Written by: Waseem Abbas
Posted on: September 21, 2022 | 
| 中文
Naseem Shah bowling while Alex Hales is at the non-striker's end
The highly anticipated Pakistan versus England T20I Series kicked off in Karachi on the 20th of September. In the first game of the 7-match series, England defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets with four balls to spare. Pakistan scored 158 batting first, thanks to Muhammad Rizwan’s brisk 68 off 46 balls, while Luke Wood took 3 for 24 on debut and Adil Rashid took 2 for 27 for the visitors. England chased down the target with six wickets in hand, with Alex Hales’ defiant 53 off 40 on international return laid the platform and young Harry Brook finished the game off with his scintillating 42 not-out off 25 balls. With six more games to go, Pakistan can settle the scores if it finds the right combination.
Muhammad Rizwan batting and Phil Salt behind the stumps
The last time England Played an international game in Pakistan, Naseem Shah, who now spearheads Pakistan's bowling attack was only two and half years old. The last time Pakistan hosted England, Inzamam ul Haq was leading Pakistan and the eleven players were Younus, Razzaq, Afridi, Yousuf, Rana Naveed, Kaneria and Salman Butt amongst others. Marcus Trescothick led England had Andrew Straus, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff and Mat Prior as core members of that team. It was in December 2005 when England last played an international game in Pakistan, and interestingly enough, not a single player from that tour of both teams is part of this series.
England had followed New Zealand last year to cancel the Pakistan tour, citing security reasons after New Zealand players received some 'mysterious emails' threatening them. Big teams have usually sent second-string teams to Pakistan in the recent past, but this English team has most of its first-choice players playing in Pakistan. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Pakistani fans to watch live English T20 stars like Joss Buttler, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Alex Hales, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and David Malan wrestling with Pakistani stars like Babar, Rizwan, Shadab, Naseem and Nawaz.
Stand-in England Captain Moeen Ali leads his team towards the ground
The 7-match series is the most protracted T20I series among full-member ICC teams, only Mozambique and Malawi are the non-full-member teams to play a 7-match T20I series. This series hints toward the increasing importance of T20 cricket and the diminishing role of the ODI cricket from the international scene. Though this series can also be seen as a preparatory tour for the looming T20I World Cup, which is just 30 days away.
Both teams will look to try new combinations in this series, so as to find the right combination for the megaevent next month. England in this tour is without their three major players, Johnny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone sidelined due to injury, and their Test captain Ban Stokes, who opted to rest. Moreover, the regular captain, Joss Buttler, is unlikely to take part in the Karachi leg of the series due to the calf injury he sustained during the Hundred. Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are also not available in the first few games due to injuries. However, this doesn't mean that the England team lacks depth, as the 20-member squad has many T20 superstars who can fill the boots of injured players. Players like Harry Brook, Luke Wood, Phil Salt and Will Jacks will be eager to cement their place in the England team.
Luke Wood, who was adjudged Player of the Match on debut yesterday, bowls as curious Babar Azam looks towards the striker's end
An intriguing addition for the Brits in this tour is Alex Hales, the veteran T20 campaigner who returns to the team after three and half years. An important member of English white ball teams before the 2019 ODI World Cup, Hales was made an example of and sidelined from the team over drugs and disciplinary issues during the Morgan era. His opportunity to play for England, which he thought he would never get again, came in the series against Pakistan, where he has a vast experience of playing, not for England but in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). 10 out of 20 England players have played in PSL, so these conditions are not new for them and they would acclimatize in no time.
English players Alex Hales and Chris Woakes on their way to ground along with other team-mates
Pakistan team has many issues to settle in this series, as it seems not prepared for the WC. The defeat against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup's final raised many questions about the team's selection and morale. The team management, however, is adamant that they are on the right track. The first and foremost question was on the utility of the opening pair of Rizwan and Babar, and it was argued that two anchors playing at a low strike rate at the top puts additional pressure on the lower-order batters to score quickly. Babar's strike rate is 128.78 and Rizwan's 127, which is considered very low compared to other openers playing international cricket. Active T20I openers, like Joss Butler, Rohit Sharma, Quinton DeCock, Alex Hales, Martin Guptill, Kl Rahul, David Warner, and Aaron Finch all have better strike rates than the Pakistani pair. While opening together, they score at 7.96 runs an over, the slowest among opening pairs with minimum 700 runs. However, the Babar-Rizwan pair has accumulated 1334 runs at an average of over 47 in 29 matches opening together. They both are joint fastest to 2000 international T20 runs, reaching the milestone in 52 innings. Their average is second best among pairs to score 1000 runs, and their five-century stands are a world record. Babar's argument, which he expressed in the news conference, is that they (him and Rizwan) take the game deep, and their pinch hitters accumulate in death overs (16-20). And it is a fact that Pakistan's run rate at death in the last two overs, has been the world's best. The questions surfaced when Babar failed miserably in the Asia Cup, while Rizwan, though the highest run-getter of the competition, was striking at miserly 117. While it is imperative that Pakistan's top order is back in the groove, we should also be mindful of the questions raised on their utility.
Fewest innings to reach 2000 T20I runs (credits to ESPNcricinfo)
Former Pakistan Coach Mickey Arthur has also suggested that either Babar or Rizwan should open with a hard-hitting opener. In this way, the burden of scoring quickly does not fall on the lower order. Another argument is that Babar and Rizwan can open while chasing a score, as they have a better record when the target is in sight, and one of them should be dropped to one-down batting first. In this series, Pakistan has picked Shan Masood, after a stellar form in domestic cricket, County Cricket and PSL, along with hard-hitting wicket-keeper batter, Muhammad Harris. It is a good opportunity for Pakistan to test them in this series, along with Haider Ali, who warmed the bench throughout the Asia Cup. These youngsters can be a panacea to Pakistan's top and middle order batting woes, and can fill the void created by out-of-form Iftikhar Ahmed and Fakhar Zaman, and the slow starts of Babar and Rizwan. Pakistan's bowling seems to be on the right track as Young Naseem Shah has filled Shaheen's boots amicably in his absence, while Harris Rauf also impressed with his thunderbolts in the recently concluded Asia Cup. Spinners Shadab and Nawaz are also in good touch with both bat and ball, which will be invaluable for Pakistan in this series.
This series is of paramount importance for Pakistan, not only due to the entertainment and revenues it generates, but also for its role in the preparations for the World Cup. While on paper, Pakistan should be the favorites as the opponents are dented by injuries and unfamiliar conditions, it would be unwise to write them off as the squad is full of T20 veterans. Pakistan has a great opportunity to counter England's dominance in T20I against Pakistan, as the Green Shirts have so far won 6 T20I against the English team while losing 14.
The stadium was jam packed during the first game
The first four matches are scheduled in Karachi, while the last three games are planned to be played in Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium. The second game will be played on the 22nd of September, the third on the 23rd, the fourth on the 25th, the fifth on the 28th, the sixth on the 30th, and the last match on October 2nd. All the games start at 7:30 pm Pakistani Standard Time (PST).
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