England will head to the Caribbean on Friday to defend their T20 World Cup title with a spring in their step after a powerful all-round performance proved too much for Pakistan at the Oval.
If the sight of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer sharing the new ball and breaching 90mph whetted the appetite, a pulsating opening stand of 82 — more than halfway to their target of 158 — in just 6.2 overs between Jos Buttler and Phil Salt iced the cake.
A seven-wicket victory, and a 2-0 series win, was completed by a Harry Brook upper-cut for six with 27 balls to spare. It was the kind of ruthlessness that will persuade Buttler of good times ahead. The captain was back on duty after his wife, Louise, gave birth to their third child — and first son — and batted as if he had not yet suffered any sleepless nights while making 39 off 21 balls. This was his 116th T20 cap, moving ahead of his predecessor Eoin Morgan’s England record.
‘There’s a good feeling about the squad,’ he said. ‘The guys have all stepped up and performed. In terms of my batting, that quest to keep improving and get better has given me extra energy and motivation.’
On a night when the rain that has blighted this series mainly stayed away, Salt was just as destructive, thrashing 45 off 24 balls before pulling Haris Rauf to deep midwicket to give a large Pakistani contingent at a packed Oval a rare moment of solace.
Opening batters Phil Salt and Jos Buttler aided England to a stunning win over Pakistan
Captain Buttler was back after his wife gave birth to their third child, and made 39 off 21 balls
Pakistan started their overs well, but quickly fell apart, eventually ending on 157 all out
By then, their side looked half-beaten, with Naseem Shah’s fifth over of the innings disappearing for 25, and wicketkeeper Azam Khan putting down two catches. The second, to reprieve Will Jacks off Rauf, was especially hapless, and made worse when Azam conceded an overthrow hurling the ball away in frustration.
Rauf, comfortably the pick of his side’s bowlers, hit back by yorking Jacks for 20, briefly suggesting a late twist. But Jonny Bairstow powered two sixes in two balls off leg-spinner Shadab Khan in the next over, and the rest was a formality.
England’s smooth chase followed a clockwork performance from their bowlers on an Oval surface lively enough to persuade Buttler to bowl after winning the toss. Wood insisted before the game that there was space in the same side for both him and Archer, and on this evidence it seemed madness to suggest otherwise.
Injuries of one variety or another meant this was only the third time in three years that the nation’s two fastest bowlers have teamed up, even if there is less banter these days about who is more adept at rattling the speedgun. The semi-serious machismo of five years ago has given way to a pragmatic acceptance that the main aim is simply staying fit.
Even so, Wood topped 95mph in the game’s first over, and Archer responded by reaching 91mph in the second. Pakistan’s seasoned openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam dealt well with the early barrage until – from the last delivery of the six-over powerplay – Babar poked Archer to Adil Rashid at short third man to make it 59 for one.
As Pakistan’s innings went into freefall, Wood returned to bounce out Azam for a five-ball duck, and later went short again to remove tailender Naseem.
Archer, meanwhile, deserved better than figures of one for 31, though his analysis will not trouble him as England head off to the Caribbean. His two outings in this series have underlined his importance to an attack that missed his silky venom during the 50-over World Cup in India.
The spinners were just as impressive during a Pakistani collapse of 10 for 98 in 14 overs, in which – once the openers departed – only No 3 Usman Khan threatened to disturb England’s equilibrium.
Rashid is not the world’s top-ranked T20 bowler without good reason, and showed his class on a damp evening that might have inconvenienced lesser spinners. He slid his fourth ball through Rizwan’s defences, then bowled Shadab via his thigh with his eighth. Even with Naseem launching his last ball over long-on for six, Rashid’s four overs cost only 27.
The pressure was maintained by Liam Livingstone, who produced the T20 rarety of a double-wicket maiden. Usman was brilliantly caught by the tumbling Chris Jordan at long-on, before Shaheen Shah Afridi missed an ugly sweep.
Pakistan were under pressure from England before Shaheen Shah Afridi missed an ugly sweep
Rashid, the world’s top-ranked T20 bowler, showed his class on a damp evening at The Oval
England’s attack will arrive in Barbados for the World Cup in a confident mood after 2-0 win
With Moeen Ali chipping in with the wicket of the dangerous Fakhar Zaman, England bowled like a team who knew they had all their bases covered. Despite the loss of half this four-match series to rain, their attack will arrive in Barbados on Friday in confident mood.
Where this leaves Sam Curran – player of the tournament when England lifted the trophy in Melbourne in late 2022 – is unclear, especially with Reece Topley ahead of him in the pecking order.
But Tuesday’s game against Scotland at Bridgetown will, if England go all the way, be the first of nine in less than four weeks, and Wood, Archer and Topley are all prone to injury. There is sure to be rest and rotation ahead.
Stuart Broad, now a Sky pundit, warned before the game that the rain-splattered series might have robbed England of ‘mental sharpness’. If anything, it seems to have sharpened their focus.
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