England will consider unleashing their fastest attack on Pakistan on Sunday by including Mark Wood, after watching their opponents struggle against West Indies.
The Nottingham narrative is usually about runs, runs and more runs.
In a twist to whet the appetite, the pitch for England’s second World Cup match will be the one on which they made their two world-record scores -444 for three against the Pakistanis in 2016, and a brutal 481 for six against Australia last year, when they were heading for the promised land of 500 but ran out of steam.
Mark Wood could join Jofra Archer as England look to build on the recent 4-0 series victory over Pakistan and their tournament curtain-raiser win against South Africa at The Oval — where Archer’s new-ball prowess played such a crucial role, reports: cricket au
England took note of the manner of Pakistan’s defeat; batting Coach Graham Thorpe offered a wry assessment: ‘We’re aware of what went on.
‘We saw West Indies go pretty hard at Pakistan and every team has to work out what’s coming up in their next game. They looked like they roughed them up. It was interesting viewing.’
Coach Trevor Bayliss will be wary of adapting his side’s plans to the perceived weaknesses of opponents and it is understood he did not even watch the West Indies- Pakistan game.
But Wood was even quicker than Archer during England’s three-wicket win against Pakistan at Trent Bridge 16 days ago and is straining at the leash after missing out on selection to Liam Plunkett on Thursday.
Archer, meanwhile, never appears to strain at the leash at all, but can still summon up a 93mph bouncer when necessary.
As South African captain Faf du Plessis noted after his side’s 104-run defeat, Archer has the capacity to bowl within himself at 88mph before letting rip without a discernible change of action.
For England, it feels like the missing piece in their jigsaw. Suddenly, they look equipped for all conditions.
As for Pakistan, they have now lost 11 one-day internationals in a row — a national record — although left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir suggested England might not have it all their own way by at least taking three for 23 during the defeat by West Indies.
Thorpe hinted that his batsmen are ready for a battle when he revealed that Archer and Wood had ‘let it go at our guys as well’ in the nets. ‘It’s good preparation for them.’
That could change tomorrow, but the early signs are that all the talk mainly from the England camp of one-day cricket’s first total of 500 will for the time being remain the stuff of batsmen’s dreams. Innings such as Ben Stokes’ well-paced 89 off 79 balls against the South Africans will be worth their weight in gold.
‘Our guys generally go into games looking to be positive,’ said Thorpe. ‘The Oval wasn’t quite as flat and true a surface as we’ve had. But we have the ability to adapt and the guys are really proud of the way they did that.
‘We didn’t quite unlock the door and really let go, because we kept losing wickets at crucial times so we had to keep trying to put on those mini- partnerships.’
If they do unlock the door in Nottingham, we could be in for a repeat of the recent series between the sides, in which England’s lowest score in four completed matches was 341 for seven.
In all, they managed 1,424 runs at a dizzying 7.33 an over and 62 runs per wicket. Pakistan passed 340 three times themselves and still could not win a game.
