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England get World Cup lift with defeat of Pakistan

By AAP Newswire

May 31, 2024

England batsman Jonny Bairstow helps complete the job as Pakistan are well beaten at The Oval. -AP

England will head into the defence of their T20 World Cup title on the back of a 2-0 series victory over Pakistan after coasting to a seven-wicket win in their fourth and final match at The Oval.

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After restricting Pakistan to 157 all out, England powered to their target with 27 balls remaining largely thanks to Phil Salt's 45 and Jos Buttler's 39 in their opening stand of 82.

Harry Brook (17 not out) saw England home with a six, with Jonny Bairstow, in the middle with him, on 28 off 16.

Mark Wood impressed in his first white-ball appearance since November with a two-wicket haul and partnered the fit-again Jofra Archer, who crucially dismissed Babar Azam for 36.

Adil Rashid was arguably the star of the show in the field though after he picked up two for 27 and claimed two catches, while Liam Livingstone also produced an excellent double-wicket maiden to bowl out Pakistan for 157, which was always below-par.

Two of the matches in the series were washed out, denting the World Cup preparations of both teams.

The tournament staged jointly in the United States and the Caribbean starts on Saturday, with England's opening match against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday and Pakistan playing for the first time on June 6 against the States

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press