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Match facts

November 11, 2015
Start time 3pm local (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

You have to zoom out a long way to get the wide angle on this series. England’s newly professed love for one-day internationals is focused on winning more than just hearts when the Champions Trophy and World Cup roll around on home soil in 2017 and 2019. Pakistan narrowly avoided being squeezed out by Bangladesh at the Champions Trophy cut-off six weeks ago (West Indies were the team to miss out) and they are also at the start of a new cycle under the captaincy of Azhar Ali.His tenure began with a first ever bilateral series loss against Bangladesh but Pakistan have since pulled out of their tailspin by beating Zimbabwe at home – amid emotions as heightened as the security – and away, as well as winning in Sri Lanka for the first time since 2006. New faces such as Mohammad Rizwan and Bilal Asif have made good impressions (and the latter has also had his action cleared), while the return of Younis Khan, so impressive against England in the Test series, gives Pakistan a wealth of experience to call upon.Younis has not played since the World Cup but should win his 265th ODI cap, alongside Mohammad Hafeez (169 ODI appearances) and Shoaib Malik (227) in Pakistan’s middle order. The only England player who comes close to those totals is the captain, Eoin Morgan, who has played 151 (of which 23 were for Ireland); Jos Buttler – who made his debut against Pakistan in the UAE three-and-a-half years ago – is next on the list with 61.In some senses, though, this young England team have already gone to places their predecessors never did. England’s first total of more than 400 was achieved during the summer, against New Zealand at Edgbaston, and their highest successful chase a few games later. Although a 3-2 defeat against Australia followed, Morgan will be intent upon consolidating the gains made, even if performances in this series are unlikely to have much of a bearing on the next two global 50-over tournaments (for reference, see England’s 4-0 win in the UAE in 2012).There are, of course, the rankings to bind all this together and, despite their improvements, sixth-placed England are actually being steadily reeled in by Bangladesh, in No. 7. Pakistan, a place below at No. 8, can’t catch either yet but a win would help ease them away from West Indies in the race for an automatic spot at the 2019 World Cup.Jos Buttler has been passed fit after a finger injury suffered in England’s warm-up win over Hong Kong•Getty Images

Form guide

Pakistan: WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England: LWWLL

In the spotlight

He has only scored one ODI hundred since 2008 and admits he is looking for the right moment to retire but that is all the more reason to marvel at Younis Khan‘s latest comeback. Younis criticised the decision to leave him out after the World Cup, though he clearly does not have the ambition of making it to England in 2019, and has said since his recall that he wants to “leave on my own terms and conditions”. The evidence of the Test series, when he became Pakistan’s record run-scorer, suggests that he is in good shape to take control of his destiny.Morgan’s health has been a source of concern since he suffered concussion in his previous appearance but, when it comes to the more prosaic business of playing form, Jos Buttler is the focus of attention. Rested midway through the ODI series against Australia, then dropped for the final Test against Pakistan, Buttler has endured the most difficult spell of his international career to date. It is less than six months since he scored a 66-ball ODI hundred against New Zealand (marginally slower than his England record) and the hope is a return to limited-overs colours will free him up.

Team news

The recall for Younis might force Rizwan out of the XI, despite a solid start to his international career, with Pakistan’s main issue being how best to balance the side. Asif looks the prime candidate to support Yasir Shah in the spin department but Malik, fresh from Test retirement and career-best figures with the ball, filled that role in the warm-up against Nepal, allowing an for an extra batsman in Babar Azam. Azhar missed the final ODI of the tour of Zimbabwe with the toe injury that kept him out of the first two Tests against England but will resume at the top of the order.Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Bilal Asif/Mohammad Rizwan/Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Anwar Ali, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad IrfanMorgan is set to play his first competitive match since being hit on the head by Mitchell Starc back in September. Buttler has been passed fit after suffering a finger injury in England’s warm-up win over Hong Kong and will retake the gloves from Jonny Bairstow, while the absence of Ben Stokes – who hurt his collarbone during the third Test but would have sat out this series anyway – means James Taylor should stay in the XI despite Joe Root’s return after he was rested against Australia. Liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan are the other pace-bowling options in the squad.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 James Taylor, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

Both sides will be hoping for a livelier surface than that on which the Test took place, and last year New Zealand made scores of 299 for 5 and 275 for 4 batting first in Abu Dhabi – though fielding restrictions have been changed again since then. An afternoon start should mean cooler temperatures and the challenge of chasing under lights.

