NOTTINGHAM: England won the toss and opted to field first against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, in the teams’ second Cricket World Cup 2019 fixture on Monday.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed said that he had also wanted to bowl first.
“I wanted to bowl first too. It looks a good batting surface. The short-ball [versus] West Indies was just a one-off I think. We have played five ODIs — not thinking about the losses,” he said.
His English counterpart Eoin Morgan said: “It [the pitch] looks very good. So, hopefully we play well enough today. We have one change: Liam Plunkett is out and Mark Wood comes in. It’s because we want extra pace,” the website reported.
Trent Bridge is renowned as a batsman’s paradise, with England having twice set the world record for the highest score in a One-Day International — 444 for three against Pakistan in 2016 and last year’s 481 for six — on the very pitch that will be used for today’s match.
But Pakistan’s batsmen had anything but an easy ride in Nottingham as they succumbed to a bouncer barrage from the West Indies that saw them slump to 105 all out and a comprehensive defeat in their opening match of the World Cup on Friday.
The green shirts may have lost their last 11 ODIs but bowling coach Azhar Mahmood says England must not forget his team’s resilient performance in the Champions Trophy two years ago as the sides prepare to meet.
“We are one win away from coming back, and that’s what happened in Champions Trophy,” Mahmood said.
“We lost in Champions Trophy and then we come back hard. So whenever we have lost and we come back stronger, and we have the ability to bounce back,” he added.
Pakistan beat England by eight wickets in the Champions Trophy semi-final in 2017 before a comprehensive victory over India in the final.
Their recent form, however, has been poor, including a 4-0 series defeat by England.
“We’ve lost 11 games in a row but in the five games we lost against Australia, we rested eight to nine players,” Mahmood told a news conference on Sunday.
“So it was young team and we were trying different players, different combinations. Yes, against England we lost four games. But we were not far away. We just didn’t win those crucial moments. They’ve played in England, so they have enough experience and motivation to go and win the game for Pakistan.”
Mahmood dismissed suggestions that if Pakistan win, for the first time since beating South Africa in Johannesburg in January, it would be a major upset. “We can beat them,” he said. “It’s not an upset. We have the ability to beat them.”
England, who launched their quest to win the World Cup for the first time with a 104-run rout of South Africa at the Oval in which fast bowler Jofra Archer starred may now, in the light of Pakistan’s problems against short-pitched bowling, unleash Wood in partnership with the Sussex speedster.
Line-ups
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imamul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt&wk), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir
England: (Playing XI) Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(capt), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
