When Gus Atkinson struck with the first ball of England’s tour, the rhythm appeared set. They intended to make it four ODI series wins in a row. Sri Lanka had been beaten home and away this year; Pakistan had been embarrassed with the Dukes ball in the summer.
Harry Brook’s side were surely heading to the final, right? Alas, he won’t be anywhere near the snappily named KFC Presents Bank Alfalah ODI Tri-Series trophy on Saturday. On two occasions England moved into positions from which games seemed unlosable, yet this thoroughly watchable tri-series refused to turn their way.
In making 429 against Sri Lanka, England simply followed their usual formula: thrash their way to a gargantuan total and let scoreboard pressure do the rest. Even as Pavan Rathnayake and Dasun Shanaka swung away, it felt as if England would be fine as long as they produced a three-over period of quiet, forcing the pair to knock it around for ones and twos while the required rate climbed to something ungodly. But it never came as Brook became the first man to finish on the losing side after an ODI double hundred.
Three days later Pakistan were 154 for nine chasing 242, with England needing just one small piece of magic. Atkinson thought he had produced it with a yorker that struck Shadab Khan’s pad, with the batter unaware his blade had given the ball a faint tickle on the way. A squiggle on UltraEdge would resurrect the hosts and push the visitors to an ultimately fatal defeat.
What jarred, as it did against Sri Lanka, was Adil Rashid’s absence. No one has played more ODIs for England in the last decade than the leg-spinner, who missed the end of the summer with a hand injury. He twirled expensively in the opening game against Pakistan and was subsequently discarded for the next three.
Brendon McCullum said that “conditions probably went against” the selection of Rashid, as England favoured the skiddier option of Liam Dawson’s left-arm spin, presumably hoping Dawson would replicate the success of Pakistan’s Arafat Minhas. Yet Rashid’s great value to England since 2015 has been his excellence across continents, conditions be damned. There’s the googly to use if the leg-break isn’t perfect; there are revs through the air if the pitch isn’t helping.
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