Brook laments England’s batting collapse against Pakistan

England opened the ODI tri-series with an 87-run defeat to Pakistan. Captain Harry Brook called the batting “appalling” and conceded that his side had been “too careful” against Pakistan’s spinners.

The chase appeared well placed at 165-3. Arafat had already removed Tom Banton, who made 57, and Brook, who scored five, when Naseem Shah bowled Joe Root for 33. England were still in a strong position, but then lost their final five wickets for just 18 runs in a chaotic five-over spell. After the defeat, Brook said: “We thought they were slightly under par.”

The captain also identified England’s approach against spin as an area to address. “We’ve spoken a lot about rotating the strike through the middle, but I think we were a little too careful against the spinners especially. We can probably put them under a little bit more pressure at times,” he said.

Pakistan had needed to recover after slipping to 133-5. At Rawalpindi, the hosts finished on 302-9 from 50 overs, then bowled England out for 215 to claim their second win of the tournament. Arafat made 59 from 58 deliveries. Hasan Nawaz top-scored with 79 off 74, while Faheem Ashraf added 39 from 26 in the closing overs.

Arafat said he and Hasan Nawaz had agreed that they needed to bat deep. After his partner was dismissed, he said, he took charge and tried to stay in until the end to help take the total beyond 300. On his bowling, he explained: “I kept my plans simple. Variations are very important for a spinner, as they help deceive opposition batters.”

The 21-year-old Pakistan all-rounder also produced a performance recognised with the man-of-the-match award. He became the third Pakistan player to score a half-century and take five wickets in an ODI, after Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain praised Pakistan’s fightback in both innings. Stuart Broad called England’s batting “appalling” as the side slipped to 205-7. Hussain also said Sam Curran looked short of rhythm at present, with both bat and ball.