The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Bairstow and Stokes impress in win over Pakistan Super-sub to fore for England
Super-sub Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes kept England on track for an unbeaten white-ball summer with a four-wicket win over Pakistan.
Stokes has been a late arrival in England’s limited-overs team this season, because of his injury troubles, and Bairstow was the fifth Yorkshire player in action on his home ground only after Jos Buttler injured his hamstring in the warm-up.
They answered the call with a century stand in this fourth Royal London Series match, after England stumbled to 72 for four in pursuit of 247 for eight under lights.
The hosts, following up the recordbreaking heroics of Trent Bridge – where they racked up an all-time highest one-day international total of 444 for three – have also wrapped up Andrew Strauss’ cross-format Super Series for good measure.
The 4-0 scoreline was in evident danger, albeit facing an achievable target, before Stokes (69) and Bairstow (61) got to work.
Only under-fire captain Azhar Ali (80) and number eight Imad Wasim (57 not out) hit half-centuries for Pakistan, as Adil Rashid (three for 47) and Moeen Ali shared five wickets.
In-form Imad reserved a relative big finish with a rapid 50 from 32 balls as he dominated Pakistan’s only half-century stand, with Hasan, for the eighth wicket.
But it did not prove enough to get the tourists off the mark in this series, as England continued unbeaten in 10 limited-overs matches since their agonising near miss in the World Twenty20 final.
If they complete a whitewash in Cardiff on Sunday, then add sprint victory in Manchester next week, they will make history as the first English team to go through a white-ball summer without defeat.