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'From village team to world-beaters': Former cricketers react after Pakistan beat England in 1st T20I
Former cricketers Michael Vaughan and Ian Bishop were pleased with Pakistan’s performance against a full-strength England side in the first T20I. Vaughan said Pakistan went from village team to world beaters.
Former cricketers reacted after Pakistan made a strong comeback following a whitewash in the ODIs and started the T20I series with a 31-run victory over England in the first T20I at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Friday. Former England captain Michael Vaughan and former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop were pleased with the Babar Azam-led side’s performance against a full-strength England side.
Vaughan hailed Pakistan’s ‘unpredictable nature’ and said they went from a ‘village team’ to ‘world beaters’ in a week.
“Pakistan are so unpredictably brilliant to watch … Gone from the local village team to looking like world beaters in a week … !! Love watching them,” tweeted Vaughan.
Pakistan were hammered in the ODI series by an England side minus all their first-XI cricketers. England handed five debuts during the course of the series as a virus outbreak had sent their main team into isolation. However, Pakistan, an overwhelming favourite to win the series, lost all three ODIs.
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In complete contrast to their batting performance in the ODIs, Pakistan started the T20Is with a bang.
“Shaheed Shah Afridi every day of the week and on Sundays. Well done Pakistan. That was fun to watch. Crowd atmosphere was unreal,” wrote Ian Bishop.
Babar Azam hit 85 from 49 balls and Rizwan 63 from 41 in a Pakistan record total of 232-6. The duo put together a 150-plus opening stand after being sent in.
England lost four wickets in the first seven overs, and its hopes flickered thanks only to Liam Livingstone with a career-best 103. But he was the seventh man out in the 17th over and England was soon all out for 201 with four balls left.
England's senior stars returned from self-isolation but failed to copy the domination their second string achieved against Pakistan in the one-day international series.
Babar and Rizwan received good support from Sohaib Maqsood, 19 from 7, Fakhar Zaman, 26 from eight, and Mohamad Hafeez 24 from 10 as they easily eclipsed their previous highest T20 score of 205 in 2018 and last April.
England's chase was undermined early when opener Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali were out for 1s by 48-3.
Livingstone's 42-ball century, the fastest by an Englishman in T20s, arrived with his ninth six -- more than the rest of the team combined -- but he was out next ball to a boundary catch by Shaheen Shah Afridi at 183-7 in the 17th over, and so went England.
Livingstone was one of five catches on the boundary, two of them taken by Afridi, who also contributed 3-30 including a caught and bowled.
Shadab Khan also starred in the field with 3-52, a catch, and a direct-throw run out of Tom Curran.
The second T20 is on Sunday at Leeds.
