England. 50-overs. World record. Three words and phrases I never expected to appear in the same sentence! And yet this was just one of the many records which tumbled this week at Trent Bridge.
The match result states boldly but barely that England beats Pakistan by 169 runs, but that conceals a multitude of amazements. Just about everything Eoin Morgan’s side did worked a treat. Jason Roy may have gloved a catch behind in the sixth over but Alex Hales finally delivered on his promise. He not only reached three figures but also proceeded to whack the Pakistani attack all over the place to notch the highest ever ODI score by an England player. His 171 eclipsed Robin Smith’s 23 year-old 167 not out.
What surprised me was not Hales’ own performance, but that it had taken an England player so long to knock Smith off the top. In these days of short boundaries, high-tech bats and a more attacking mindset, 23 years is a long time to hold a batting record.
When Hales finally fell LBW, he and Joe Root had compiled the highest partnership scored against Pakistan. Root himself achieved his fifth successive score of 60 or more, itself no mean feat. And then the fun really began!
Jos Buttler, returning after a long layoff, came together with Morgan and together they plundered 161 from a mere 12 overs. Buttler struck the fastest ever England 50, in 22 balls, and the skipper would also have equalled the record had Jos not broken it minutes earlier! Sixes were flayed from Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz, whose 110 runs conceded was the second highest in ODI history.
Buttler’s last ball boundary then took England’s total past the best ODI innings total by any international side, ever! 444-3! There had been 16 sixes in all, in contrast to the way Sri Lanka had recorded the previous world best ten years previously against the Netherlands at Amstelveen. Then, despite rapid centuries from Jayasuriya and Dilshan, only three of the 59 boundaries actually cleared the ropes.
As for Pakistan’s reply, it was never going to come close to the target. Chris Woakes bowled well for his four wickets, but Sharjeel Khan did at least go for his shots, taking 54 of his 58 runs in boundaries. However, the last record of the day was a positive one for a Pakistani player. Mohammad Amir’s final ‘what the hell’ onslaught brought him 58 from 28 balls, he first ever ODI half-century for a number eleven!
So a sensational day for England, and it was almost incidental that they wrapped up a series win with just three matches gone. I expect some team changes on both sides now that there is no trophy to play for. However, the way teams are playing, more records are sure to follow in quick succession, not necessarily in England this summer. There have now been 18 scores of 400 or more, eight of them in the past two years. Can 500 be far away….?
