Pakistan to play for pride against high-flying England

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL

Pakistan will look to end the limited-overs series on a positive note as they face England in the fifth and final one-day international (ODI), which will be played in Leeds on Sunday.

The Men in Green will look to salvage some pride, as they have had a horrid time so far, losing three ODIs and the only T20 International (T20I) against England.

Pakistan team in focus

Pakistan have given a good account of themselves in the batting department as they have consistently posted 340 plus totals in the series.

The Men in Green might look to rest opener Imamul Haq as a precaution, as he got retired hurt in the last ODI, but eventually returned to complete his innings.

Reserve opener Abid Ali might be given a go, to see how he fares in England before the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2019 World Cup.

All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez made a solid comeback with a fluent fifty and will be looking to get some more batting time ahead of the mega event.

Visitors fielding continued to disappoint as dropped catches and misfields at crucial junctures proved to be the difference between both sides.

Pakistan’s lack of penetration in the bowling department is also concerning, as they possess the second-worst strike rate (86.5) of all World Cup teams in the first ten overs of the ODIs this year.

Pakistan will continue to rely on all-rounders Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik and Hafeez in the spin department as leg-spinner Yasir Shah seems to be out of the scheme of things.

Left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi might return to replace pacer Junaid Khan who was fairly expensive and went for 16 runs in the crucial second last over of the fourth ODI.

England Team in Focus

England will continue to experiment with their line-up ahead of the World Cup, as they have already sealed the series.

The home side will be strengthened by the return of their regular skipper Eoin Morgan, who missed the last ODI because of one-match suspension for slow over-rate in the third ODI of the series.

Top-order batsman Joe Root is likely to be rested and can make way for the captain.

The centurion of the last game, Jason Roy, is also likely to be rested for the fifth ODI as his daughter is unwell.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow will return to partner opener James Vince at the top in Roy’s absence.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid will look to replicate his performance from the last ODI he played at his home ground, Leeds, in which he was awarded player of the match for his bowling against India.

The competition between England pacers is also getting intense as right-arm seamer Tom Curran made an impact with his all-round ability in the last ODI, while pacer Jofra Archer continue to make a claim for a World Cup spot.

Pitch and weather conditions

The average first-innings score at Headingly in ODIs since 2006 is 295. We can expect another high-scoring encounter, as the weather conditions on the match day are likely to be clear with the sun up and out.

Squads

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imamul Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen SHah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali.