LONDON: Reigning champions England produced a fine all-round display as they beat Pakistan by seven wickets at The Oval on Thursday in their last competitive match before they begin the defense of their Twenty20 World Cup title.
England restricted Pakistan to a modest 157 after winning the toss, with leg-spinner Adil Rashid, the player-of-the-match taking 2-27 from his maximum four overs.
They then made a rapid start to their chase as Phil Salt (45) and skipper Jos Buttler (39) shared a blistering opening stand of 82 inside seven overs.
Harry Brook ended the game with a six off paceman Haris Rauf, the pick of the Pakistan attack with 3-38, as England finished on 158-6 to win with more than three overs to spare.
Victory gave England a 2-0 triumph in a four-match T20 series where games at Headingley and Cardiff were both washed out without a ball bowled.
“We have worked hard in training and there is a good feeling around the squad,” Buttler told Sky Sports.
Buttler was leading England after his wife gave birth to the couple’s third child following his dashing 84 in the hosts’ 23-run win in the second T20 at Edgbaston.
“It would have been nice to get two more games in to expose a few guys to different situations,” Buttler added.
“But we have really good experience in the group and a lot of guys have been playing in the IPL (Indian Premier League), so we are not short of cricket.”
Both England openers launched Naseem Shah for huge sixes before Salt holed out off Rauf for a quickfire 45.
Earlier, Pakistan had been well-placed at 59-0 after losing the toss at an overcast Oval.
But they slumped to 86-5, the collapse starting when captain Babar Azam was caught at slip for a brisk 36 off fast bowler Jofra Archer.
“It went well for five or six overs but then I got out,” said Azam. “The middle order needs to step up.
“We need to sort out those things for the World Cup. We have a few injuries but there are a lot of positives. Our play is good in patches.”
Pakistan were also undone by a disciplined England attack, with Rashid telling reporters: “As a unit I thought we bowled exceptionally well. I know they (Pakistan) got off to a great start, but that’s T20 cricket.”
Rashid was also enthused by the sight of injury-prone quicks Archer and Mark Wood, who took wickets with sharp bouncers, bowling in tandem.
“Jof and Woody, when you watch them bowl it is exciting,” he said.
“Seeing the ball zip off the pitch, the keeper taking it really high and it’s exciting to have two quality, world-class bowlers in our squad.”
England launch their T20 World Cup campaign against Scotland in Barbados on June 4, with 2009 champions Pakistan in action two days later against co-hosts the United States in Dallas.
England overwhelm Pakistan in final T20 before World Cup defense
https://arab.news/5vvtt
England overwhelm Pakistan in final T20 before World Cup defense
- England restricted Pakistan to a modest 157 after winning the toss, with Adil Rashid taking 2-27 from his maximum four overs
- Harry Brook ended the game with a six off paceman Haris Rauf, pick of Pakistan’s attack with 3-38, as England finished 158-6
Top Pakistani clerics warn government against sending troops to Gaza to disarm Hamas
- Pakistani clerics raise alarm over reports of pressure on Muslim nations to provide troops for Gaza stabilization force under Trump peace plan
- Islamabad has previously said that it is willing to join the international stabilization force but ‘not ready’ to play any role in disarming Hamas
ISLAMABAD: A group of Pakistan’s top religious and political leaders on Monday warned the government against sending Pakistani troops to Gaza to disarm Palestinian group Hamas, amid discussions over a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) for the Palestinian territory.
The representative gathering, chaired by prominent scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, brought together leaders from Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadees and Shia schools of thought, alongside leaders of the country’s main religio-political parties, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
The international stabilization force, which is to be composed of troops from Muslim countries, is the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza announced in Sept. Islamabad has previously said it is willing to join the ISF but “not ready” to play any role in disarming Hamas. Hamas’s Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said this month the group had a “legitimate right” to hold weapons, while Israel has repeatedly insisted that Hamas be disarmed.
In a joint statement issued after the meeting in the port city of Karachi on Monday, Pakistani clerics raised alarm over reports that international pressure is mounting on Muslim-majority nations to provide troops for the transitional security force in Gaza, following Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
“In such circumstances, demands are being made to Muslim countries that they send their forces there to disarm Hamas,” the statement said. “Several Muslim governments have already refused this, and pressure is being increased on Pakistan.”
Last month, the United Nations Security Council approved Washington’s plan, which called for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Trump would head, and the stabilization force, which would be empowered to oversee borders, provide security and demilitarize the territory.
The gathering of Pakistani clerics urged Islamabad to resist any diplomatic overtures from Washington regarding troop deployment.
“This gathering, with full emphasis, demands the Government of Pakistan refrain from sending its forces to disarm Hamas and that it should not yield to any pressure in this regard,” the statement said.
The assembly expressed complete support for the liberation of Palestine and described the effort as a “duty of every Muslim.”
It said that Pakistan’s armed forces are “imbued with the spirit of jihad” and that the “notion of placing them against any sacred struggle for the liberation of Baitul Muqaddas or Palestine is impossible for the nation to accept.”
The religious leaders characterized the proposal as a “conspiracy” from which the government must “protect the country.”
Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi and the prime minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, did not respond to Arab News requests for comment on the statement.
Washington reportedly views Pakistan as a prime candidate for the ISF, given its experience in high-intensity border conflicts and internal counter-insurgency operations.
Last week, Pakistan’s foreign office said that Islamabad had not taken any decision on joining the proposed stabilization force for Gaza and had received no formal request from the US or any other country in this regard.
“I am not aware of any specific request made to Pakistan. We will inform you about any development if it takes place,” Andrabi told reporters.
He also sought to distance the government from rumors of a pending visit by Pakistan’s defense forces chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to the US to meet President Trump.