Stats and trivia

• England have won seven of nine ODIs against Pakistan in the UAE
• Of the 15 players who took part in England’s series whitewash in 2012, only Morgan and Buttler remain (though Steven Finn would have been involved but for injury)
• Shoaib Malik needs 10 runs to become the ninth Pakistani to score 6000 in ODIs

Quotes

“We’ll try to dominate with the bat, especially the spinners who haven’t bowled much in the subcontinent and UAE conditions.”
“White-ball cricket is something he prides himself on. In the last four years, he’s been outstanding and has shown glimpses of world-class ability.”

It looks increasingly likely that Rangers will have to cope with the threat of Erling Haaland in Thursday night’s Europa League clash at Ibrox.

The lowdown

Borussia Dortmund travel to Glasgow looking to overturn a 4-2 deficit from the first leg and claim their place in the Europa League round of 16.

They warmed up for their trip to Scotland by thumping Borussia Monchengladbach 6-0 on Sunday, but Haaland was only watching on from the stands.

The Norwegian striker has missed the last four games, including the first leg against Rangers, as a result of an adductor injury.

The latest

Ruhr 24 report that the return of Haaland ‘beckons’, with ‘growing hope’ among Dortmund officials that he will be available to face Rangers at Ibrox. He apparently took part in a full training session on Monday alongside the other reserves.

However, the Gers’ opponents have been hit with injury blows to two other players. Centre-back Dan Axel Zagadou faces ‘a few weeks out’ with a muscle tear he sustained against Monchengladbach.

Gio Reyna, who was also forced off in the game at the weekend, has avoided a ‘serious thigh injury’ but is still likely to be ruled out for 14 days.

The verdict

Haaland’s likely return has the potential to transform the tie, even if he’s only fit enough to come off the bench. After all, this is a player who’s scoring every 70.4 minutes in 2021/22.

He also boasts a strong record in Europe, netting three times in as many appearances in the Champions League group stage this season to take his overall tally in the competition to 23 goals in 19 games.

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Speaking to Football Insider, Danny Mills warned Rangers that the 21-year-old would have a ‘point to prove’ if he is able to play and could ‘quite easily’ bag at least two goals, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst himself has called the ‘lethal’ Haaland ‘one of top strikers in the world’ (via ESPN).

The Gers may be in a very strong position in the tie, but the prospect of facing Haaland will pose a whole new challenge.

In other news, this ‘half-hearted’ Rangers man has come under fire from some in the media

