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Formidable England eye ODI series win over Pakistan

England have truly turned into a world-beating unit, and in favourable conditions they can be absolutely devastating for their opponents.

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England currently lead their five-match ODI series against Pakistan by 2-0 © Getty Images
England currently lead their five-match ODI series against Pakistan by 2-0 © Getty Images

A year ago, England were not only languishing at the bottom of the pool in limited-overs cricket, but their journey appeared so arduous that it looked like they would take som more time to get back on their feet. But having invested young blood and taken some of the harshest decisions, England today stand among the most dangerous teams in shorter formats. Gone are those days when England could be ridiculed for not even getting the basics right; they have improved to an extent so huge that more often than not, their competitors are looking clueless as to how to stop the English juggernaut. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge

England have truly turned into a world-beating unit. And in favourable conditions, they can be absolutely devastating for their opponents. England, following their unceremonious exit from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, had realised that the limited-overs games have truly started belonging to the batsman, and that was one area where they had to invest. ALSO READ: Pakistan cricket must plan systematically should they want a change

England began their work cautiously, and there was enough contemplation behind every step they took. Eoin Morgan may have been out of form for a very long time, but he was given backing. The Australian coach Trevor Bayliss was given a free hand as well, and the players, who feature in Test cricket, were allowed to be themselves in the shorter formats.

The insistence was surely not on bowling, as England wanted their limited-overs teams to be strong in the batting department, as they knew batsmen rule the roost these days. The current England team is probably the only side in ODIs as well as T20Is that bats as deep as up to the last man. A look at the possible playing eleven which England can name for Tuesday’s match against Pakistan can tell even Mark Wood can make runs at the end of the innings. ALSO READ: PAK vs ENG 2016, 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge, Preview and Predictions

England are not batting-heavy; they have a playing eleven that boasts of batsmen who can also bowl. They do not need the technical expertise of ageing bowlers such as James Anderson or Stuart Broad. England need those players who can bowl disciplined line and lengths, and whack the ball whenever required.

It all may look one-dimensional, but the fact is that England have so far been able to achieve all that they wanted to. Since the last 50-over World Cup, England have played six ODI series, wherein one was washed out and they lost one each to Australia and South Africa, both by narrow margins of 2-3. What it indicates is that England have not only made steady progress in the format they were deemed unfit to compete, but have challenged the best teams in world cricket and lost fighting.

England’s domination in 50-over cricket has been quite inspirational, as series wins by big margins against Asian sides Pakistan late in 2015 (in UAE) and versus Sri Lanka prove that a team which looked terribly out of league is now ready to compete with the best and crush their opponents with complete disdain.

England have been at their dominating best against Pakistan in the ongoing series, albeit their opponents have not been in the right shape. Pakistan have a lot to worry about since their batting is not as deep as England, and those who are there in the ranks are either wanting runs or have been inconsistent. The bowlers are not likely to get any purchase off the pitches in England at least in limited-overs cricket, since the hosts’ strengths lie in their deep batting line-up, and they cannot be expected to leave any grass on the wicket, and try and provide the bowlers an opportunity to have their say.

However, England have their fair share off worries. Opening batsman Alex Hales’s career graph has taken a hit following his poor showing throughout the Test series against Pakistan, and failure in the first two ODIs. But to take care of that England have Joe Root in the middle-order, who has scored four fifties on the trot so far.

England have a lead of 2-0 in the five-match series, and ahead of the third game at Trent Bridge, the hosts feel they have a perfect opportunity to seal the series, as Pakistan have their bucket of problems overflowing at this point of time. At Lord’s, a brilliant century by Sarfraz Ahmed did help Pakistan save some face after they were left tottering at 2 for 3 in the earlier stage of the game. However, for obvious reasons, Pakistan could not muster a defeat and ended up losing the game by a big margin.

England’s strength is clearly in their batting, but heading into the third ODI at Nottingham, the hosts will be bolstered by the return of Ben Stokes. The sparkling cricketer has been in and out of the national side due to several injuries, but Stokes is now fully fit to resume bowling. He played in the first two games as a specialist batsman. Stokes turning fit to bowl again can only be termed ominous for Pakistan, as the all-rounder has already been among runs. He remained not out on 15 in the first game and scored a valuable 42 in the second to show that he is in form.

England will know that heading to Asia for two extremely important series, against Bangladesh and India, they will need more than just momentum. The two upcoming tours are in more than one way a measurement of England’s improvement in limited-overs format, since their problems against spin and on flat decks come back to haunt them every single time they travel to that part of the world. The Bangladesh tour will certainly serve as a prelude for England to test their strengths and weaknesses, but a majority of their cricketers who have not had any exposure to the Asian conditions will be tested to the hilt. For starters, England will like to mark the end of a near-perfect summer at home with yet another win.

(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)

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