Pakistan to clash with England in first ODI today

After suffering a loss at the one-off T20 International (T20I), the Men in Green will aim to rectify their flaws in the 50-overs format as they face off against hosts England in the first One Day International (ODI) today at Oval.

The Sarfraz Ahmed-led side has not been among the most impressive 50-overs sides recently. However, the visitors have now ample time to adjust to the English conditions and would aim to make the most out of these preparations before the upcoming World Cup 2019.

Speaking about the Pakistan's batting line, the dearth of power hitters has been a source of concern for some time now, especially in the middle and late overs, which has dented Pakistan’s ability to post over 300-runs on a routine basis, which is a norm in modern ODI cricket.

Whereas, Pakistan's much talked about bowling line would seriously miss the absence of leg-spinner Shadab Khan, who was unfortunately out of the tour after catching a virus. The team would seriously need its speedsters to rattle the opposition and take wickets regularly in order to curtail the otherwise dominant England’s batting line, which has been piling up massive scores for a number of seasons.

Squads

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (Capt, wk), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali

England: Eoin Morgan (Capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood