England v Pakistan, 5th ODI: Five Things We Learned

Pakistan’s consolation win sees England lose their unbeaten limited overs record this summer. Still, they take the ODI series 4-1. Here’s what we learned from the final match in Cardiff…

MAN OF THE DAY – Sarfraz Ahmed (90 off 73)

It was fitting that Sarfraz Ahmed would be the man to stand tall in Pakistan’s only win of the ODI series. While Misbah rightly took most of the plaudits during a thrilling Test series, Sarfraz was a constant, busy presence: entertaining with his strokeplay, inventive at the crease and immaculate behind the stumps. The frustration for most is that, at number six, he is far too low in that Pakistan batting line-up. But after wickets fell in clusters, he was able to show his excellence in a superb 163-run partnership with Shoaib Malik. That he was not able to add a second century of the series, or even see his side home, will frustrate him. but he has been a real bright spot of this tour.

HASAN ALI (4-60)

Brisk, skiddy and not afraid to try new things. What has been noticeable about Hasan Ali is that his performances have improved with each match. At 22-years of age, he has time on his side and, in an ageing, archaic Pakistan side, he is a player to be persevered with. The wicket of Joe Root was perhaps the best piece of bowling: a full delivery, coupled with his natural movement into the right-hander, enticed the drive and took the inside edge, onto Root’s stumps. He nabbed Ben Stokes, too – just as the left-hander was starting to motor.

D’OH-SON

A harsh introduction into ODI cricket for Liam Dawson which came on the day that reports emerged that he would be the third spinner that England take on tour to Bangladesh and India. His eight overs conceded 70 runs – the most expensive for an England player on ODI debut. A stark contrast to his T20 bow earlier this summer in which he took three for 27 against Sri Lanka. The two wickets will have eased the pain somewhat: giving the ball flight to remove Sarfraz Ahmed and Imad Wasim, moments after being sent to the fence by both.

STOKES’ HIGH SCORE

A new ODi best for Ben Stokes, that came about through patience and then a move to attack that came as England looked to post a competitive score after a sticky middle period. Accompanying Jason Roy’s explosive 87, he was measured – at one point, 12 off 32 balls – before upping his rate after getting to grips with a two-paced pitch. He would eventually catch-up to 75 from 76 deliveries, striking five fours and three sixes.

STOKES’ LOW BLOW

Among the brilliance was this bit of comedy. Taking a page out of Hans Moleman’s book, Stokes caused himself a great deal of miscomfort with the most unfortunate of edges into the most unfortunate of places. Naturally, Joe Root found it hilarious (and so did we). It’s well worth a watch…