ENGLAND FREEZE ON BIG STAGE
Pakistan cash in as old fears return to haunt Morgan’s men
What a time for England to produce their worst one- day performance since the debacle of the last World Cup. What a time for Pakistan to conjure up the spirit of Imran Khan’s cornered tigers and upset all possible odds.
this was not just a semi-final beating for England in the Champions trophy, it was an absolute hammering just when it seemed they were destined to end their long wait for a first global title in the longer limited-overs game.
and it came against a Pakistan side ranked eighth out of the eight teams in this tournament and seemingly destined for an early exit when they were comprehensively beaten by India in their opening game.
Now, unexpectedly and quite brilliantly, Pakistan have earned the chance to gain revenge over their great rivals on the biggest stage if India defeat Bangladesh today to set up a dream asian final at the Oval on Sunday.
there will be mutterings about the used pitch that was more Karachi than Cardiff and could have been tailor-made for Pakistan by the International Cricket Council, who oversee preparations at all three Champions trophy venues.
and it was certainly strange that a surface used only on Monday for Pakistan’s group victory against Sri Lanka was chosen for such a high-profile match when Cardiff has eight pitches suitable for televised matches on the square.
Yet to use the pitch as an excuse would do Pakistan a scandalous disservice because the most unpredictable team in world cricket thoroughly outplayed an England side with ambitions to become the best in the white-ball world.
England froze just when it mattered most. they played with the fear that appeared to have been eradicated from their game by a captain in Eoin Morgan and a coach in trevor Bayliss who have done so much to make them fearless.
Yes, this dry, worn surface negated home advantage and was not conducive to the strokeplay that has made this the most dynamic of all England one- day sides but they simply could not adapt to conditions, as all the best teams have to.
England seemed to let their misgivings about the pitch get to them and, far from sticking to their policy of always trying to hit their way out of trouble, they ended up becoming so cautious they played into Pakistan’s hands.
No one summed up their plight more than their talisman Ben Stokes, who endured the most uncharacteristic innings of his career, failing to hit a single boundary off any of the 64 balls he faced while scoring just 34.
Stokes was not able to take singles and put pressure on Pakistan while the going was tough for England, failing to score off no fewer than 34 of those deliveries as he attempted to shore up their crumbling facade.
and it summed up England’s day when Stokes was later to disappear for 38 runs off three overs and one ball as England failed to present Pakistan with the problems they were posed themselves.
It seemed as though Pakistan had handed England the advantage by deciding to bowl, with the theory being that this pitch could only get worse, as it did when England defeated New Zealand here in the group stages.
and for the first half of their innings it appeared Morgan’s side had struck the right balance in reining in their natural instincts while giving themselves a launchpad to move on to the score of 260 or so that would have made them favourites.
Jonny Bairstow rode his luck on his introduction to the side at the expense of Jason Roy. he was perilously close to lbw off his second ball and was dropped twice by a Pakistan side who looked to be living up to their mercurial reputation.
and England were given a helping hand, too, by the decision review system after australian umpire Rod tucker gave out both alex hales and Morgan only to see technology overturn both decisions.
how they needed one of their batsmen to take advantage but none was able to do so, with Joe Root’s 46 being the top score and the last eight wickets falling for just 83 runs in a gruesome second half of their innings.
the longer it went on the better Pakistan, beaten in 12 of their last 14 one-day internationals against England, got, to the joy of the swathes of their supporters who snapped up the tickets put up for re-sale by India fans.
No one epitomised Pakistan’s performance more than the animated figure of hasan ali, who celebrated every one of his three wickets in extravagant style and became the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 10 victims.
England, who have made scores of 300-plus almost routine in their two-year long one-day revolution, struggled to even reach 200 this time, staggering up to 211 before being put out of their misery with one ball unused.
England desperately needed early strikes but instead Fakhar Zaman, who had not played one- day international cricket before this tournament, and azhar ali put the pitch into perspective by putting on 118 for the first wicket.
there was no coming back from there for sorry England, the end coming with fully 77 balls to spare as Pakistan, who lost just their openers, marched on to one of the great cricketing days in their recent nomadic history.
For England, another crushing but this time unexpected one-day disappointment, but for Pakistan a significant and quite sensational triumph. Now they can attempt to emulate Imran’s side of 25 years ago and win the final.