Pitch perfect for Pakistan, but not England
EOIN Morgan said his team had been scuppered by the schedule after they were dumped out of the Champions Trophy by outsiders Pakistan.
England were favourites going into their semi-final against the world’s eighth-ranked side – only to be thrashed by eight wickets on a surface that was more Karachi than Cardiff.
Morgan highlighted the fact that Pakistan had played on the same pitch against Sri Lanka only two days earlier, but England’s final group game had been on a far truer surface against Australia at Edgbaston.
“Having watched the game against Sri Lanka, we didn’t think the pitch was that bad,” he said.
“But today it was. Coming from Edgbaston, it was a big jump in pace and bounce, and too much for us to adjust.”
Pakistan passed England’s 211 with 77 balls to spare and Morgan said: “I think the explanation is they played two days ago on it.”
The conditions discouraged England from their usual fluent strokeplay.
Having hit 23 sixes in three group matches, they couldn’t manage one against inspired Pakistan bowling.
“I don’t think there was any home advantage,” said Morgan.
“We knew we were going to play on a used wicket at some stage, which potentially brought Pakistan’s game closer to their home.
“We left ourselves short adapting to conditions. We bowled okay, but defending 200 we needed a well above-par bowling performance. If we had put 280 on the board, it might have been a different game.”
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said: “It was equal for both teams. We played better cricket. That’s why we won.”
Ahmed was understandably proud of his inexperienced team.
“After the first loss we were very down, but credit goes to the team management,” Ahmed said.
“They boosted us up really well. I’m very happy about how my youngsters are performing.”
Pakistan was without their leading fast bowler Moham- mad Amir due to injury, but 23-year-old seamer Hasan Ali took three wickets to earn the Man-of-the-Match award.
“Credit goes to the bowlers,” Ahmed said. “They bowled really well, especially in the middle part. Hasan is improving day by day.”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain added: “There will be a lot of talk about the Cardiff pitch after Pakistan dumped England out of the Champions Trophy. But that won’t wash with me.
“It’s disrespectful to Pakistan, who played brilliantly and made the best of the conditions. Before the game I said it would depend which Pakistan turned up. They answered that one emphatically.
“England must have known that pitches in ICC tournaments can start to show wear and tear.
“It must have been part of their plans, not least because it happened during the 2013 competition, when they ended up playing the final against India on a turning track at Edgbaston.
“What they encountered shouldn’t have surprised them at all,” said Hussain.
“Their coach Trevor Bayliss has always asked for them to play smart cricket, not just gung-ho cricket.
“This was anything, but smart. In fact, it was timid. After two years of positive oneday batting, that is the biggest disappointment.
“England didn’t bowl badly, they just didn’t have enough to defend. And this result doesn’t make them a bad side. They’ve made too much progress since the 2015 World Cup for us to write them off because of one bad day.”
For England, another crushing but this time unexpected one-day disappointment, but for Pakistan a significant and quite sensational triumph.
Ahmed is confident about Pakistan’s chances in their first Champions Trophy final on Sunday when they will face local rivals India or Bangla- desh.
“I said after the loss to India if we play good cricket, definitely we will win this tournament. Now we are in the final,” he said.
Ahmed is hoping Amir will be fit for the showcase game at The Oval.
“I think he ( Amir) has a little bit of back spasm,” Ahmed said.
“Hopefully, he will recover for the final. He’s our best strike bowler.”– Daily Mail & Reuters