A second-string England ODI side whitewashed Pakistan in the three-match ODI series – here’s a combined England-Pakistan ODI XI from the series.
Phil Salt
104 runs @ 34.6, SR: 116.85
Salt showed he has a future in international cricket with two blistering knocks in the three innings he played. Despite England’s embarrassment of riches at the top of the order, Salt’s approach fits snugly into what England seek for from their ODI players and Salt might just have done his prospects a world of good.
Dawid Malan
68 runs @ 34, SR: 88.31
Ducks in the last two ODIs does not take the sheen off a really composed half-century in the series opener. Malan gets into this XI as the second opener after benefitting from an off series for Pakistan openers.
Babar Azam
177 runs @ 59.0, SR: 113.46
Pristine as always, Babar was worked over twice by Saqib Mahmood in the first two ODIs, but once he played himself in in the third game – he was 0 off 14 balls at one point before kicking off the innings in style with a boundary off the 15th ball – there was no stopping Babar. He became the fastest to 14 ODI tons (in terms of innings) and made a career-best 158.
Zak Crawley
97 runs @ 48.50, SR: 114.11
His Test career might be stuttering, but Zak Crawley’s limited-overs career appears ready to blossom. He came into the series off some promising knocks in the T20 Blast and looked the part in two of the three matches, one of which was his debut where he made a half-century.
James Vince
158 runs @ 79, SR: 107.48
Vince peaked at the right time for England, with question marks lingering over this second-string side’s ability, despite their performance in the first two ODIs, to score runs at the pace the main team does when under pressure. Chasing 332 to win, Vince smashed his first fifty in 45 balls. He completed a hundred in 91 balls and took England to the brink of an exceptional run chase.
Mohammad Rizwan
92 runs @ 30.6, SR: 117.9
Rizwan was far off his best in the first two games but still showed his class in the final ODI as he put on a terrific stand with Babar, lifting the team from a slow start with a dynamic half-century.
Lewis Gregory
117 runs @ 58.50, SR: 100.86
Four wickets @ 24.25, ER: 5.10
His 77 in the final ODI alone would have got him into this team, but Gregory did more than just that. He was effective with the new ball, prizing out four wickets at 24.25, while conceding runs at 5.1 runs per over.
Brydon Carse
Six wickets @ 22.66, ER: 5.44
With six wickets in the series, including a maiden five-wicket haul, Brydon Carse put his hand up in the second-string side. A couple of cameos underlined his all-round value in the limited-overs setup. Carse bowled with good pace and rhythm and at 25, has enough time to be a mainstay in the setup a year or so down the line.
Hasan Ali
6 wickets @ 25.5, Eco: 6.8
Hasan Ali wound back the clock to his 2017 version in England, where he put on a spectacular show in the Champions Trophy. The fast bowler picked up a five-for and showed his full range with the bat in an ODI.
Matt Parkinson
Five wickets @ 28, ER: 5.83
Aside from whipping up the ball of the series, if not ODI history itself, Matt Parkinson was outstanding with the ball. He was unlucky to have four catches dropped off his bowling through the series, without which those figures would have looked even better.
Saqib Mahmood
Nine wickets @ 13.66, ER: 4.39
Few gave England a chance heading into the series with a second-string side, but Saqib Mahmood changed that narrative on its head in his opening spell in the first ODI. He wasn’t done there, and finished the series with nine wickets, six of which came inside the powerplays
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