4th ODI ENG 355/5 bt PAK 271 by 84 runs
England have won their first one-day international series in Asia since 2010 by clinching the fourth and final match by 84 runs against Pakistan in Dubai. Jos Buttler was the hero of the day as he scored the fastest ever one-day century by an Englishman, making him the joint seventh fastest in history.
It was a steady start to the innings from England openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales, but the partnership was cut short at 54 runs when the latter was taken out by Mohammad Irfan. Trevor Bayliss's side managed to recover though, as Roy guided the attack to reach his maiden international century off 113 balls to help the team to 189-1. Joe Root also impressed as he brought up his 11th one-day half century from a six, but Yasir Shah and Azhar Ali took some control for Pakistan by dismissing the partnership. Shah called an end to Roy's innings as the batsman left the field on 102 off 117 balls, while Root (71) was undone by Ali after going for a reverse sweep.
The star of England's innings, though, was Buttler as he put his name in the history books by scoring 100 off just 46 balls, and eventually guided the team to 355-5 with an unbeaten knock of 116 off 52 balls. England also impressed with the ball in the early stages of Pakistan's innings as David Willey took two wickets in as many overs, dismissing Azhar Ali (44) and Ahmed Shehzad (13), and Moeen Ali would have added a third had Hales not dropped in the deep. Mohammad Hafeez, who was on 26 runs when Hales made the blunder, managed to reach 37 runs before getting run out by Buttler off Willey's delivery.
Pakistan's run rate was impressive as Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam scored half centuries, but England kept knocking them back as Adil Rashid, Reece Topley and Ali got themselves among the wickets. At 259-8, Pakistan needed 97 more runs to win, but Ali claimed his second wicket of the day to send Shah back to the pavilion on five runs, and wrapped up the contest by taking the wicket of Anwar Ali (24).
England 355/5
Pakistan have an almighty task on their hands if they are to avoid a 3-1 one-day international series defeat to England after the tourists set them a huge victory target of 356 in the fourth and final match in Dubai.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, the tourists started well through openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales before Jos Buttler hit the fastest ODI century by an Englishman off just 46 balls as England posted their highest-ever overseas ODI score. Hales was the first man to go for 22 by chipping a Mohammad Irfan delivery to Shoaib Malik in the 12th over.
That brought Joe Root to the crease and he scored a run-a-ball 71 while building a 140-run second-wicket partnership with Roy. In 13 previous ODI innings, Roy had never reached three figures, but broke that duck today before falling for 102 shortly after in the 36th over.
England captain Eoin Morgan bumped Buttler up the order to come in at number four and although Root fell in the next over, Buttler took on the scoring mantle and played an array of shots on his way to an unbeaten 116 off just 52 balls. Morgan (14) and James Taylor (13) scored quickly before losing their wickets, but Buttler was able to retain the strike for the bulk of the final 10 overs as he posted the joint-seventh fastest ODI hundred ever.
Buttler also now holds the three fastest ODI centuries by an Englishman, but today's was far quicker than his two previous best that came in 61 and 66 balls.
1st T20I:
England 160/5 (20/20 ov)
Pakistan 146 (20/20 ov)
England won by 14 runs
England were vindicated in their decision to use an international match to experiment with team changes, after their fringe players powered them to a 14-run victory over Pakistan in Dubai.
England, mindful that they had only five T20I games to play before picking a squad for the World T20 in India, took the brave decision to omit Joe Root and Jos Buttler, both of whom can be considered automatic selections for that tournament, and instead give opportunities to James Vince, who made his T20I debut, and Sam Billings, who kept wicket for the first time in international cricket. There was also a recall for Liam Plunkett, who had not played a game on the tour and who played his only previous T20I in June 2006.
All three enjoyed fine games. And if Billings, who thrashed a 24-ball half-century, was probably the most impressive, Vince, with a classy 41 made in testing circumstances, and Plunkett, who bowled in excess of 90 mph in an impressively fiery spell, also did their chances of inclusion in that World T20 squad no harm at all.
