Mark Wood could be paired with Jofra Archer as England ponder unleashing a potent pace attack on Pakistan in their Cricket World Cup clash at Trent Bridge today, even as Pakistan bowling coach Azhar Mahmood sought to remind the hosts of his team’s resilient performance in the Champions Trophy two years ago.
The hosts may look to take a leaf out of the West Indies’ playbook in their approach to their second game of the tournament, launching a barrage of short-pitched deliveries to blow Pakistan away.
The West Indies bowled out Pakistan for a paltry 105 at Trent Bridge on Friday and England captain Eoin Morgan suggested he could follow their example.
He said it would be an “awesome” prospect to pair Wood, who missed England’s opening victory over South Africa, with Archer, who took three wickets in that match at The Oval, in the same side for the first time.
“It is exciting. It’s like saying can you add a Jason Roy 180 to a Jos Buttler 150 off 70 or 80 balls,” the captain told reporters at a rain-affected training session yesterday.
“It might happen. If it does that would be awesome. We just have to wait and see. It’s all on potential.”
Archer’s World Cup debut has been among the early tournament highlights but Morgan looked to temper the excitement over the 24-year-old Barbados-born quick.
“Nobody can bowl fast every game. We have seen that with our fast bowlers in the past,” the England captain added.
“It’s just not possible. It’s like when you have a high-quality batsman who averages over 50, he’s not going to get 100 every game. So take every day as it comes when it comes to Jofra.”
Pakistan have lost their last 11 ODI’s, including the World Cup opener, but Mahmood said his team is just one win away from bouncing back.
Mahmood is backing them to come good at Trent Bridge, even though favourites and hosts England made an impressive start by crushing South Africa.
“We are one win away from coming back, and that’s what happened in Champions Trophy,” he said.
“We lost in Champions Trophy and then we come back hard. So whenever we have lost and we come back stronger, and we have the ability to bounce back,” he added.
Pakistan beat England by eight wickets in the Champions Trophy semi-final in 2017 before a comprehensive victory over India in the final.
Their recent form, however, has been poor, including a 4-0 series defeat by England.
“We’ve lost 11 games in a row but in the five games we lost against Australia, we rested eight to nine players,” Mahmood told a news conference yesterday.
“So it was young team and we were trying different players, different combinations.
“Yes, against England we lost four games. But we were not far away. We just didn’t win those crucial moments.
“They’ve played in England, so they have enough experience and motivation to go and win the game for Pakistan.
Mahmood dismissed suggestions that if Pakistan win, for the first time since beating South Africa in Johannesburg in January, it would be a major upset.
“We can beat them,” he said. “It’s not an upset. We have the ability to beat them.”