Preview: Pakistan confident of ending losing streak in England clash

NOTTINGHAM: Pakistan may have lost their last 11 one-day Internationals but remain confident of ending their long losing streak as they take on hosts and favourites England in their second fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 at Trent Bridge on Monday.

Pakistan were thrashed by the West Indies by seven wickets in their tournament opener at the same venue on Friday. Fast bowler Oshane Thomas took four wickets as Pakistan were bundled out for their second-lowest World Cup total of 105 in just 21.4 overs on the second day of the competition.

But bowling coach Azhar Mahmood says England must not forget his team’s resilient performance in the Champions Trophy two years ago as the sides prepare to meet at the World Cup.

“We are one win away from coming back, and that’s what happened in Champions Trophy,” Mahmood said at a press conference on Sunday.

“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 said.

“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.”

England, who crushed South Africa in the tournament opener on Thursday, are planning to boost their pace attack after seeing the way Pakistan´s batsmen were undone by a barrage of bouncers from the West Indies.

The hosts may at the same time decide to stick with a winning formula rather than bring Mark Wood in alongside fellow 90 mph plus paceman Jofra Archer.

"I think there´s a good case for playing any of our bowlers," captain Eoin Morgan told reporters at Trent Bridge on Sunday. "We´ll have to adapt to anything the wicket throws up.

"If there is anything to exploit, hopefully we´ll select the right team."

But Morgan was well aware of the attraction of an Archer-Wood partnership.

"It is exciting. It´s like saying can you add a Jason Roy 180 to a Jos Buttler 150 off 70 or 80 balls -- it might happen and if it does that would be awesome."

England have twice set world records for the highest score in a one-day international at Nottinghamshire´s headquarters -- posting 444 for three against Pakistan in 2016 before closing in on the 500 barrier with 481 for six against world champions Australia last year.

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"To get something near that you need to play unbelievably well," said Morgan. "It starts with the very basics with getting yourself into an innings and each batter starting and trying to establish a partnership."

-- Additional reporting from AFP, Reuters