Pakistan suffered a nine-wicket thrashing at the hands of England in the first game of the three-match ODI series at Cardiff on Thursday (July 8).
The visitors were bowled out for a paltry 141 in 35.2 overs while the home team chased down the target with 169 balls to spare as Dawid Malan (68*) and Zak Crawley (58*) shared an unbroken 120-run stand for the second wicket.
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Pakistan lost the match despite England fielding a second-string team after COVID-19 cases forced the initial squad to go into isolation.
Following the game, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said that the defeat was not a massive setback for and his team will make a strong comeback in the second ODI at Lord’s.
"It's not such a massive setback, per se. Of course, there are bad days and there are good days. We have been playing the past few series fairly well. I will sit with them and have a talk. I'll tell them that don't lose your nerves and that ups and downs are part of life. The sooner we do that, the better it will be for us, as a team," quoted Babar in the post-match press conference.
However, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar is not ready to buy Babar’s statement and called it ‘lame excuses’.
“It is all lame excuses. There was nothing on the wicket like extraordinary bounce. A little seam movement is expected in England. If you can’t handle that seam, then what will you do?” Akhtar questioned on PTV Sports.
“I feel sorry for myself and the fans. If Pakistan continues to perform like this, then who will watch them? I will not,” he added.
Pakistan have a stronger side on paper in comparison to this inexperienced English squad but the hosts managed to dominate the opening ODI. England played with five debutants in the first ODI; Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Lewis Gregory, Phil Salt, and John Simpson.
The second ODI is due to be held at Lord’s on Saturday (July 10).
