Time to resurrect this I think, with England on the verge of claiming the record highest ODI score. Sorry, I just need to type that again - England on the verge of claiming the record highest ODI score. In my eyes they already have the bragging rights, as the current record is held by Sri Lanka in a match vs the Netherlands in 2006, so not exactly top-tier opposition.
And they… have done it! With only 2 added to the score in the first 5 balls of the last over, it seemed like it was going to be an opportunity missed, but Buttler comes through with a boundary of the final ball! 444/3 - what an effort. Amazing how 442 would have been a disappointment!
England’s ODI form really has been excellent since the dire performance in the world cup. Today’s performance hasn’t been as explosive as some, with what you could even call a bit of a batting wobble chasing 247, but the ship has been steadied and I think the game is England’s to throw away. Previously, I would be worried that they would throw it away. Now… not so much.
Slightly disappointing end to the series, but it seems churlish to complain. However, I can’t help thinking that the great Australian sides of the 1990s would have taken the series 5-0, keeping their foot firmly on the throat of the opponents. On the other hand, it was a good opportunity to blood a new slow bowler (who was perhaps found a bit wanting), so fair enough.
I spent the last three weeks in Manhattan, land of skyscrapers and baseball, so did not follow the ODI series. Back home now so.
Basically, I think the result was as expected. The teams were evenly matched in Tests and T20 (perhaps Pakistan were a touch better in the former and England in the latter).
Our ODI squad was and is abysmal. England should not set great store by the result.
On the worse side for Pakistan too much reliance on seniors like Misbah, Younis, Shoaib Malik et al as well as Yasir Shah in tests.
The cynic in me wants Pakistan to fail to qualify for the WC2019, so we see actual improvements in our ODI infrastructure and the ICC stop the whole “lets have a 10 team WC” and give the Associates an actual shot.
I like to glance through threads like this to get a feel for what long involved baseball threads look like to people outside the baseball-playing countries.