6th Match - England v Pakistan

[Burgey]

England can probably chase down anything on their day, but today's bowling effort has revealed a few chinks. And even this English side doesn't want to be regularly chasing 320+ in a World Cup environment.

It revealed/ confirmed a few chinks In their batting too. Confirmed the tactic of opening with spin, and they got all of two contributions from the vaunted batting line up.

Won’t surprise me if Australia plays Lyon and Zampa against them if the pitch is as flat as this one - Morgan and Stokes looked rubbish against the offies today and Roy went early again to the leggie.

 

[Bahnz]

Yesss Pakistan! The last thing we want is a boring progression of the 4 top sides to the semi's, let's have a 10-way bar brawl with every one glassing everyone else!

 

[Burgey]

^speaking of NZ culture

 

[Bahseph]

I'm liking this WC so far. Genuinely feel like most games could be competitive. India haven't joined the party yet though!

Amir and Wahab. Whoever pushed for their inclusion in the selection committee needs a raise.

 

[NZTailender]

Well well well, this world cup just got a whole lot more interesting.

 

[straw man]

Yesss Pakistan! The last thing we want is a boring progression of the 4 top sides to the semi's, let's have a 10-way bar brawl with every one glassing everyone else!

Haha. Just need SA to turn around and beat India to really liven the tournament up. Wasn't looking as interesting yesterday when Pakistan and SA already seemed far off the pace.

 

[smash84]

I'm liking this WC so far. Genuinely feel like most games could be competitive. India haven't joined the party yet though!

Amir and Wahab. Whoever pushed for their inclusion in the selection committee needs a raise.

Apparently Imran himself pushed for amir's inclusion when the team went to see him.

 

[Burgey]

How big are the NZ v Bangers and Aus v WI games now? Winners can put a decent early gap on England, SL, Pakistan and SA. Losers are just one of many in the bunch.

 

[Isura]

interesting, can fasting be the reason for their recent poor performances?

I can't picture Sarfaraz ever skipping a meal.

 

[Flem274*]

what would really cause chaos is afghanistan and sl snagging wins against better sides

 

[cnerd123]

The gap between England and Pak yesterday wasn't that great. Pak perhaps bowled better, but that to me just seemed to be thanks to having some scoreboard pressure to work with. Wahab was good but the rest were just okay. Both sides batted well and fielded poorly.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Wahab actually doing something is easily the biggest shock of the tournament so far. Still a bit expensive but he did genuinely look a dangerous proposition to face

 

[the big bambino]

I don't get that. Whenever I see him he's been fiery. He's been good often enough to be worth the selection risk.

 

[morgieb]

Looks like it was a genuinely good game, which has been kinda rare all World Cup. Good to see.

 

[stephen]

After seeing the Pakistani batsmen handle the short ball so much better today, I wonder whether the likes of Oshane Thomas and Andre Russell bowl heavier deliveries. Woods and Archer though pacy feel skiddier and a product of rhythm whereas the West Indians because of their height seem to get the ball to bounce alarmingly off slightly fuller lengths. Would be interesting to compare the pitch map between the two attacks,

Aside from that the surface and field was less conductive to short pitched bowling. At Trent Bridge the surface was a bit spongier which made shorter pitch bowling hold up a fraction. The square boundaries are also very short which encourages more length balls as well.

 

[tooextracool]

Yea its a different vibe and pressure. It is very different than playing in a bilateral ODI that means nothing. No way to prove it but I have noticed that England players were more calculative with their strokes in those than today. I'm sure a few demons crept in. Jason Roy and Moeen Ali let England down today. Pakistan bowled well and eventually things balanced out. Root should have gone earlier but then got out to a flaccid stroke.

To be honest, it was not just today but also in the first game against SA when they fell away towards the end of their innings. The problem that England have is that Buttler is carrying the finishing duties. Moeen at 7 is a problem, particularly with Stokes at 5 and Woakes at 8 both of whom don't have another gear.

 

[stephen]

Well done Pakistan. Went to bed at 1 reality hoping they'd manage to win and they did. I still can't see them winning the tournament but it was an impressive performance.

 

[tooextracool]

tbh after the way Pakistan folded against Oshane Thomas, wouldn't have been a skipper alive who wouldn't have strongly considered putting them in. Some teams just have a day out.

Different pitch and conditions - if there is pace/bounce/swing, one would and should be tempted to put any subcontinental side in to bat, but on a flat pancake where the talk is about scoring 500, it has to rank up there as one of stupidest ideas to put any subcontinental side in to bat in a world cup game. I am honestly surprised how many people get caught up in the hype of one game, if Pakistan were unable to defend themselves against the short ball on flat pitches, you'd think other teams would have figured it out before. Without disrespecting the likes of Oshane Thomas and Andre Russell, the tactic worked only because it was executed on the right pitch at the right time.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I don't get that. Whenever I see him he's been fiery. He's been good often enough to be worth the selection risk.

His last three ODIs in England before this one: 22.2 overs, 0/237 at 10.61 per over

The skepticism was well justified

 

[the big bambino]

His last three ODIs in England before this one: 22.2 overs, 0/237 at 10.61 per over

The skepticism was well justified

Fair enough but sometimes a bad run for individuals and teams in jamodis before a major tournament isn't such a bad thing. At least you shouldn't bet every selectorial consideration on it. He's got the heat which will always be useful.