Pakistan vs England 1st ODI Preview: Pakistan start as favorites going into the shorter formats

Pakistan vs England 1st ODI Preview: Pakistan start as favorites going into the shorter formats: Though the scorecards of the 3-Test series might indicate that Pakistan was the better team, the contest was closer than it actually looked. While England were 3 overs short of a victory in the first Test, they were agonizingly close to salvage a draw in the second. The 2-0 scoreline could have very well been 1-1. But eventually, credits to Pakistan to capitalize and extract the best out of UAE conditions.

And now the focus shifts towards the shorter formats, which looks equally exciting. While both the teams will miss their most experienced players in the form of Alastair Cook and Misbah Ul Haq; the ODI teams from both the countries have been in quite a form. While Pakistan have come back strongly after the drubbing they received in Bangladesh by following it with consecutive series victories over Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. England, meanwhile, looks very productive in this new-look team under Eoin Morgan, and will be quite upbeat despite a close series loss against Australia a couple of months ago.

The first of the 4 match-ODI series will be played at the picturesque Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium at Abu Dhabi.

England

The new look ODI team representing England has finally accustomed to the situations and demands of the shorter formats of the game. While over the past the English team were heavily criticized for concentrating too much on the longer formats, Strauss has taken a completely new approach. By sacrificing the spots of experienced players including the likes of Anderson, Broad and Cook, the English team has been built around the shorter format specialists, led by Eoin Morgan.

Morgan, who was heavily slammed for his captaincy in the World Cup down under, came back spectacularly in the home series against New Zealand and Australia. Despite series defeat in the ODI series against Australia, they made a comeback from being 2-0 down, and many thanks to Morgan’s heroics.

Eoin Morgan has been excellent for England this year, post the World Cup debacle. He scored 3 fifties in the series against Australia, which included two match-winning knocks of 62 and 92. Other batsmen in the team, including Alex Hales, James Taylor and Jos Buttler, have been impressive in patches albeit being inconsistent with their performances. The batsmen will take a cue from the team’s performance in the ODI series in 2011, wherein batsmen made merry in a surprising whitewash of Pakistan in their own den. The captain would expect their batsmen to pull up their socks and be a bit more consistent against Pakistan.

The bowling attack, meanwhile, will miss the services of Mark Wood due to an ankle injury. Liam Plunkett, who was handy against Austalia, is called as a replacement. While Finn’s doubtful for the series due to a stress injury, the likes of Topley and Willey will be expected to fill in with consistent performances. Much will be expected from the spinners, Adil Rashid and All-rounder Moeen Ali, who were modest with their performances in the Tests. The captain will most probably take in one spinner, and two pacers into the composition, with Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan as all-around options.

Pakistan

The Pakistan team will go into the ODI series with a high morale, thanks to some clean performances in the Test series even though it was a close call in a couple of occasions. The team, without the captaincy of Misbah, has done reasonably well under Azhar Ali. The only blimp is the demoralizing series loss against Bangladesh, but the team has jumped back with successive series victories over Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

The batting, which was re-enforced with the presence of Shoaib Malik, will be even more strengthened thanks to the inclusion of Younis Khan. Hafeez was impressive in Sri Lanka, though was average against Zimbabwe. The middle order and the top order, especially with Khan’s arrival, looks strong, but the real question is whether the likes of Bilal Asif and other lower-middle order batsmen have enough fire-power to play the big shots.

Meanwhile, the bowling attack looks equally strong. Wahab Riaz was impressive in the Tests, and ODIs is his and Mohammad Irfan’s forte, who makes a return to the ODI squad. While Anwar Ali would be expected to play a crucial role with the new ball, the real responsibility of running through the batting order is still with the spinners. Lead by Yasir Shah, who wrecked havoc in the Test series, the spin attack looks equally threatening. And with both Hafeez and Malik in disposal as part-time options, the captain won’t be short of options as far as the spin bowling department is concerned.

Form (Most Recent)

England: L W W L L

Pakistan: W L W L W

Stats

2: The number of times the teams have faced off at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. England won both the encounters.

21: The number of runs Younus Khan needs to become the highest scorer at this venue. He has 564 runs from 18 innings @ 33.

4: Maximum number of matches played by a player from the current England squad in UAE, by Steven Finn and Eoin Morgan.

250: Average first innings score

215: Average second innings score

2: Number of times a score excessive of 300 has been scored at Sheikh Zayed. The last time it was scored was way back in 2009, by New Zealand against Pakistan.

313/6: Pakistan’s highest score at this venue, coming way back in 2007.

453: Highest run scorer between Pakistan-England matches, amongst current players, by Younus Khan. But it has come in a modest average of 26.

142: Number of runs required by Younus Khan to become the 5^th highest run scorer for Pakistan in ODIs.

Pitch and Venue

In spite of Pakistan’s extremely good record in UAE, Sheikh Zayed has not been a good hunting ground for the home team. In fact, England has won both the matches they played at the venue against Pakistan.

The pitch is not a flat pitch by any measures. Known to have decent bit of pace and bounce, it is known to assist the spinners as it wears and tears.

Teams

England Squad

Moeen Ali (All-Rounder), Reece Topley (Bowler), Jason Roy (Batsman), Jonny Bairstow (Batsman), Chris Woakes (All-Rounder), Jos Buttler (Wicket-Keeper), David Willey (Bowler), Alex Hales (Batsman), Liam Plunkett (Bowler), Adil Rashid (Bowler), Joe Root (Batsman), Sam Billings (Batsman), James Taylor (Batsman), Eoin Morgan (Captain, Batsman), Chris Jordan (All-Rounder)

Pakistan Squad

Ahmed Shehzad (Batsman), Zafar Gohar (All-Rounder), Azhar Ali (Captain, Batsman), Mohammad Hafeez (All-Rounder), Mohammad Irfan (Bowler), Anwar Ali (Batsman), Younis Khan (Batsman), Sarfraz Ahmed (Wicket-Keeper), Yasir Shah (Bowler), Babar Azam (Batsman), Wahab Riaz (Bowler), Rahat Ali (Bowler), Aamer Yamin (Bowler), Mohammad Rizwan (Batsman), Shoaib Malik (All-Rounder), Bilal Asif (All-Rounder)

Match starts at (4:30 pm IST) Viewers can watch the Live Streaming at Cricketgatway.com