[jjamez]

No Ollie Pope in the squad, wonder if England are managing his shoulder problem.

[themaclad]

Covid Bubbles obviously worked a treat

---

Ben Stokes
Jake Ball
Danny Briggs
Brydon Carse
Zak Crawley
Ben Duckett
Lewis Gregory
Tom Helm
Will Jacks
Dan Lawrence
Saqib Mahmood
Dawid Malan
Craig Overton
Matt Parkinson
David Payne
Phil Salt
John Simpson
James Vince

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

ECB still cutting their nose off to spite their face over Hales, then.

[jjamez]

Tbf ska'd Hales has been effectively retired from international cricket and I can't say I blame them in all fairness.

He got caught up in the whole stokes thing, not entirely his fault, but he got banned for using illegal drugs and by sounds of it, not the first time it's been flagged up. I'm all for second chances but it seems that he blew his and they wiped their hands of him and left him to notts and the other franchises.

Joe Clarke at notts is another that has effectively been retired I imagine, before even playing a game, he was likened to being another root, but, he was involved in the rape case at Worcestershire and now he's been done for affray. With the likes of Pope, Lawrence, Crawley and a good few other young batters coming through, he's gonna need to absolutely blow them out of the water to even get a sniff of a chance, and I don't think he's gonna be doing that.

[themaclad]

Lancashire bowlers run riot


First one-day international, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Pakistan 141 (35.2 overs): Fakhar 47 (67), Mahmood 4-42
England 142-1 (21.5 overs): Malan 68* (69), Crawley 58* (50)
England win by nine wickets; lead series 1-0
Scorecard
A depleted and inexperienced England thrashed Pakistan by nine wickets in a stunning win in the first one-day international in Cardiff.

After a Covid outbreak forced the hosts to pick an entirely new squad on Tuesday, England picked five debutants and bowled Pakistan out for 141 in 35.2 overs at Sophia Gardens.

Saqib Mahmood dismissed opener Imam-ul-Haq with the first ball of the match and had Pakistan captain Babar Azam caught second slip for a duck with the third.

The near full-strength tourists never recovered, seamer Mahmood, playing his fifth ODI, taking 4-42, Craig Overton finishing with 2-23 in his second match and leg spinner Matt Parkinson 2-28 in his third.

In reply, debutant Phil Salt edged to slip off Shaheen Afridi for seven but Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley, another playing his first ODI, cruised to victory with 28.1 overs - more than half the innings - remaining.

Malan ended 68 not out from 69 balls and Crawley unbeaten on 58 from 50 - the pair putting on 120 from 107 balls.

England take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with the second ODI taking place at Lord's on Saturday.

Reaction to England's impressive win in Cardiff
New-look England bowlers impress
England's XI was their least experienced since 1985 with just 124 caps to their name - 98 of those to captain Ben Stokes.

Salt, Crawley, Middlesex wicketkeeper John Simpson, Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory and Durham fast bowler Brydon Carse were the debutants but it was Mahmood, a relatively experienced head in this team on his 11th international appearance, who impressed most.

The Lancashire fast bowler needed a wise review from Stokes to dismiss Imam lbw first ball, before Babar nicked off with a defensive prod two balls later and debutant Saud Shakeel was trapped lbw to leave Pakistan 26-4 off seven overs.

The 24-year-old bowled with pace throughout, hitting a good length, and his fourth wicket came from a back of the length ball that cramped left-hander Faheem Ashraf from round the wicket before taking an edge.

Overall it was a clinical bowling performance from England's new-look attack.

Gregory, who has previously played seven Twenty20s, shared the new ball and bowled a perfect away swinger to take a thin edge off Mohammed Rizwan's bat in the fourth over. Parkinson chipped in and Overton claimed the final two wickets with bouncers.

Embarrassing defeat for lacklustre Pakistan
Pakistan, ranked sixth in the world, were expected to provide stiffer competition than Sri Lanka, who England swatted aside 3-0 in a T20 series and 2-0 in an ODI series in recent weeks.

Instead, Pakistan they were soundly beaten by England's second string - or even arguably third string when injuries are also taken into account.

The tourists have had no competitive warm-ups before this match and it showed. England bowled well but there were also a number of soft dismissals.

Fakhar Zaman and Sohaib Maqsood hinted at a recovery from 26-4 with a stand of 53 before a terrible mix-up which resulted in Maqsood being run out for 19.

Fakhar top scored with 47 but he tamely cut Parkinson to backward point when his side needed a bigger score.

Even Hasan Ali, Pakistan's number nine, was culpable, hitting a slog sweep to deep mid-wicket off Parkinson, having been dropped playing the same shot two overs earlier.

Welcome runs for Crawley
England batter Zak Crawley raises his bat after passing 50 on his ODI debut against Pakistan
Zak Crawley made an assured 58 not out on debut
This was only his fourth ODI but Malan eased England to victory with the type of steady innings he has shown in T20s.

Perhaps more significant for England was Crawley reaching his half-century off just 44 balls.

The score-line meant there was little pressure but he played with freedom, hitting seven boundaries all around the wicket.