This was an inexperienced England line-up. Only two men - Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan - had 10 or more T20I caps, so when they subsided to 19 for 3 after four overs, with all three wickets coming as the batsmen pushed at balls that may have gripped on a surface used for last week's ODI, it seemed the absence of Root and Buttler might prove crucial.
But Vince, who timed the ball sweetly and looked far from overawed by the occasion, helped his captain add 76 in 10 overs for the fourth wicket, before Billings pressed the accelerator as England plundered 93 from the last 10 overs and 59 in the last five.
Vince was impressively calm amid the chaos. While he has played one ODI, he did not bat in it - it was the rain-ruined game in Ireland in May - so the manner in which he helped England rebuild while still engineering run-scoring opportunities hinted at a maturity and confidence that can serve England well.
He times the ball unusually sweetly, too. Wahab Riaz, having been pulled for four, was then driven through extra cover as Vince, taking a step back to give himself room, unfurled a flowing drive that may well become familiar in international cricket. His sweep, played off seamers and spinners, is also productive as Imran Khan, powered for six over midwicket, and Shahid Afridi, who was placed for four through fine leg, discovered.
When Vince was beaten by a good slower ball from Wahab - the final ball in a marvellous over that cost only one run and saw Morgan beaten like a snare drum - England could have faltered, but instead they increased the tempo in a passage of play that effectively settled the game.
It took only six balls before Billings produced his first scoop - a perfect pick-up over fine leg for four off the unfortunate Sohail Tanvir - before he charged down the pitch and powered the resulting slower ball over midwicket for four more.
Imran Khan was punished for 14 in three balls as Billings, picking the slower ball, used his power and bat speed to engineer strokes over midwicket, square leg and through mid-on, before Wahab was scooped twice in succession over fine leg - once for four and once for six - despite bowling full deliveries well outside off stump. For the second game in a row, an England wicketkeeper-batsman - running swiftly, playing shots right around the wicket and manufacturing opportunities with his power, confidence and footwork - had made bowling look an almost-impossible business.
Pakistan's reply was given a sheen of respectability by an eighth-wicket stand of 25 and a ninth-wicket stand of 45. But brave though the hitting of Anwar Ali, Sohail and Wahab was, it never looked likely to compensate for the top-order failings.
Plunkett's spell of 3 for 21 was crucial. While Mohammad Hafeez may consider himself slightly unfortunate to pick out the only man in the deep on the leg side - he timed his pull perfectly - Rafatullah Mohmand was among the batsmen made to look uncomfortable by his sharp pace. Reece Topley again impressed with his control, while so effective were Moeen Ali and Stephen Parry that Adil Rashid was not even required to bowl.
England were helped by some more hapless cricket from Pakistan. As well as dropping two catches that, by the high standards of international cricket, were simple, they produced another comical run out.
The worst of the catches - Sohail's miss off Alex Hales when he had scored 1 - hardly cost Pakistan anything. But as Sohail stumbled having parried the ball up in the air only to see the rebound hit his shoulder and fall to the ground, it was a reminder that, in this facet of the game, Pakistan are a long, long way behind the rest of the world.
The other missed chance saw Morgan missed at 37. Splicing an attempted cut against a nice slower ball from Imran, Morgan was fortunate that Anwar Ali, at backward point, moved slowly to the ball and put down the chance.
But it was the run-out that really hurt Pakistan. Just as Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood were starting to build a threatening partnership - they added 32 in 21 balls - they found themselves at the same end as Akmal called for a single and Maqsood declined. The sight of them both straining to slide their bat in at the bowler's end before their colleague did not suggest the tightest-knit dressing room.
Defeat, like victory, should be kept in perspective. This was Pakistan's first defeat in seven T20Is and, while England have now won four in a row, it is only five T20I games since they were defeated by Holland. Pakistan were also without Ahmed Shehzad, who missed the game due to illness, and Shoaib Malik, who was unavailable due to injury. Partly as a result, Rafatullah became the oldest debutant in the history of T20I cricket at the age of 39 and 20 days.
