Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge, Preview and Predictions: Hosts aim to seal series

Pakistan get set to take on the hosts England in the third of the five-match ODI series, at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday.

Following an impressive show in the recently concluded four-match Test series against England, the visitors Pakistan lag behind 0-2 in the One-Day International (ODI) series, as they get set to take on the in-form hosts in the third of the five-match series at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Tuesday. Pakistan have failed to come up with the same fighting spirit in the ODIs as they did in the Tests, while England have bounced back well enough, maintaining their tough composure in the limited-overs format, as they aim to seal the series with a win on Sunday. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge

Pakistan had a good day with the bat in the previous contest, as wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed scored a blistering century, with a score of 105, while Imad Wasim remained unbeaten on 63. In addition, Babar Azam contributed fairly with 30 runs, along with Shoaib Malik 28. As for their bowling, it was Imad again, who claimed a couple of wickets for 38.

England had a glorious day with the ball, as Mark Wood claimed three wickets for 43, along with Chris Woakes, who too claimed three wickets for 42 to put the Pakistan batsmen on the back foot. As for their batting, it was Joe Root, who played a sturdy knock of 89, followed by the skipper Eoin Morgan, who too fired a staggering 68. In addition, Ben Stokes contributed with 42, as England cruised to a comfortable four-wicket win to go 2-0 up in the series. Stokes: Ready to bowl vs PAK in 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge

Therefore, going by the performance of the previous game, Pakistan would again like to have a few things sorted out in the side with a few changes, as either of Sami Aslam or Sharjeel Khan could face the axe for Mohammad Nawaz or Mohammad Rizwan. As for the bowling, Yasir Shah was relatively expensive in the last game, and could either be given another chance or could be replaced by either of Mohammad Irfan or Umar Gul as an extra pacer. With Mohammad Hafeez being ruled out, Pakistan would indeed have an uphill task ahead.

England are highly unlikely to come up with any change and disturb the winning combination. However, a couple of changes can’t be ruled out either, as Moeen Ali could be dropped and make way for David Willey or Liam Dawson. The batting line-up is hardly to witness any changes, as they have a star studded batsmen lined up; and if one fails, the others are sure to back him up. Akram unhappy with PAK’s mentality in ODIs vs ENG

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes is eager to bowl in the 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge. “The plan from the start was to be fit and ready to bowl by the third ODI and by the way things are going it is looking likely I will be an option for Eoin in Nottingham if needed,” he said after Saturday’s four-wicket win at Lord’s. “I have done all the prep to get myself fit and put my hand up to say I am ready to bowl. I’ve bowled for about 15 minutes flat out and all the build-up stuff I needed to do has been done, so if I am needed hopefully Eoin will ask,” he said.

“It’s so boring. Honestly, it makes the fielding innings seem a lot longer because if you bowl 10 overs it kind of takes 20 overs out of the game for you,” he said. “But I pride myself on my fielding as well and one thing that keeps me switched on the whole time is that I don’t want to give away any runs,” he added. ENG vs PAK: Injury not serious, says Root about collision with Rashid

However, he turned down a possibility of a 5-0 whitewash as he said, “We could spill into dangerous territory if we start to think too far ahead. We have gone 2-0 up in the series because we have been playing the better cricket. If we were to think we have won it already and slip up on what we have been doing that could be the worst thing we could do. We haven’t won the series yet so. We’ve got the next one to do that, so we’ll still be trying to improve on these performances.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said that Pakistan need to raise their standard of the game. “I said to the players this morning that nobody’s safe. And if you’re over 30 you’ve got to be coming to the table more often than not, otherwise it’s an opportunity to blood some younger players. I’m telling no secrets, nobody is 100% safe in the ODI side and the guys know that. Everybody knows they’re on notice,” he said.

“I’ve actually started, the other night, going through potential players in Pakistan who can fulfil roles we think we’re going to need to evolve. In the meantime, the 15 players we’ve got here, we’ve got to back, [and] give them the opportunity to stake their claim to be part of the Pakistan ODI squad going forward. We’re going to build a team we think can compete in a year or two’s time. The invitation is there to every player: step up or we’ll find somebody else who can step up, it’s as simple as that,” he added.

Speaking on Pakistan slumping down to No. 9 in ODIs, Arthur said, “Of course it’s a concern, Pakistan cricket should never be down at No. 9 in the world. We need complete buy-in from the players, we have got to give them a lot of confidence and allow them to grow in the roles we’ve given them.”

Squad:

Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Gul, Babar Azam, Azhar Ali (c), Hasan Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik.

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan (c), Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, David Willey, Mark Wood.

Time: 14:00 local | 13:00 GMT | 18:30 IST

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)

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