ABU DHABI: Captain Eoin Morgan praised rookie paceman Reece Topley but said England needed to take a serious look at their batting after they were thumped by Pakistan to go 1-0 down in the four-match One-day International series on Wednesday night (partly reported in Thursday’s edition).

After England struggled to 216 all out, Pakistan romped to a convincing, six-wicket win at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in what proved a rousing farewell to Younis Khan, who was playing his last ODI.

Lanky paceman Mohammad Irfan rocked England with a wicket off the second ball of the game before finishing with 3-35 in his 10 overs.

Morgan admitted the batting had let England down after the captain (76) and James Taylor (60) lifted the tourists from 14-3 to 147 before they lost four wickets in the space of 32 balls.

“We were looking at a minimum of 250 but getting there obviously wasn’t easy on this type of wicket. We have to reassess that quickly,” Morgan said.

“Probably after 20 overs, the ball started to hold up and grip more than it did in the previous few overs.”

Pakistan also wobbled at 41-3 before opener Mohammad Hafeez hit a brilliant, match-winning 102 not out to help his team overhaul the target in 43.4 overs.

“I think probably the big positive was having Pakistan at the same position at the halfway mark, and credit to the bowlers to get us in that position,” said Morgan, praising Topley who grabbed 3-26 in his second ODI.

“He is a big asset for long-term. He is certainly somebody that we are looking at to nurture, particularly with his white-ball skills and he is very good for a 21-year-old,” Morgan added.

Hafeez said Pakistan wanted to win the match for former captain Younis, who retired from one-day cricket after the game.

“We were pumped up for Younis and although it was a shock for us to know that he was retiring but we wanted to give him the gift of a win and everyone chipped in,” said Hafeez. “I want to dedicate this hundred to Younis who has been a role model for all of us.”

Younis finished his ODI career with 7,249 runs in 265 matches.

Hafeez, who also hit 151 in the third Test in Sharjah as Pakistan clinched a 2-0 Test series win, said he was happy to stay in the runs.

“I am happy that I am contributing in Pakistan’s wins and everything is going well for me,” said Hafeez.

The 35-year-old Hafeez was all praise for young Babar Azam, who scored a brilliant run-a-ball 62 in the unbroken partnership of 106.

“I think Babar Azam was just outstanding. When he came in, we were under pressure. But the way he played, he gave confidence to me as well,” said Hafeez, who was named man-of-the-match and later dedicated his century to the retiring Younis.

The second match of the four-match series will be played in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND:

J.J. Roy b Irfan 0 A.D. Hales c Younis b Anwar 10 J.E. Root lbw b Anwar 0 E.J.G. Morgan c Sarfraz b Malik 76 J.W.A. Taylor c Azhar b Malik 60 J.C. Butler run out 1 Moeen Ali c Babar b Yasir 7 C.R. Woakes run out 33 Adil Rashid c sub b Irfan 7 D.J. Willey b Irfan 13 R.J.W. Topley not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-4) 9

TOTAL (all out, 49.4 overs) 216

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-7, 3-14, 4-147, 5-148, 6-157, 7-161, 8-180, 9-213.

BOWLING: Mohammad Irfan 10-2-35-3 (3w); Anwar Ali 6-0-32-2; Shoaib Malik 10-0-45-2; Yasir Shah 10-0-38-1; Wahab Riaz 9.4-1-29-0 (1w); Bilal Asif 4-0-32-0.

PAKISTAN:

Azhar Ali lbw b Topley 8 Bilal Asif lbw b Topley 2 Mohammad Hafeez not out 102 Younis Khan c Rashid b Topley 9 Shoaib Malik c Roy b Moeen 26 Babar Azam not out 62

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-2, W-4) 8

TOTAL (for four wkts, 43.4 overs) 217

Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Ali), 2-15 (Asif), 3-41 (Younis), 4-111 (Malik)

DID NOT BAT: Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan.

BOWLING: Willey 7-0-43-0; Topley 9-1-26-3 (3w); Woakes 8.4-0-40-0; Adil Rashid 9-0-60-0; Moeen Ali 7-0-32-1 (1w); Root 3-0-12-0.

RESULT: Pakistan won by six wickets.

UMPIRES: Ahsan Raza (Pakistan) and J.D. Cloete (South Africa).

TV UMPIRE: C.B. Gaffaney (New Zealand).

MATCH REFEREE: R.S. Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mohammad Hafeez.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2015

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