ICC Cricket World Cup: England vs. Pakistan
- What: match six of the World Cup
- When: Monday 3 June
- Where: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
- Start time: 10.30am (BST)
- TV channel: live on Sky Sports
Pair of pace aces
England play Pakistan at Trent Bridge and the hosts are expected to field both Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
Wood sat out Thursday’s win against South Africa but The Times says he is fully recovered from the ankle injury he picked up in a friendly against Australia.
Wood and Archer have spearheaded England’s one-day attack on only one previous occasion – against Pakistan in last month’s series. The venue was Trent Bridge and Wood sent Imam-ul-Haq to hospital after hitting him on the left elbow.
“Yes, there is a chance,” said England skipper Eoin Morgan when asked if Wood would be selected (probably for Liam Plunkett).
“There will be no major tactical changes, but more being sure you’re good at what you’re doing. If you are going to use the short ball, make sure it’s in the right area.”
Bouncer barrage
Pakistan bowling coach Azhar Mahmood has told his side to brace themselves for a barrage of bouncers.
West Indies crushed Pakistan in their World Cup opener at Trent Bridge on Friday with the Caribbean quicks reducing their opponents to 105 all out. And with England’s Archer clocking speeds of more than 90mph, Mahmood is expecting his batsmen will have to deal with more chin music at Trent Bridge.
“We didn’t handle the short ball really well [against the Windies] and we practised a lot, and we know it will come,” said Mahmood. “All the teams will bowl short against us so we are practising.”
Crash, Bang, Wallop
South Africa’s World Cup hopes suffered another blow with a surprising 21-run defeat to Bangladesh at The Oval on Sunday.
Batting first, Bangladesh posted their record one-day total of 330-6 thanks to 78 from Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan’s 75. Mahmudullah also made a telling contribution with an unbeaten 46 off 33 balls.
That left South Africa, heavily beaten by England in their opening match last Thursday, requiring the highest World Cup chase in history.
The Proteas gave it their best shot with captain Faf du Plessis top-scoring with 62 but in the end they ran out of overs, finishing on 309-8.
Next up for South Africa is India at Southampton on Wednesday, a game they can’t afford to lose if they wish to progress from the ten-team group stage.
“[It] didn’t go according to plan,” admitted du Plessis. “The skills weren’t here but I can promise there will be fight against India on Wednesday… we’re a proud sporting nation.”
Fancy dress dig
It’s early days in the Cricket World Cup but already there is a strong contender for the tournament’s best fancy dress costume.
Two spectators at Bristol on Saturday were dressed as sandpaper, a dig at the Australian pair Steve Smith and David Warner.
They were banned last year for their part in the ball-tampering scandal and the English fans have promised they won’t let them forget it during the World Cup.
Not that Warner seemed bothered, with his unbeaten 89 easing the Aussies to a seven-wicket win against Afghanistan.
This week’s Cricket World Cup fixtures
All matches are live on Sky Sports.
- Monday 3 June: England vs. Pakistan (10.30am)
- Tuesday 4 June: Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka (10.30am)
- Wednesday 5 June: South Africa vs. India (10.30am); Bangladesh vs. New Zealand (1.30pm)
- Thursday 6 June: Australia vs. West Indies (10.30am)
- Friday 7 June: Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka (10.30am)
- Saturday 8 June: England vs. Bangladesh (10.30am); Afghanistan vs. New Zealand (1.30pm)
- Sunday 9 June: India vs. Australia (10.30am)