Scorecard

Wasim Jaffer’s 55 led Mumbai’s strong start to day two © AFP

On a rollercoaster second day at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai began promisingly, allowed their position to slip slightly against a spirited Karnakata, but regrouped to finish 107 runs ahead with three wickets in hand at close of play. The hosts dominated the first session, thanks to a 110-run opening stand between Wasim Jaffer and Sahil Kukreja, only to stumble as Karnataka grabbed five quick wickets in the second session to force their way back into the game. But a composed 78 from Prashant Naik on his Ranji Trophy debut allowed Mumbai to soak up the pressure and reach a healthy 302 for 7 by stumps.Karnataka had thrown away the advantage of winning the toss on the opening day, but they would have been confident of fighting back through Anil Kumble and Sunil Joshi on a pitch which was offering assistance to spinners. Kumble, though, was a huge disappointment, taking just one wicket in 22 overs and going at nearly four runs per over. Joshi managed three scalps with his left-arm spin, but the effectiveness with which Mumbai thwarted Kumble meant half their battle had been won.The foundation of their reply was built by Jaffer and Kukreja, who put Karnataka on the back foot after they had been bowled out for 195. The new-ball bowlers, Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa, had the openers in trouble whenever they hit the fuller length but an initially circumspect Jaffer shrugged aside his nerves. Kukreja, also cautious, was the more assured of the two, leaning forward to get behind the line. And as the bowlers erred in length at the end of their spells, both openers cashed in with drives and pulls.Kumble brought himself on in the 13th over, with the score on 32. With a short leg and a silly point in place, he floated his first few deliveries but there was no sign of any bite off the pitch. The short cover disappeared and Kukreja skipped down the track to whip an on-drive through wide mid-on while Jaffer punched one crisply through cover point and drove through the covers. Sunil Joshi appeared in the 23rd over and Jaffer, now having found his groove, welcomed him with two boundaries. He raised his fifty soon after and Kukreja followed, top-edging Joshi in the over before lunch.After the interval, Karnataka swung back with three wickets in ten balls. Jaffer, late in leaning forward, played on to an incutter from Aiyappa and Joshi snapped up Ajinkya Rahane, offering no stroke to a delivery on the stumps. Aiyappa got Kukreja to edge one to Thilak Naidu, the wicketkeeper, and Kumble returned with fielders hovering around the bat.He didn’t strike immediately, as Amol Muzumdar and Naik put on 48 in 70 minutes, but at 173 for 3 Kumble trapped Muzumdar as he played across the line. Abhishek Nayar, who has already hit two breezy centuries this season, opened with three consecutive boundaries off Kumble and gave Mumbai the lead with a fourth in Kumble’s next over. But in the last over before tea, Nayar missed a reverse-sweep against Joshi and was out for an 18-ball 24. He added 44 in just 39 balls, but paid for his impetuosity.When Ramesh Powar lofted Joshi to mid-on for 10 off seven balls, the score read 231 for 6. Naik, who struck C Raghu over long-on for the first six of the game, found an able ally in Agarkar and proceeded to stretch the lead. He didn’t take any undue risks, pushing the ball into the gaps for singles and twos and inspired Agarkar to do the same. Naik punished the loose deliveries, lofting Kumble over mid-off before sweeping really fine when Kumble went round the stumps.Then, against the run of play, Naik – who hit a hundred in his first-class debut in the Mohammad Nissar Trophy recently – fell to a sharp fielding effort from Yere Gowd: Agarkar had set off for a quick run after tapping the ball close on the off side when Gowd swooped down on the ball to fire in an accurate throw to the keeper to find Naik short of the crease.Kumble took the new ball in the last over of the day but Agarkar and Vinayak Samant, who came to bat lower than usual, held on as Mumbai ended the day on a strong position, thanks in no small part to Naik’s level-headed approach.Vijay Bharadwaj, Karnataka’s coach, wore a rueful expression at the end of the day but refused to criticise the bowlers, saying that the pitch had eased up considerably. “It has gone flatter. I won’t blame my bowlers.” The lack of pace in the track certainly made Kumble a far lesser weapon, and with a deficit in excess of 100 Karnataka have left themselves with plenty to do over the next two days.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outRP Singh demolished Sialkot, taking 4 for 26 in 9.5 overs as Uttar Pradesh romped to a 316-run win to lift the Mohammad Nissar Trophy. Set an improbable 429 for victory, Sialkot crumbled to 112 for 7 just after lunch, and with Khalid Mahmood, Imran Nazir and Mohammad Asif all injured, the match ended in a comprehensive defeat for the visitors.By delaying the declaration – it came in the third over of the day after Jyoti Yadav reached his fifty – UP, it was felt, might have hampered their chances of victory but a combination of a disciplined bowling performance, and lack of application and technique from the Sialkot batsmen meant that it was not to be.RP Singh and Praveen Kumar knifed through Sialkot with an incisive opening spell that left the visitors hobbling at 36 for three before Shalabh Srivastava made further inroads with a two-wicket burst. RP Singh came back to hammer the final nail in Sialkot’s coffin, triggering celebrations in the UP camp.Adjusting his line admirably to the combination of left and right-hand batsmen, RP Singh repeatedly pinged the corridor outside the off stump to induce fatal shots. After swinging a few back in, he suddenly, took one away with the angle to dismiss Mansoor Amjad. Abdur Rehman, the left-hand batsman, was tempted into a drive with a full-length delivery that swung away. He returned for his second spell after lunch to take out the last hope of Sialkot – Shoaib Malik – and , off the very next delivery, cleaned up the last man Sarfraz Ahmed and that was that.Praveen Kumar, while not so consistent with his line, teased the batsmen by swinging it both ways. He set the UP bandwagon rolling by taking out Shahid Yousuf with a sharp indipper in the eighth over. However, his lack of pace meant whenever he erred with either line or length he was punished. Majid Jehangir, who kept attacking despite the procession at the other end, carted him for three consecutive fours and when Kumar came back for his second spell, replacing Piyush Chawla, he lost the plot a bit by bowling one bouncer too many.Shalabh Srivastava, the tall left-arm seamer with a high-arm action, replaced Kumar and ensured that there would be no respite for Sialkot. He prised out Jehangir with one that went away with the angle. Not being a natural swinger of the ball, he created angles by going round the wicket to harass the batsmen with bounce and movement. After the top order was dealt with, he hustled the middle order with a slew of short-pitched deliveries before slipping in a few full-length deliveries, hoping either for a nick or an lbw decision.Sialkot, already besieged with injuries, could have done with some more discipline at the top. Lazy wafts of the bat with the feet stuck adhesively to the crease, greedy chases outside the off stump and the inability to read the length and move either forward or back led to their tame surrender.

