England vs Pakistan: Exceptional tourists curtail summer of progress for England in devastating fashion

After the openers, England’s batsmen struggled for fluency, Pakistan’s bowlers doing what they did so well in the last 50-over match in Cardiff

The dejected English players' promising summer came to a bitter end (Getty)

Oh joy. A white ball match in which the bowlers shaped the outcome of the contest far more than the batsman, an event that happens about as often as a dry 24 hours in Manchester, where the event was held.

It had not looked like a bowlers’ evening, initially, after England’s opening batsmen had their best ever start to a T20 without losing a wicket. Alex Hales and Jason Roy lashed 53 off the opening six Powerplay overs, which looked ominous for Pakistan. But once they’d gone, England scored just 82 runs from the next 15 overs, a major triumph for Pakistan’s bowlers and one their batsmen capitalised on in style, chasing the 136 required in 14.5 overs.

After the openers, England’s batsmen struggled for fluency, Pakistan’s bowlers doing what they did so well in the last 50-over match in Cardiff, which was to mix-up their pace on the ball and bowl it shorter than usual, both ploys to make the batsmen hit square of the wicket rather than straight down the ground.

The oblong shape of the ground at Cardiff drove that tactic there but while Old Trafford does not share such odd proportions, the boundaries square of the wicket were pushed back as far as possible, making six hitting the challenge it should be.

It certainly seemed to disorientate England batsmen, several of whom, like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler perished, having not muscled the ball far enough to clear the ropes.

Pakistan opened the bowling with Imad Wasim’s spin and it looked, after the first few overs, that they might have picked the wrong side after Imad contained and the pace bowlers went round the park.

Alex Hales hastily makes way after a disappointing evening (Getty)

It wasn’t until Imad had removed England’s openers, both out trying to hit across the ball rather than through it, that their ploy found favour, the allowance of an extra men in the deep frustrating England into giving up their wickets.

Coaches always stress the need for players to think on their feet but England did not even try to counter with anything different. That is one ofT20’s shortcomings, it breeds one-tracked thought, which is to hit, hit, hit for boundaries when looking for a few more twos might have served England better on the night.

Then again, the way they utilised the new ball in Pakistan’s innings, maybe not, Chris Jordan adding his name to those bowlers who have offered alternative sidelines in spraying and decorating.

Jordan’s failure to get his radar working saw Pakistan race to 73 for none off the first six overs, though not all the dross, as Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif struck 14 fours and a six, was bowled by him.

Eoin Morgan and his defeated England team-mates trudge off the field (Getty)

With Wahab Riaz exceptional, his mix of 90 mph pace, short and full, as well as clever slower balls, Pakistan showed England the template for success on this pitch. Trouble was, the home side left their two quickest bowlers, Tymal Mills and Mark Wood, on the bench. With Pakistan’s batsmen not used to playing real pace, their omission was bewildering and probably to do with the obsession of batting deep.

With England changing few of the players involved from the 50-overs series, there was probably an element of being demob happy about this one-off fixture, especially with a gruelling winter in Asia ahead. Not that the team on the field at Old Trafford will necessarily be the one that takes the field in Dhaka on 7 October.

Eoin Morgan, the captain, and Alex Hales have still not committed themselves to going. Both have until Saturday to declare their intentions. In what must now seem like a Freudian slip in the press conference before the match, Chris Jordan said England would not miss Morgan’s runs in Bangladesh should he decide to stay at home.

With England’s captain making just 14, he was not joking.