Still, this was an encouraging performance from England and, after some impressive cricket in the ODI series, a reminder that, for all the embarrassment of the World Cup debacle earlier this year, there is some outstanding young talent developing in England.
2nd T20I:
England 172/8 (20/20 ov)
Pakistan 169/8 (20/20 ov)
England win by 3 runs
Chris Woakes held his nerve in the final over as England beat Pakistan by three runs to win a thrilling second Twenty20 international in Dubai. Defending 11 runs, Woakes finished the innings with a dot ball as England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
James Vince impressed with the bat once again by making 38, but he was Shahid Afridi's third victim of the innings as the veteran all-rounder took out England's top three. England continued to receive contributions, with Joe Root making 20 and Jos Buttler, who captained the side in the absence of Eoin Morgan, scoring 33 off 22 balls.
Woakes finished the innings 15 not out, but 172-8 looked a vulnerable total when Rafatullah Mohmand (23) and Ahmed Shehzad (28) scored 45 off the first five overs of the reply. The introduction of the spinners was key as Stephen Parry (1-33) dismissed Shehzad, before Adil Rashid (2-18) removed Mohmand as both openers were stumped by Buttler.
Shoaib Malik ensured Pakistan had a chance heading into the closing stages, but his exit was crucial as he picked out Sam Billings at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Liam Plunkett, who took 3-33. Afridi (24) came to the crease to hit three sixes off a Woakes over, before a thick edge sent the ball to Plunkett at short third-man with Pakistan still needing 25 runs from the final 12 balls.
Sarfraz Ahmed ensured Pakistan entered the final over needing 11 runs for victory with three wickets in hand, but Woakes returned to hit the stumps via a deflection off the sweeping batsman. Sohail Tanvir started his knock with a boundary to calm the nerves, and singles off the next three balls left with Pakistan requiring four from the final delivery but Anwar Ali was unable to make contact with a big swing as England secured the win.
3rd T20I:
England 154/8 (20/20 overs)
Pakistan 154/7 (20/20 overs)
Super over - PAK 3/1 (1 over)
Super over - ENG 4/0 (0.5 overs)
ENG win by the super over
England and Pakistan will both go to World T20 with their ambitions intact after another exhilarating T20 contest, this time in Sharjah. The series had already been won by England but the third match, dead rubber or not, was memorable and went to a Super Over. England, who had never experienced such a thing, sneaked it from the penultimate ball after a pinpoint over from Chris Jordan restricted Pakistan to just three. A game that effectively did not matter mattered enormously. And cricket is all the better for that.
Pakistan must have felt they would win the match in real time. With two runs needed from two balls, and a rendition of Long Live Pakistan having blared supportively mid-over from the PA system, the highest T20 score of Shoaib Malik's career - 75 from 54 balls - came to grief when Chris Woakes had him caught at long-on. The last ball, to Sohail Tanvir, flew for a bye and Jos Buttler's underarm missed the stumps at the bowler's end.
So Super Over it was. Many would have questioned England's decision to entrust it with Jordan, hardly a regular, and far from the most trustworthy bowler on view. The combination of Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal, by contrast, would have been met with universal approval. But Jordan restricted them to three runs, an over of full length into the pads rounded off when he bowled Akmal around his legs.
Unless England lost two wickets, it was all over. Pakistan, correctly, opted for Afridi against Buttler and Eoin Morgan, memories of his spell of 2 for 19 still fresh. There was no shot of note, but Anwar Ali's attempted run out of Buttler, as he risked a second run to the bowler's end from the penultimate ball, missed by an inch and England crept home.