Shahid Yousuf lbw b Kumar 5 (11 for 1)
Mansoor Amjad c Shamshad b Singh 0 (14 for 2)
Abdur Rehman c Amir b Singh 7 (36 for 3)
Majid Jahangir c Amir b Srivastava 27 (43 for 4)
Tahir Mughal c Shukla b SJ Srivastava 24 (89 for 5)
Shoaib Malik c Amir b Singh 11 ( 112 for 6)

After Pakistan’s resounding win over India, their fourth on the trot, Inzamam-ul-Haq gave credit to Salman Butt and the coach, and said that while Harbhajan Singh bowled well, the dew caused India problems later in the day.Butt, whose unbeaten hundred led Pakistan to victory, came in for praise from Inzamam. “We have got a very good opener in Salman Butt,” he was quoted as saying by UNI. “He looks [a good prospect] for our team. It was really a difficult target, but our openers kept their cool and pursued it with patience.”In a now-common doffing of the hat to Bob Woolmer, Inzamam said, “With Woolmer joining as coach we are working much more and that has led to the high confidence level we have now. We have also developed our fielding which has led to improved performance in difficult ground conditions.”His counterpart, Sourav Ganguly, was clearly disturbed by the loss. “We never looked like winning the game,” PTI quoted Ganguly as saying. “They took the game away from us.” He said that dew was a factor, but Pakistan’s performance was better on the day. “There was a bit of dew. It is expected at this time of the year. But I think they played better than us. They have beaten us four times in a row, obviously they have been playing better than us.”But Ganguly gave credit to batsmen on both sides, saying that his batsmen were “outstanding”, but that Pakistan “batted very well”.

Duncan Fletcher: fewer matches wanted© Getty Images

Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, will upset the purists with his latest theory: that his side should play fewer Test matches to make way for more one-day games.Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s first match of the NatWest Challenge series against India, which is a warm-up for the Champions Trophy, Fletcher told BBC Sport: “We’re going to have to look at replacing the odd Test match here and there with a substitute of four one-dayers so players have decent breaks.”But Fletcher warned that these must not lead to player burnout. He said: “We must play more one-day cricket – but that doesn’t mean we must play more cricket.”While England’s Test side proved formidable this summer – they completed a 7-0 clean sweep against New Zealand and West Indies – the one-day team has fared less well, with three wins and six defeats in their last ten games.England currently play less one-day cricket than the other leading teams. They have played just 17 one-day matches in 2004, and only Kenya have played fewer. Their comparative lack of match practice could explain why they are ranked a lowly eighth in the world. Every other side has played at least 20 matches, with Pakistan playing 33.However, despite this, Michael Vaughan and his team go into the NatWest Challenge against India, the World Cup finalists, as marginal favourites. This is a combination of home advantage, the absence of Sachin Tendulkar with tennis elbow, and India’s own questionable recent form – they have only won five of their last ten matches, and that includes victories over Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

Today’s match brings up the half-century of Test matches at Trent Bridge. England have been involved in 48 of the previous 49, winning 13, drawing 21 and losing 14. The odd one out was a match between Australia and South Africa in the 1912 Triangular Tournament, which was a rain-affected draw. The first match there was the 50-year-old WG Grace’s last, a drawn game against the Aussies in 1899.England and South Africa have crossed swords at Nottingham seven times in Tests. England have won three and SA two, with two draws. England came out on top in the most recent meeting, in 1998, when they won the fourth Test to square that series. That was a match made memorable by the eyeball-to-eyeball duel of Mike Atherton and Allan Donald as England successfully chased their fourth-innings target of 247.Prior to that, the last time these two teams met at Trent Bridge was back in 1965, a match that featured another fine innings. Graeme Pollock’s 125 on an untrustworthy pitch inspired South Africa to a 94-run victory.West Indies have the best record of any visitors to Nottingham: they have won four and drawn four of their eight Trent Bridge Tests. Zimbabwe are also unbeaten there, having drawn their only Test in 2000. Australia have won seven of their 20 Tests on the ground (and drawn ten, including the 1912 one against South Africa, and lost only three), while New Zealand have won one of seven (lost four, drawn two). India and Pakistan have played three Tests there, and neither has won. India have drawn twice (including last year) and lost one, while Pakistan have lost two and drawn one.The highest individual score at Trent Bridge (Graeme Smith please note) is Denis Compton’s 278 against Pakistan in 1954. The highest team total remains England’s 658 for 8 declared (Paynter 216 not out, Barnett 102, Compton 102, Hutton 100) against Australia in 1938. And the best bowling figures date back to 1905, when the googly-inventor Bernard Bosanquet bamboozled Australia with 8 for 107.

