ENG vs PAK 5th ODI Match Prediction

ENG vs PAK Team Previews

England

England chased down 340 after suffering a collapse in the middle overs and not having Jonny Bairstow in the side. Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali scored ducks and England was still able to get over the line.

This England team is redefining the batting depth and strength that is expected from a team. No other team in the world has such a lineup at its disposal and that is a scary thought for everyone ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

We expect England to possible rest Jason Roy from the side and give Jonny Bairstow a run again. That will mean a new opening combination with Bairstow and Vince. There is no room for being merely good in an environment where outstanding is expected every single day and that is why James Vince’s 43 is not going to impress the selectors much.

He will have one more opportunity to try and book his ticket to the ICC World Cup 2019 as the reserve opener.

With someone line Jofra Archer batting at number 10 though, there is nothing that this England side can do to make its batting weak. There are so many world-class players that one or the other will always get away from the opposition.

England’s bowling is perhaps worthy of more scrutiny. They have allowed Pakistan to score 300 plus totals with ease, something that the country is not particularly known for. The inability of Adil Rashid to have an impact in the middle overs is something they need to be worried about.

On the other hand, Tom Curran and Jofra Archer are excellent death bowlers and cover yet another base for this supreme English side.

Pakistan

Pakistan suffered a big blow to their ICC World Cup 2019 preparation with the new that Imam ul Haq was out injured. News has since trickled in that the injury is not as severe as thought but we doubt he will be risked in a dead rubber just a few days before the cricket World Cup.

This will mean a change at the top of the order and some re-shuffling in the batting.

Pakistan has been very good with the bat in this series. They have been consistently scoring above 300 and that in itself is a big win for them. However, questions need to be raised whether they are being a little conservative?

It may seem strange when they are making 340 but the fact is that England is chasing these totals down with ease. We are at an inflection point in ODI history and teams need to start thinking about 350 as a par total. This may not be true for every single team right now but definitely when they are playing against England.

The loss of Imam ul Haq is a big one for Pakistan. Without him, the onus of scoring the bulk of the runs falls on Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman. While Babar Azam is remarkably consistent, Fakhar Zaman is not someone we would depend on.

Mohammad Hafeez was very impressive in the previous match and also has a history of opening the batting for Pakistan. He has stated his preference for opening the batting and would love to grab this opportunity with both hands.

With Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Asif Ali in the lower order, Pakistan has a decent batting lineup. Unfortunately, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali, and Mohammad Hasnain are not the world-class fast bowling unit that Pakistan is used to having.

They have their good days but they are not as effective as Pakistan would like them to be. We also think that Imad Wasim as the lead spinner is asking for trouble at the ICC World Cup 2019.