Pak Vs England 1st ODI: Rain stops play
Rain reduced the play to not more than 47 overs a side.
LONDON (Dunya News) – Pakistan were 71 for two, when rain stopped play in the first One-day International of the five-match series against Pakistan at Kennington Oval on Wednesday.
England had won the toss and elected to field first against Pakistan. rain delayed the scheduled toss and start of the first one-day international between England and Pakistan at The Oval.
Heavy early morning rain at the south London ground meant the toss in this first of a five-match series, a day/night contest, did not take place as scheduled at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT) local time.
Conditions had brightened up by the time an inspection took place at 12:45pm, with both teams warming up on the outfield, only for the rain to return while umpires Paul Reiffel and Rob Bailey were starting their deliberations, with the players hurrying back to the changing rooms.
This series is taking place just a few weeks before the 50-over men s World Cup gets underway, with tournament hosts England -- the number one ranked side in ODI cricket -- looking to win the tournament for the first time.
Under overcast conditions in a game reduced to 47 overs-a-side due to rain that delayed the start by 75 minutes, Eoin Morgan chose to stick with batting second. With further rain very much possible over the next few hours, DLS could come into play, a fact not lost on Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who admitted he would have bowled first too.
Jason Roy wasn t deemed fit enough to start yet, meaning James Vince will open the batting with Jonny Bairstow, while Moeen Ali s absence gives Joe Denly another chance in the middle order. Jofra Archer, whose potential inclusion in the final World Cup squad has generated much fiery debate in England, starts alongside Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes as the three frontline fast bowlers, while Adil Rashid is the lead spinner.
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed is confident to start the ODI series on a winning note after losing the one-off T20I on May 5.
Paceman Mohammad Amir will try to make a statement by giving good performance to keep his chances of being selected in the World Cup 2019 squad alive.
The left-arm bowler was not selected in the World Cup squad by the selection committee; however, his good performance in the ODI series against England may open the doors to the mega event for him.
On the other hand, England captain Eoin Morgan wants to repeat the performance of the T20I to score second consecutive victory against the Green Shirts.
It is worth mentioning here that rain is also likely to disrupt the proceedings in today’s match.
The series will be followed by the World Cup 2019 from May 30. Pakistan will face their first challenge against West Indies on May 31.