This unprecedented situation has given Crawley a chance to find form and confidence against the white ball, having had a miserable run in the recent New Zealand Test series, but with five Tests against India to come later this summer.

'A very clinical performance' - what they said
England captain Ben Stokes: "It was a very clinical performance, when you get opposition four down early on then you're ahead in the game.

"When you get a new group together you're striving for that first real team performance. We didn't get put under pressure today, I have no doubt we will at some point. Not every game of cricket goes as smoothly as this."

Pakistan captain Babar Azam: "We were a bit loose with the bat, and that's why we didn't get a big total, but credit to the England bowlers.

"I don't think we misread the conditions - the momentum they got, and the fact we couldn't get a big partnership, is why we didn't get a big total."

Player of the match Saqib Mahmood: "It was a red-ball wicket early on, and early wickets meant we could set more attacking fields.

"Hopefully guys can take confidence from this."

[Lord Snooty]

Hell of a win that. For a team that's only just got together and with loads of debutants in the side.

[themaclad]

England v Pakistan, second one-day international, Lord's
England 247 (45.2 overs): Salt 60 (54), Vince 56 (52); Hassan 5-51
Pakistan 195 (41 overs): Shakeel 56 (77); Gregory 3-44, Mahmood 2-21
England win by 52 runs; lead series 2-0 with one game to play

England pulled off another impressive victory over Pakistan by 52 runs in the second one-day international at Lord's to clinch the three-match series with a game to spare.

After rain reduced the contest to 47 overs per side, England recovered from 160-7 to 247 all out in 45.2 overs - the hosts unchanged from an XI that included five debutants in the first ODI after a Covid-19 outbreak.

They then grabbed the initiative of an entertaining game by reducing Pakistan to 86-5 with a fine new-ball spell.

Fast bowler Saqib Mahmood stood out again, dismissing captain Babar Azam lbw for 19 and Mohammad Rizwan caught behind for five, while Lewis Gregory removed opener Imam-ul-Haq with his first ball - the seventh delivery of the innings.

Saud Shakeel kept the tourists in the game with 56 from 77 balls, while Hassan Ali took 22 runs from one Matt Parkinson over to energise the vocal Pakistan supporters.

But Shakeel holed out to deep square-leg off Parkinson and Gregory claimed the final wicket in the following over, Pakistan dismissed for 195 with 36 balls remaining.

All-rounder Gregory, who took 3-44, earlier scored 40 in a crucial eighth-wicket stand of 69 with Brydon Carse.

England had lost 5-42, seamer Hassan ripping through the middle order en route to figures of 5-51, after opener Phil Salt hit an aggressive 60 from 54 balls and James Vince scored 56 from 52.

It resulted in another impressive win for this inexperienced England side, who lead the series 2-0 going into the final match in Edgbaston on Tuesday.

This was also the first cricket match in England to be allowed a capacity crowd since the start of the pandemic, although the attendance was 22,704 - around 75% full.


This England success was almost as impressive as the nine-wicket win in Cardiff, given it was a more all-round performance and at times they were put under significant pressure.

Put into bat in damp conditions, Dawid Malan nicked to slip and Zak Crawley was brilliantly bowled by a Shaheen Afridi yorker, both for ducks, but Salt and Vince counter-attacked with a stand of 97 from 80 balls.

Salt and Vince were bowled by the spin of Shakeel and Shadab Khan respectively, and when captain Ben Stokes had his off stump removed by Hassan for 22, before John Simpson and Craig Overton quickly followed, England were in serious trouble.


But they responded again. Carse and Gregory had relatively quiet debuts in Cardiff but the pair showed maturity in rotating the strike while still scoring at a decent rate and punishing the bad balls.

Without their stand - the highest for the eighth wicket in an ODI at Lord's - England would likely have been well short.

Their influence continued in the second innings when Gregory took the first wicket - Imam caught by wicketkeeper Simpson - and the last - Haris Rauf taken down the leg side.

Carse ended Hassan's onslaught of 31 from 17 balls by having him caught at fine leg for his first international wicket and Simpson, another in his second ODI, caught the eye with a brilliant take off Parkinson.

He anticipated a sweep from Faheem Ashraf and caught the left-hander off the face of the bat down the leg side.

The fact the result was not completely certain even with Pakistan nine down showed England's total was not insurmountable.

Instead the loss of early wickets cost Pakistan again, as it did in Cardiff.

Babar, the number one ranked ODI batter in the world, showed a flash of his brilliance in hitting three boundaries in one over including a perfect on-drive, but he was removed by a good ball from Mahmood, which nipped in and would have hit the top of middle.

In contrast, opener Fakhar Zaman made a tortured 10 from 45 balls before being bowled by Overton.

Pakistan's bowling was improved, with Hassan the standout performer, though Rauf and Ashraf allowed Salt and Vince too many loose balls.

'
England captain Ben Stokes: "The really pleasing thing about that is the inexperienced players coming in and still continuing that mindset that we've produced over the last four or five years.

"The performance was fantastic."

Pakistan captain Babar Azam: "We didn't utilise the first 10 overs, we didn't get a partnership to score a good total and lost early wickets.