England therefore completed a 3-0 clean sweep in the series. They have two more T20s to South Africa in February, but they will go to World T20 in India in March (assuming the organisers ever get round to announcing the dates) in a positive state of mind and few would have anticipated this sense of feelgood for England in any form of limited-overs cricket after their World Cup horrors in Australia earlier in the year. Pakistan, not for the first time, will just hope to catch a fair wind. They have some problems, but who is to say after this thrilling encounter that they will not do just that?
England's victory looked improbable at 86 for 6, but a stand of 60 in seven overs between James Vince and Chris Woakes enabled them to escape to 154 for 8. Pakistan needed 90 from 54 balls when they lost their fifth wicket, at which point some uninhibited hitting against the spinners by Malik and Afridi, the latter perhaps playing for Pakistan in the UAE for the last time, threatened to turn the tables.
Pakistan had a dreadful start: 11 for 3 within 2.2 overs. The satisfied bowler was David Willey, who beat Ahmed Shehzad's heave and Rafatullah Mohmand walk across his stumps either side of another barely credible run-out involving Mohammad Hafeez. He has been involved in five during his time in the UAE - out twice himself - and who has met all of them with serious-minded disposition: the straightest of comic straight men. He did not do much wrong on this occasion, but Rafatullah, old enough to sense an unreliable ally when he sees one, was plagued by doubt.
At 35, Afridi's inspirational moments come less often these days. Alongside him, Malik had rarely set T20 alive. But Afridi glared brightly like a maniac's mood, Malik played the T20 innings of his life and battle was joined.
Afridi had a marvellous night, dismissing Joe Root and Moeen Ali in successive balls before striking 29 from 20 balls. With Malik, he added 61 in six overs before Willey's slower ball defeated his lap to bowl him around his legs with 27 needed from 20 balls, a brave variation in the circumstances. Malik responded by rattling Willey's cage with successive boundaries.
Vince's first experience of opening the batting for England in Twenty20 cricket could hardly have been more agonising. His batting partners came and went at an alarming rate, he couldn't get on strike and relief was hard to find it.
If he had not been dismissed to the penultimate ball, a slower delivery from Sohail Tanvir, statisticians would have been checking if his 46 from 45 balls was the slowest innings by a player batting through a T20 innings. We need never know. England's commitment to playing their squad - Alex Hales the latest player rested - has left them in good stead ahead of next year's World Twenty20.
Vince has made his mark in T20 cricket for Hampshire, one of the strongest county teams in this format. One ball into the innings, he had lost his opening partner, Jason Roy. Midway through the 13th over, England were six down for 86 and he had just been the innocent partner in the run out of Buttler. Things were not going awfully well.
Aamer Yamin, a 25-year-old seamer from Multan, was on T20 debut to follow his three ODIs in Zimbabwe in October. Roy, whose inventive batting has been somewhat overshadowed of late by the likes of Buttler and Sam Billings, was lbw first ball to one that skidded back.
It happened so quickly that Vince and Root felt like a new-look opening partnership. Vince was dropped on 4, Tanvir shelling a return chance, more difficult than his drop of Hales in the opening game. Root was in end-of-tour mood, the best of five boundaries in 12 balls being a six hauled into the stands off Mohammad Irfan. "Fee Fo Fi Fum", the giant must have thought, as Root shinned up the beanstalk at a rapid rate.
But Root, with 32 from 22 balls, became a has-bean when Afridi drifted one back to bowl him, Moeen followed first ball to a return catch, only 97 runs for nine times out in all competitions to show for his time in the UAE.
Morgan's dismissal was a replica of his fall in the third ODI, Malik needing only one ball to unfasten him with turn, bowling him as he tried to stay within the line of the ball. Buttler's eagerness for a quick single to short fine was undone by a direct hit at the batsman's end from Mohammad Rizwan, then Akmal clutched Billings' skier precariously to his chest.
Vince needed someone to stay with him. Finally, Woakes did just that, so effectively that Vince, starved of the strike all night, tucked in for a supporting role as Woakes upstaged him, his in-and-out six against Irfan the highlight of his 37 from 24 balls.
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