Hosts opt for steady Root to success
CRICKET
JOE Root expertly marshalled the England chase as they reeled off a four-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second one-day international at Lord’s. Pakistan wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed produced the star turn, making 105 to lift his side to 251 all out, but a lack of support meant that was never likely to be a winning total.
Root provided the reply with a disciplined, doughty spine, but fell for 89 – his fourth successive half-century in the format – just before the job was done.
Root laughed off a collision with team-mate Adil Rashid when he took a catch in the outfield and, while he was left limping, it did not prevent him reeling off another masterclass with bat in hand.
“It’s all right, [there was] a bit of a dramatic football sort of dive in the end,” he said. “Rash came steaming over. I’ve never seen him tackle me like that before, not even in the warm-ups.”
Root expects to be fully fit for Trent Bridge on Tuesday, when England can wrap up the series.
“It should be fine,” he said. “I managed to play another 50 overs, so I don’t see it being a problem.”
Captain Eoin Morgan paid tribute to his number three, who expertly paced the chase after Jason Roy fell for a duck in the first over.
“Batting with Joe is awesome,” he said. “He’s got such a cool and calm head.
“He seems to be playing on a different wicket to everyone else at the moment.”
Both Sarfraz and Root favoured pragmatism over pyrotechnics, scoring 61 and 53 singles respectively, but England were collectively stronger and looked in control from first ball to last despite a moderate winning margin and took a 2-0 series lead.
For a side whose 50-over cricket was seen as a basket case little more than a year ago, such a drama-free victory was a cause for celebration. But a Pakistan team labelled as “behind the times” by their own head coach, Mickey Arthur, merely logged another reminder of their limitations.
England’s new-ball pairing of Chris Woakes and Mark Wood impressed again, sharing six wickets and reducing Pakistan to two for three after they opted to bat first. Sarfraz lingered for the majority of the innings, reaching the landmark with just his sixth boundary of the day, tucking Liam Plunkett towards fine leg.
Having become the first Pakistani to score a one-day hundred at Lord’s, he departed to a half-hit slog-sweep.
That left 7.1 overs, during which England took the last four wickets for 49 runs.
England would not have been daunted by the chase but the cheap dismissals of Jason Roy, who had his stumps scattered by Mohammad Amir, and Alex Hales, bowled on the sweep by Imad Wasim, raised the stakes. A 10-over score of 39 for two was modest but England were in safe hands with Root, aided by a 68 from Eoin Morgan and 42 from Ben Stokes.