8) Six more! Jos Buttler dances down the track – risky given Azhar’s ability to turn the ball – but unlike Morgan he gets hold of it, sending the ball crashing into the stands. Taylor skitters a single from the last – 10 off the over.
42nd over: England 237-4 (Buttler 15, Taylor 7) Irfan returns with a wide. A few balls later, the bowler attempts to bounce Taylor (which pretty much means he bowls on a good length) and the batsman sways out of the way, bringing his bat around as he does so to club a huge flat six to long leg.
41st over: England 229-4 (Buttler 14, Taylor 1) The Taylor-Buttler axis back in harness, then. But this has been a brilliant little spell from the Pakistan captain: his figures read 4-0-17-2
Azhar, whose three overs thus far have gone for just 14, gets another wicket! Again it’s a stumping, with Morgan the man caught out of his crease on this occasion. The England captain skipped down the track and missed the ball by a good distance.
40th over: England 226-3 (Buttler 12, Morgan 14) Shoaib Malik returns. Six! Buttler thrashes Malik to cow corner with a slog-sweep. Two balls later, Morgan latches onto a short ball from Shoaib and carts into the space at midwicket for four more. And he repeats the trick from the last ball of the over. Sixteen from the over.
39th over: England 210-3 (Buttler 5, Morgan 5) Azhar Ali continues. And England have to be satisfied with singles again, five of them in all.
38th over: England 205-3 (Buttler 3, Morgan 2) Irfan returns and Morgan gets off the mark with a single. It’s a good over from Irfan, though – just three runs from it.
37th over: England 202-3 (Buttler 2, Morgan 0) That’s Azhar Ali’s first ODI wicket and it comes at a vital time for Pakistan. England’s momentum has stalled a touch with those two dismissals. Root’s 71 came off 71 balls.
Root rocks forward looking for the reverse-sweep but misses and Sarfraz removes the bails.
36th over: England 196-2 (Buttler 1, Root 67) Jos Buttler, back in the batting groove, comes up the order. I really like the flexibility the England ODI team shows at the moment – wouldn’t have happened a year ago. He gets off the mark with a single.
Roy has gone! A skip down the track and Yasir just tweaks the ball a touch wider. Roy ends up stretching for the ball and can only send it steepling into the outfield. Babar takes a comfortable catch and a fine innings comes to a disappointing end.
35th over: England 193-1 (Roy 102, Root 65) Azhar Ali brings himself on for a twirl. A roll of the dice from the Pakistan captain. It’s tidy enough in the end, with neither batsman wanting to throw their wicket away needlessly against the part-timer. Four from the over.
34th over: England 189-1 (Roy 100, Root 63) Yasir Shah (8-0-50-0) comes back into the fray. Roy drives for a single to move on to 99 … and brings up his first international century with another smart push through the covers. He had a slice of luck in the middle of the innings and he was briefly becalmed, but in general it has been a really fine knock. It comes off 113 balls.
33rd over: England 185-1 (Roy 98, Root 61) England should be looking for 310- or 320-odd from here. A Root cut whistles past the man at point and flies away for four more. Wahab strays onto Roy’s pads later in the over and, with fine leg up inside the circle, that’s a straightforward four runs for the opener. The bowler responds well, with three successive dots to end the over. Even so, nine from it.
32nd over: England 176-1 (Roy 94, Root 56) Shoaib continues and Root brilliantly finds the gap in the on-side field – four runs down to cow corner, the ball bouncing perhaps a yard inside the rope. Two balls later he goes to his half century with a mammoth straight six down the ground. What a shot that was.
31st over: England 163-1 (Roy 93, Root 44) Wahab returns as Azhar Ali looks to find some control from his bowlers. And he gets it from the left-armer. Roy, who has a shirt now utterly drenched in sweat and under the helmet a face reddened by effort, is beaten twice outside off. Three from the over.
30th over: England 160-1 (Roy 93, Root 41) Roy gets out the reverse-sweep again and confidently thumps Yasir to the point boundary for four runs that bring up the 100 partnership from 109 balls. And eight in total from the over.
29th over: England 152-1 (Roy 86, Root 41) Root, playing beautifully now, takes a trio of twos off Shoiab’s latest.
28th over: England 146-1 (Roy 85, Root 34) Yasir Shah is having a pretty miserable time here. Six more from this over means his figures read 7-0-42-0. And his series figures to 26-0-150-1.
27th over: England 140-1 (Roy 82, Root 33) Roy pushes Shoaib through the covers for three and England pick up five from the over.
