“Love watching Pakistan play cricket” - Michael Vaughan trolls visitors over batting collapse
Former England captain Michael Vaughan took a light-hearted dig at the Pakistan cricket team after their batting order collapsed in the first ODI against England in Cardiff.
England were forced to go in with a new-look team in the series after the entire original squad was forced into isolation because of COVID-19 cases in the camp. Many experts gave Pakistan the upper hand under these circumstances.
The unpredictability of Pakistan cricket, however, came to the fore again as they collapsed to 26 for 4 in seven overs after being sent into bat. Reacting to Pakistan’s stunning top-order slide, Vaughan took to Twitter to troll the visitors. He wrote:
“Love watching Pakistan play Cricket … A team that can beat any team in the world on any given day but also lose to any team on any given day … #ENGvPAK.”
Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq lbw to Saqib Mahmood off the first ball of the match. Skipper Babar Azam (0) lasted all of two deliveries before he caught in the slips off a good length delivery in the same over.
The in-form Mohammad Rizwan perished for 13, becoming Lewis Gregory’s first ODI scalp as he edged a well-pitched delivery. Rizwan got his third wicket when he trapped Saud Shakeel lbw for 5.
Pakistan were 92 for 6 after 24 overs. Sohaib Maqsood was then run out for 19 by a smart throw from James Vince. Fakhar Zaman made a defiant 47 before slashing Matt Parkinson to point.
Five England players made their debut in the first ODI against Pakistan
Forced to change their squad overnight, England handed ODI debuts to five players in the first match of the series in Cardiff. Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Lewis Gregory, Phil Salt and John Simpson are the five English cricketers who are playing their first ODI in Cardiff against Pakistan.
Speaking after winning the toss, England’s captain for the ODI series, Ben Stokes, remained positive and said:
"We're a successful team bowling, so just because we've got a changed team, we're not going to change our ways. It's a strange situation but to pick a team of this calibre shows we're in a good place."
Playing XIs for England vs Pakistan ODI
England: Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Zak Crawley, James Vince, Ben Stokes (capt), John Simpson (wk), Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Brydon Carse, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf