'They were pathetic' - Michael Vaughan disappointed with Pakistan's performance in the 1st ODI vs England

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has criticized Pakistan’s performance in the first ODI against England in Cardiff on Thursday. Facing the most inexperienced English ODI team in the last 20 or 30 years, Pakistan slipped to a nine-wicket loss at the Sophia Gardens, after a poor display with the bat. 

Just days ahead of the ODI series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) found out that seven members of their contingent were tested positive with COVID-19. This made them quarantine the entire squad and come up with a completely different squad of players, being led by Ben Stokes. Five of the eleven players in the side were making their debuts. 

Talking about the visitors’ performance on Twitter, Vaughan termed it to be ‘pathetic.’ He also credited England’s white-ball culture for producing a team overnight and turning up with such a comprehensive performance. Pakistan was bowled out for just 141 runs. Saqib Mahmood picked up his career-best figures of 4 for 42 in only his fifth ODI. England went on to chase the target in just 21.5 overs, with Dawid Malan ending with 68 runs while debutant Zak Crawley made 58 runs. 

Tells us so much about the culture of the white ball team: Michael Vaughan on England’s show

“For England to rock up only yesterday as a team and perform like they did tells us so much about the culture of the white ball team, very, very impressive. For Pakistan they were PATHETIC. It’s the only way to describe a performance like that,” the former England skipper tweeted. 

For England to rock up only yesterday as a team & perform like they did tells us so much about the culture of the white ball team .. very very impressive .. for Pakistan they were PATHETIC .. Its the only way to describe a performance like that .. #ENGvPAK

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 8, 2021

Pakistan had a terrible start with the bat, losing two wickets in the first three balls of the match. They further slipped to 26 for 4 before a blink of an eye. Pakistan never really recovered from that setback and slipped to a low score. Fakhar Zaman top-scored with a 67-ball 47 while Shadab Khan made a contribution of 30 runs. 

After the match, captain Babar Azam cited that the poor start to their batting innings hurt the visitors. “They picked up early wickets and that never allowed us to score big. Credit to England bowlers for taking wickets as that took the momentum away. Zaman did carry his form from PSL. We are looking forward to the next game,” Azam said after the match.