“I’m something of a Roy fan-boy, so this might come over a bit one-eyed, but I think it’s far too early to consider dropping him,” writes Michael Avery. “He’s meant to be in the team to get things going quickly, to be attacking from the off to counter Hales’ tendency to build slowly. Roy’s stats before this match were 15 matches, 421 runs at a 32.38 average. By way of comparison, Aaron Finch after 15 marches had 484 runs at a 34.57 average. The comparison does falter slightly because by that point Finch did have a high score of 148 (against Scotland), but I think Roy will manage something similar given time (or similar opposition).”
26th over: England 135-1 (Roy 78, Root 32) Roy is beaten all ends up by Yasir Shah here, a big slog-sweep goes for four at fine leg courtesy of the outside edge. And he picks up two more off another outside edge. That prompts Pakistan to put a slip in – bolting the stable door once the horse has bolted? Um, no: Roy edges the next too but the ball flicks of Sarfraz’s and the man at slip can only fumble the rebound down to the turf.
25th over: England 124-1 (Roy 70, Root 29) Roy goes over the top for six! He dances down the track to Shoaib and lofts, rather than smashes, a drive back over the bowler’s head – it plops a couple of yards over the boundary rope and the fielder at long on. This is more like it from this pair – reverse-sweeps and shovel-sweeps agogo.
24th over: England 114-1 (Roy 63, Root 25) Roy swats a drive through the man at mid off for a single. And Root crashes the first six of the innings off the next, crunching a slog-sweep into the stands at cow corner. Yasir responds by firing a few in.
23rd over: England 106-1 (Roy 62, Root 19) Three from Shoaib Malik’s latest.
22nd over: England 103-1 (Roy 60, Root 18) Yasir Shah again. More singles. This is just drifting a touch into 2014 England territory.
21st over: England 98-1 (Roy 58, Root 16) Shoaib Malik comes in for a twirl. Five risk-free runs are added to the total.
Rob Smyth has weighed in on the No10/opener question, pointing out that both Phil DeFreitas and David Brain have batted in both positions.
20th over: England 93-1 (Roy 56, Root 12) Roy comes down the track at Yasir but the spinner, perhaps chastened by the six scoring shots played off his last over, has the batsman tied down for the first four balls of this over. From the fifth, though, Roy crashes a slog sweep to the midwicket boundary for four.
19th over: England 88-1 (Roy 51, Root 12) Jason Roy brings up his half century (from 64 balls) with the latest of late cuts down to third man off Anwar Ali. He needed this innings – it turns a mixed series into a pretty good one.
18th over: England 83-1 (Roy 47, Root 11) Yasir Shah continues. And England continue to rack up the singles – five in a row from the first five balls of the over, then Joe Root ruins everything by driving wide of extra cover for two from the last.
17th over: England 76-1 (Roy 44, Root 7) Root clipsAnwar Ali away for four, then cuts a little uppishly for a single. Quiet accumulation is the name of the game at the moment.
“Afternoon John, afternoon everybody,” writes Guy Hornsby. “This is rather serene progress but while we need to get in, the run rate isn’t stellar, and another wicket would put us right in the proverbial (add a wicket when each goes down [/Boycott]). Anyone else getting a bit nervous? Roy’s in need of a big score to just cement his place after some good starts, and Root’s not scored big bar his 3 in the last game. A 3-1 would be an excellent result, 2-2 would feel like a missed chance. In short: PRESSURE”
16th over: England 72-1 (Roy 43, Root 4) A little later than expected, Yasir Shah enters the fray. Four dots … and then a misfield allows Root a single.
15th over: England 71-1 (Roy 43, Root 3) Still no spin from Pakistan – Anwar Ali returns. Roy is finding the gaps nicely now but three singles and three dots are all England get from the over.
14th over: England 68-1 (Roy 42, Root 1) Irfan continues. Joe Root gets off the mark with a sweetly-timed pull for a single, Babar making a fine stop on the midwicket boundary to prevent four. Roy, though, beats the sweeper from the next with another superbly timed flick.
13th over: England 62-1 (Roy 37, Root 0) Shot! Roy unfurls a glorious straight drive off Wahab – makers name, high elbow, the full works, with mushrooms and a fried slice.
12th over: England 57-1 (Roy 32, Root 0) Excellent stuff from Irfan, who has Roy squirting the ball just wide of gully. And he finds a bit of seam movement later in the over, jagging one past Root’s outside edge.
Pakistan have the breakthrough. Irfan bangs one in a little shorter, and Hales looks to pull from outside off but can only get a toe-ended top edge onto the ball. Over the keeper and down to the boundary it goes, where Shoiab, running round from third man, takes a fine tumbling catch.
11th over: England 54-0 (Roy 29, Hales 22) Wahab keeps things tight. Just three from the over.
“With Broad, Finn and Wood to come back in ODI-wise, and Tymal Mills as an option, they should be just fine for the pace bowling options behind those playing today,” writes Dominic Gillan. “Lessens our batting a touch replacing Woakes/Willey with them, but having Willey at 10 in this series almost seems a luxury too far! If we want Stokes as the sixth bowler on the other hand, not sure who to drop. Roy, with Willey opening?”
