Pakistan ready for plenty of bouncers from England

NOTTINGHAM: Pakistan expect to face plenty of bouncers from England after struggling against short-pitched fast bowling from the West Indies in their opener, coach Azhar Mahmood said. “We didn’t handle the short ball really well and we practised a lot, and we know it will come,” Mahmood said. “When teams come from the Subcontinent, the other teams will use those sort of tactics,” added Mahmood, a former all-rounder with English counties Surrey and Kent. “All the teams will bowl short against us, so we are practising, and we’ve done it before, so I think we need to move on and concentrate on the next game.” England captain Eoin Morgan played a straight bat when asked about the chances of bolstering his pace attack for the side’s second match. — AFP

Pitch and conditions

The forecast is for a cloudy but dry day. The pitch is full of runs, expect a high-scoring match 

7 Adil Rashid has seven four-wicket hauls and two five-fors since the last World Cup. No bowler has taken more wickets in ODIs than him

2 Times England have broken the record for highest ODI score on this pitch, scoring 481/6 vs Australia in 2018 and 444/3 vs Pak in 2016

11 Pakistan have now lost their last 11 completed ODIs — a run that includes a 4-0 series defeat by England last month