Cricket World Cup 2019

Bad field day but no panic for England

From top: Pakistan's Wahab Riaz effectively killing off England's chase with their seventh and eighth wickets for 320 - bowling out England's Chris Woakes (far left), after he had removed Moeen Ali a ball earlier at Trent Bridge. Jason Roy dropping a
Pakistan's Wahab Riaz effectively killing off England's chase with their seventh and eighth wickets for 320 - bowling out England's Chris Woakes (left), after he had removed Moeen Ali a ball earlier at Trent Bridge. PHOTO: REUTERS
From top: Pakistan's Wahab Riaz effectively killing off England's chase with their seventh and eighth wickets for 320 - bowling out England's Chris Woakes (far left), after he had removed Moeen Ali a ball earlier at Trent Bridge. Jason Roy dropping a
Jason Roy dropping a catch on Mohammad Hafeez, when he was still only on 14 off 11 balls. England's biggest fielding error allowed the batsman to go on to top-score for Pakistan with 84 on Monday. PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON • After being routed by the West Indies before shocking favourites England on Monday, Pakistan are living up to their billing as the Cricket World Cup's most-unpredictable side - but fast bowler Hasan Ali says they are determined to find consistency.

The 1992 champions went into their opener against the Windies on the back of 10 straight losses and, true to form, got bundled out for 105 inside 22 overs en route to a seven-wicket drubbing.

But they turned the tables on England, the world's top-ranked one-day international side, with a 14-run victory at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, in a tight finish.

Hasan said: "After the first match we sat down and talked about our weaknesses and about our plans and execution, all these things.

"One thing is very important, our coach (Mickey Arthur) is always backing us."

Man-of-the-match Mohammad Hafeez, who top-scored for his side with an 84 off 62 balls and also took the wicket of England captain Eoin Morgan, said Pakistan were desperate to "put things right".

He said: "It's a feeling of total relief. We know this team is very capable, we just needed to start converting some matches into wins."

Joe Root (107), who put together a partnership of 130 runs with Jos Buttler (103), said England were determined to learn from their loss and rebound against a dangerous Bangladesh in Cardiff on Saturday.

He said: "We'd done a lot of hard work to get ourselves in a position where we could win the game so I was bitterly disappointed.

"The most important thing for us now is to not panic, to stick to what we know works as a formula."

His skipper Morgan bemoaned that a bad day in the field cost them as Pakistan made 348 for eight. The biggest fumble was the dropped catch by Jason Roy and the let-off allowed Hafeez, who was on 14 off 11, to pile on 70 more runs.

Said Morgan: "I don't think it was that bad a day but, fielding-wise, it was. We've gone from one of our best performances (against South Africa) to, not extremely bad, but one that has cost us maybe 20 runs and that is a lot in one-day cricket.

"Fielding is an attitude thing. It's a matter of taking our stand-off attitude today and getting it back to our positive attitude, where we go for everything and create that fearless nature."

There was more bad news for the host after the International Cricket Council found Roy had breached level one of its code of conduct, using an audible obscenity after a misfield during Pakistan's innings.

Fast bowler Jofra Archer was found guilty of dissent towards an umpire's decision following a wide delivery. Both players were fined 15 per cent of their match fees and also had one demerit point.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 05, 2019, with the headline Bad field day but no panic for England. Subscribe