10th over: England 51-0 (Roy 28, Hales 20) Irfan has switched ends here and there’s a stifled appeal as Roy is clumped on the pad – it pitched outside leg and was bouncing over so there wasn’t much going for it. Roy miscues a drive over extra cover and picks up three, then chops away for a couple more to bring up the England 50. And the umpire has a quiet word with Irfan, whose follow-through is sneaking into the danger zone …
9th over: England 45-0 (Roy 25, Hales 17) Some fine shots in Wahab’s latest but few runs, with both batsmen picking out the fielders.
8th over: England 42-0 (Roy 23, Hales 16) Just to expand a little on Alex Bramble’s email in the last over, an equally interesting selection puzzler comes when England play on surfaces that might require more than one out-and-out seamer. Would a pace attack of Topley, Willey, Woakes and Stokes be adequate at, say, The Oval next spring?
Anyway, in the here and now Alex Hales has just crunched Anwar Ali away for four to backward square and England are building (shudder) a Really Good Platform.
7th over: England 36-0 (Roy 22, Hales 11) Wahab Riaz comes into the attack. Roy has a big slash outside off and another inside edge whistles past the wicketkeeper for four. He moves on to 22 from 26, with eight of those runs coming in the V behind him.
“I have no desire whatsoever to dampen the entirely justified love for James Taylor, but watching him bat so well has got me pondering what happens when Stokes is fit?” frets Alex Bramble. “Does the axe fall on Taylor again, or one of the two openers, or Moeen, or Rashid?
6th over: England 30-0 (Roy 17, Hales 10) Wonderful fielding from Ahmed Shehzad, who makes a brilliant stop at backward point to deny Roy a certain boundary. Ali drifts onto Hales’ pads with the last and the batsman smites the half-volley away for four to backward square leg.
5th over: England 24-0 (Roy 16, Hales 5) Hales clips Irfan off his hip for two more. The bowler comes round the wicket as a result, but Roy as able to shovel wide of midwicket for a couple more. And there’s a lovely little push down the ground for two more from the last. Nine from the over in risk-free ones and twos.
4th over: England 15-0 (Roy 11, Hales 2) The first boundary of the day – Roy attempting a cover drive and getting a thick inside edge that whistles away to fine leg for four. The only runs of another sharp over from Anwar Ali.
3rd over: England 11-0 (Roy 7, Hales 2) Roy turns Irfan round the corner for two more. The bowler is finding an awkward length, though. It’s nudge and nurdle from England so far and that’s because they’ve been forced to be cautious by some excellent bowling.
“This is the most comfortable I’ve been with England’s middle order in a long time,” writes Shola Clarke. “Root, Morgan and Taylor I have confidence in every time they walk to the crease. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before.” It’s a strange feeling isn’t it? Like seeing a hammer float in the bath or a donkey playing canasta.
2nd over: England 6-0 (Roy 3, Hales 1) Rizwan misfields to allow Roy another single as Anwar Ali begins his first over. Hales gets off the mark with a risky single – a direct hit from midwicket might well have seen him run out.
“In honour of James Taylor playing so well, are you gonna post us a bit of music?” writes Paul from Finland. “This for example?”
1st over: England 2-0 (Roy 1, Hales 0) JJ Roy could do with a few runs here – it’s been a mixed bag of a series for him so far (and a mixed bag of an ODI career for him so far, in truth). Mohammad Irfan starts with the ball for Pakistan and immediately wangs one down the leg side. Roy cracks a couple off the back foot straight to the cover fielder but then picks up the first runs off the bat with a little dab down to third man.
Out come the players: Alex Hales and Jason Roy stride out to open the batting for England.
Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan.
England: Roy, Hales, Root, Morgan, Taylor, Buttler, Moeen, Woakes, Rashid, Willey, Topley.
England have won it and they are going to have a bat.
Hello all. I don’t know about you, but I’m still reeling from Thursday’s announcement of the Test squad to tour South Africa. Whither Ian Ronald Bell? It was probably time for the Sledgehammer of Eternal Justice to be put out to pasture but still. I suppose we’ll always have 2013.
But the man set to take over the mantle as England’s Most Aesthetically Pleasing Diminutive Middle Order Batsmen is in stunning form out in the UAE. James Taylor is busy chiselling out a role in the side for years to come and due in no small part to the Notts batsman, England now stand on the cusp of a series victory.
Related: England in driving seat to fulfil Andrew Strauss’ demand for ODI success | Vic Marks
England are aiming for a 3-1 ODI series victory over @therealPCB tomorrow. Catches win matches. https://t.co/nDDgWjmjC4
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