The bad patch of Barbados captain Sherwin Campbell continuedyesterday on Day 1 of the second Busta Cup trial match atCarlton Club.Campbell, who has failed to reach 40 in any level of cricketsince returning from injury in September, again looked ashadow of himself as the trialists encountered another lessthan-ideal batting pitch.The former West Indies opener scratched around for all of 40minutes in making just six before edging a loose drive fromthe pacy Fidel Edwards for Jason Haynes standing in as threeother regular keepers were absent to take an excellent catchto his right.While this was happening, Dale Richards was slaughtering thewayward bowlers to register a bold 48 not out with sevenfours and a huge hook for six off 58 balls. He took 17 fromEdwards’ first over, while Campbell was scoreless off tenballs he faced from Edwards.The pair added 51 for the first wicket, and so contrastingwere their styles, it appeared as though they were battingon two different pitches.But the day belonged to 17-year-old left-arm spinner DerickBishop who cleverly grabbed five for 41 from 20.1 overs inhis first bowling opportunity.The selectors should take note of this improving allrounder,not just for the way he spins the ball, but the thought thatgoes into his bowling, and his excellent fielding to his ownbowling. Among his scalps were Ryan Hinds (three) and SeanArmstrong (one), two of the more reliable batsmen in thetrials.Another lefthand-spinner Sulieman Benn, a certain selection,had four for 65 as the two slow bowlers shared 44 of the 63overs.Kurt Wilkinson, with 69 not out in three hours, lookedpolished and mature on a slow pitch at his home ground; butthe lapses which sometimes creep into his batting, led to amix-up and run out of Anderson Sealy after they had pulledthe innings from 73 for seven to 140.

The MCC has confirmed an update to the Laws that allows a fielder to make a “significant movement” before the striker has played the ball. The ICC, in consultation with the MCC, had already introduced a playing condition to this effect last year, which came to light after Steven Smith took a catch to remove Fawad Alam* in an ODI in Abu Dhabi.Previously, under Laws 41.7 and 41.8, Smith’s movement would have resulted in a dead ball, with “significant movement … before the ball reaches the striker” deemed as “unfair”.They have now been replaced by a single Law 41.7, governing movement by fielders other than the wicketkeeper. The change is designed to promote “intelligent fielding” and allows a player to move if it becomes obvious a batsman will play the ball in a certain direction.The decision of the umpires to allow Smith’s catch during the 2014 match between Pakistan and Australia caused some controversy, until it became known that the ICC had adapted the Law to allow a degree of movement. This has now been taken into account by the MCC’s latest revision of the Laws.John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, said: “As the Guardian of the Laws and Spirit of cricket, it is important that MCC continues to keep pace with the game’s development, and that’s why we have made these changes to the Laws. Steve Smith’s excellent catch in Abu Dhabi last year illustrated that such skilful anticipation by a fielder should be within the Laws of the game, and these changes now make that the case.”October 1, 0430GMT: Corrected to state that Fawad Alam, and not Fawad Ahmed, was the batsman.

Central Zone were 417/8 at the close of the second day of the Duleep Trophy match against East Zone at the Green Park Oval, Kanpur on Friday. The start of day two was again delayed due to heavy fog and in the 63 overs bowled in the day, Central added 186 more runs to the overnight score of 231/3 losing five wickets in the day.The loss of Gagan Khoda, leg before to Zaman for 6, soon after the start was a heavy let down for Central. Raja Ali Joined Kaif and tried to build the faltering innings. But Ali was caught and bowled by Sukhbinder Singh for 16. Central were 280/5 at that stage. Kaif played rock steady and steadied the boat a little with a 71-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Abhay Sharma who was dismissed by Singh for 31 (4 fours). Kaif meanwhile reached his fifty off 107 balls striking ten fours in the process.Soon Central were 375/7 losing the man in form, Kaif for 83 caught by Dasgupta off Zaman. Kaif decorated his crafty innings with 14 boundaries. Southpaw Murali Kartik then played a little cameo. Kartik was severe on the bowling hitting six boundaries to make 45 runs off just 50 balls. Kartik fell leg before to Singh in the 114th over and Central were 409/8. At close of play Kulamani Parida and Winston Zaidi were unbeaten on 9 and 3 respectively. Zaman with 4/95 and Sukhbinder Singh with 3/89 have been the mainstay of the bowling.