"Hassan Ali was outstanding and Saud Shakeel showed his potential."

Former England bowler Steven Finn on Test Match Special: "England were just impressive all round. The important thing is Pakistan put England under more pressure and it was a test to see if this inexperienced side could get through it.

"They came through every one of those passages of play where they could have folded."

[themaclad]

Indian player has Covid think we can hazard a guess at what is going to happen

[themaclad]

First Vitality T20, Trent Bridge
Pakistan 232-6 (20 overs): Babar 85 (49), Rizwan 63 (41)
England 201 (19.2 overs): Livingstone 103 (43), Shaheen 3-30
Pakistan won by 31 runs

Liam Livingstone's spectacular century was not enough to prevent England from being beaten by Pakistan in a riotous first Twenty20 at Trent Bridge.

With the hosts chasing 233 - what would have been their highest T20 pursuit of all-time - Livingstone reached 50 from 17 balls and 100 from 42, both England records.

He went to three figures with his ninth sixth, but was out next ball, a crucial swing of momentum towards Pakistan.

The tourists had earlier racked up 232-6 - their highest total in a T20 - taking advantage of a superb pitch and short boundaries on a sun-kissed evening in Nottingham.

Captain Babar Azam struck 85 from 49 balls and Mohammad Rizwan 63 from 41.

England were ragged, dropping catches and too often missing the mark with the ball to concede their highest score for eight years.

Livingstone's incredible knock kept England in it, but they were eventually bowled out for 201 in the last over to lose by 31 runs.

The second game of the three-match series - at Headingley on Sunday at 14:30 BST - is live on BBC One.




This was a memorable contest, magnificent entertainment played in front of a raucous crowd of 17,000.

Whereas Pakistan were humbled 3-0 by a virtual third-string England side in the one-day internationals, they were energised by a change of format and boosted by the hosts' poor performance with the ball.

As well as Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, an entire first-choice attack of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan and Adil Rashid were missing. In their absence, England were flayed.

While the bowling understudies failed to impress, Livingstone, previously not a certainty for a place at the T20 World Cup in October, showed he belongs among England's embarrassment of batting riches.

His clean striking was simply astonishing, made all the more impressive by the fact England lost regular wickets around him.

Livingstone's eventual dismissal, caught at long-on off the leg-spin of Shadab Khan, was a hammer blow to England.

On a night illuminated by wonderful batting, it was Pakistan's superior bowling and fielding - led by paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi's 3-30 - that proved the difference.


England gifted away the chance to bat first and might wonder how different the outcome could have been had Dawid Malan held a difficult, low chance at a wide slip when Babar edged the first ball he faced, bowled by David Willey.

Reprieved, Babar played a majestic innings, full of wristy whips through the leg side.


Watch the best of Babar Azam's 85 against England
Rizwan struggled at first, but gradually found fluency in a stand of 150 - the highest opening partnership against England in a T20.

The lack of early wickets severely hampered England's cause and as the bowlers struggled with their lengths, Pakistan's batsmen queued up to despatch the ball into the stands.

The first six did not come until the 12th over, but nine more were smashed after that as 152 runs were plundered in the final 10 overs.

England's mountain proves too high
England's display with the ball was as curious as it was disappointing. Only Willey managed an economy under 10, yet off-spinner Moeen Ali went unused, with Livingstone bowling two overs.

Eoin Morgan's men have history at Trent Bridge - twice on this ground they have posted record totals in ODIs - and Livingstone raised hopes that something special could be achieved once more.

Although England lost three wickets in the powerplay - Shaheen and Haris Rauf both took spectacular catches - Jason Roy got them moving with 32 from 13 balls.


Watch Shaheen's stunning catch to dismiss Malan
Then Livingstone took over with fast hands, brute force and straight hitting. He reached 50 in only 22 minutes, adding 51 in five overs with Morgan and 44 in 4.3 with Lewis Gregory.

He went to three figures by lofting Shadab over long-on, only to be held on the same boundary by Shaheen, departing to rapturous applause.

Willey was England's last hope, yet he fell to one more superb catch, this time by Shadab, running around the leg-side rope.

'An incredible knock' - what they said
England's Liam Livingstone: "We've spent 10 days in isolation. It was nice to have that break and I came back in feeling really fresh. I didn't pick a bat up for 10 days then came back in yesterday and felt really good."

England captain Eoin Morgan: "It was an incredible knock. The biggest compliment I could pay him is our changing room has watched some incredible knocks from Roy or (Jos) Buttler or Ali and that knock was as good as any of them. He was incredible."

Pakistan captain Babar Azam: "Everyone took part in today's win. After mine and Rizwan's partnership all the batsmen came and performed their roles and we got a brilliant total.

"We want to carry on the momentum on to the next game and take the positives from today."

[Lord Snooty]

That's a new one for me. I know I'm not an expert in the laws of cricket but, Livingstone run out when the lad running him out had broken the wicket with his foot.
But there was still one of the bails still in place, so when he swung round and broke the wicket properly, Livingstone was still short of the crease.
Verdict? Out!

Never seen that before. Not out I would've said.